‘Life Will Get Better’: Gay Councilman’s Plea to Bullied Teens Goes Viral
- Posted on October 16, 2010 at 7:30pm by
Scott Baker
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A city councilman in Fort Worth, Texas, has rocketed into cyberspace prominence in a video pleading with gay teens not to commit suicide and tearfully recounting his own ordeals as a bullied schoolboy.
“Give your self a chance to see how much life will get better,” Councilman Joel Burns says in his appeal to bullied teens, which he made during a 12-minute speech to the council on Tuesday.
By Friday afternoon, the video had received more than 500,000 hits on YouTube, and Burns was being lauded on social networking sites.
Burns, who is openly gay, prefaced his appeal by recounting several of the recent cases in which teens across the U.S. had killed themselves after being targeted by anti-gay bullying.
The victims included Asher Brown, 13, of Houston, who shot himself with his father’s handgun, and Tyler Clementi, 18, the Rutgers University freshman who jumped off the George Washington Bridge in New York after his roommate secretly recorded him with another male student, then broadcast the video online.
“This bullying and harassment in our schools must stop,” Burns said, describing it as an epidemic.
He then recalled his youth in the Fort Worth suburb of Crowley, describing himself as a skinny, sensitive boy who tried to be friendly to all.
In ninth grade, he said, older boys roughed him up, “said I was a faggot and I should die and go to hell where I belonged.”
“Ashamed, humiliated and confused, I went home,” Burns said. “There must be something very wrong with me, I thought.”
After struggling to maintain his composure, Burns, now 40, then addressed himself directly to any gay teens who might see the video.
“You will get out of the household that doesn’t accept you. You will get out of that high school, and you don’t ever have to deal with those jerks again,” he said. “Things will get easier … Please stick around to make those happy memories for yourself.”
When he finished the speech, most of those in the council chamber rose to applaud.
“If the now-viral video … does not move you to tears, you surely have a tough, leathery little peanut for a heart. I can’t watch it without crying,” wrote Dallas Morning News columnist Jacquielynn Floyd.
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Comments (135)
keaton
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:53pmMy experience. I coach a team of elite girl atheletes. I started with this team when they were 12 and 13 year olds. They are now 16 and 17 year olds. This year we added a 19 year old lesbian predator to the team. I didn’t know she was a lesbian predator when we added her. Within 3 months she had engaged 4 of the other 10 girls in homosexual acts. It started rather innocently with touching . Because of our societal inability to call homosexuality wrong, it has now drawn 4 girls into the gay label. These girls are not gay. They said, “I’m not even into girls”. However the predator spread the word to their schools about the act, so they are labeled gay. I know these girls well. They were preyed upon. This has harmed them. Wake up America . This could very well happen to anyone of your daughters. They are now “confused ” about their orientation. These acts will affect these girls for life. It makes me wonder about Tyler Clementi. I wonder if he was preyed upon. Was it his sensitive concience that drove him to suicide?
Report Post »kris843
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:58amI’ll see your “predator lesbian” and raise you three “football jocks”, you dimwit. What kind of labels do you think these little stud muffins spread around the schools about their conquests.—-See I can play this game to you phony. Your experience my butt. Sounds like a bad Lindsey Lohan movie script to me!
Report Post »WhiteFang
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 11:52amTake it easy Kris. Calm down.
Report Post »keaton
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:58pmKris. There is a vast diference between being the conquest of a “jock” and being seen to have “switched teams”. I think Tyler Clementi would agree with me. No matter how much the homosexual community tries to “normalize ” their behavior. it is by numerical definition abnormal. The reason people tend to hide gay behavior , is because they instinctivly know it is wrong.
Report Post »runnin.whitehorse
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 9:23pmGreat post and the kind of truth that needs to be told!
Report Post »joseph Fawcett
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:34pmI am sorry but the gays are bulling all of us and demanding that we accept a lifestyle that we find offensive and disagree with and we know God totally finds offensive and disagrees with. They themselves are bullies of the American people and should be stopped.
I don’t agree with any bulling of anyone who is homosexual or for any other reason. But telling the truth that their lifestyle is offensive is not being a bully but telling the truth.
http://www.josephfawcettart.com
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 11:05pmYou need to figure out the difference between tolerance and acceptance. Tolerance being lesser than acceptance, and among the greatest values on which this country was founded. They ask you to tolerate them and accept that they are as deserving of the rights you exercise yet try to deny them because they are American. They don’t bully you, they are just fighting for their own rights. For you impose your religious viewpoint into the lives of others IS ANOTHER FORM OF BULLYING. What is most offensive is that you can even tell the difference and then try to play God’s role of judging them. If you really knew God or Jesus’s teaching, you would know he despises intolerance. Heck, a recent study has shown that 99% of known animal species(God’s creations) exhibit homosexual behavior. You say God is offended by use a few sentences from a book written by men, but God’s creation says otherwise. Pull your head out of the darkness and see the light, you’re position is untenable.
Report Post »BRAVEHEART
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 12:52amPerverse and deviant behavior is totally unacceptable in public and in a decent civil society. Anyone to ignorant to understand that basic principle is being in my opinion delibrately stupid.
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:20amso what are you saying when men act like animals…it’s okay…because God created us that way…I think not buddy!
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:34amAnyone who determines “perverse and deviant” BEHAVIOR as that of self-acknowledgement of one’s state of being (coming out), let alone expectation of social tolerance of such state, is far more willfully ignorant or “delibrately stupid”. As nature continues to show, it is more of a case of exception to the rule than deviance from the norm. Any “decent civil society” should avoid faulty generalizations of a small few (such as those who take egregious actions in public) for that of the entire group.
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:48amTo GODLOVINMOM: Thomas Jefferson said it best: “Question with boldness even the existence of God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear. If you believe in God, then you were given the ability to reason and think critically. These are not gifts to be squandered and neglected, but rather used to see into the truth of God through his creations. We should use science to do such and to become right with God, not to make nature right with our view of God. To force nature into our view is only a testament to human arrogance. If your thoughts are the only things keeping you from accepting the reality of something, then you are accepting the “blindfolded fear”, are you not?
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 2:30amwhy is it blindfolded fear when we as Christians ….believe God’s word over the world/science/nature/man..
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 2:51amTo GODLOVINMOM: But is it not blindfolded, to except the words of the Good Book, which is definitively the writings of men relaying God’s message through their own opinions and words, rather than seeking the truth through your God given faculties. Even the Good Book needs to be viewed as flawed as the men who wrote/translate/copied it over centuries rather that the literal of God, and used as such. When God’s created world around us is much more telling than the word of man. How else is God’s unadulterated word supposed to reach a person. Why would God select those people over you if you are both after the same truths?
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 3:39amChristians follow the teaching of Jesus with the common record being the Holy Bible. It seems that one can either there is fault in God‘s creation if it doesn’t not conform to the Bible’s writings, or writings have been taken or twisted out of context to God’s creation. Which is more likely?
Report Post »Handy1
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 9:12pmAmen Joseph. Planerick are you an atheist? Your posts sound alot like their standard talking points. Atheists are the most fanatic missionaries. Your posts give that impression.
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 11:06pmIt only seems to be contradictory to shun science of the God‘s creations because they don’t conform exactly to the writings of another person. I was raised Presbyterian and some have said my religious views might be more in-line with the deism of the founding fathers that than of the religion I was born into, but I see little evidence for a divergence. The previously stated opinions, are only my views of the flaws in the logic of the literalists or fundamentalist, whose beliefs and actions seem to reflect cherry picked beliefs of Jesus’s teachings rather than the devoutness claimed.To mistreat and bully those who don’t conform whether they be homosexual or not, is in direct conflict with the actions prescribed to Jesus, without mention of his teachings. Along with the other flaws I have stated. there seems to be little debate or thought of others as to the reasoning of their statements when asked. They usually boil down to trying to attack me personally rather than a meaningful discussion.
Report Post »bobby535
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:15pmI think it is sad that these kids felt like that’s all they could do. My condolences to them.
That being said i think it is also sad that these people are using these kids deaths to push an agenda, wouldn’t be surprised if they hoped a few more would take one for the cause. That’s pretty sick. And really bullying is a part of life, and as much as it sucks it can be good for you.
I am being bullied right now by an out of controlled government. They have bullied me out of a job, killed my business I had on the side (no one has money to spend), now I owe AT&T money, Utilities bill is coming soon, cable is past due…as you can see this bullying has really effected my life, and i refuse to take a government hand out…..does this warrant me to take my own life?? NO!!
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:23pmHow did they “bully you out of a job” ? Your redirection is sad and ill-placed. There are plenty of places for such irrelevant and seemingly vague comments, please find them. Not here.
Report Post »bobby535
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:51pmOh, I’m so sorry Rick, didn’t realize the comment police were watching. It was vague (not precisely limited) on purpose. I was putting out there what not only I am going through, but a lot of people. It wasn’t supposed to be a detailed story about me, but about bullying, and the effects of bullying. And when someone says “You suck, and you mean jack to me, because I am bigger, and better than you are. You will do what I say or else!” that is bullying. And now how you deal with it. Killing myself is not an answer, just an easy way out.
It’s a little deeper than the surface buddy =) Dig just a little??
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 11:27pmIf you had any real interest in the topic or article above. I have been working construction for a decade and am well familiar with the problems of recent years ALL TOO WELL. I am also extremely clear that the government wasn’t at fault for the loss of any of my contracts or funding problems. Nor have I ever heard the government say anything to me or my former employers as such.
Report Post »I also have had friend’s who have or tried to killed themselves. They were deep in depression and no intervention short of sedation and hospitalization ever saved one. They weren’t even bullied into it. So let me be clear- you’re assumption that if you were in their place, you wouldn‘t kill yourself or admission that you wouldn’t kill yourself for your current problems is clearly either ignorant of reality or absent the slightest attempt to understand. It is easy to say it is selfish to commit suicide, it is quite another to try and stop someone.
If you can’t tell Bobby535, I am well aware of the depths, now if YOU would only dig deeper! ;-) I call them like I see them, so now you know.
We Are Not Alone
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:06pmThis has EVERYTHING to do with our country….. hope the link works and that we can post it everywhere… just in case it doesn‘t it’s called “ We the People” on youtube… it has an eagle and an American flag in the background…. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVAhr4hZDJE
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:18pmGreat video, thanks for sharing it, had this Jarhead in tears.
Report Post »inthebegining111
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:05pmI keep trying to let the muslums know the same thing just leave us alone and keep trying to meet intelligent people who ‘s brains aren’t stuck on one over the TP and every time I do I know I am blessed and continue on. However they just keep wanting me dead dead one way or the other they don’t want me to have rights, freedoms or able to use intelligence in order to express my freedom and free will of choice. So, with them or without them I am. Thank you Jesus
Report Post »We Are Not Alone
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:03pmAdd your comments
Report Post »momsense
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:50pmI really wish that people would leave gays alone, but I also wish that gays wouldn‘t push the fact that they’re gay under everyone’s nose either. I’ve known both gays and straights, and truthfully , I see nothing wrong with most gays.Let God be the judge of the morality issues and if you don’t like them leave them alone and mind your business.
Report Post »angrymob
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:07pm“Let God be the judge of the morality issues and if you don’t like them leave them alone and mind your business.”
Report Post »*******************************
I think a lot of us Christians are well meaning – we just don’t want to see it come down to a person actually being judged by God or ending up in hell for what they are doing. Personally, I love all people the same. Yet, I understand in life you can’t always get things your way – sometimes people are going to do what they want regardless – and we all NEED to get along.
clhathaway
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:58pmIt’s a tragedy when somone commits suicide, and I find bullying reprehensible. But, and this may seem insensitive to some, it seems that the reason that gays are always so in-your-face about their lifestyle and demanding that we accept it is the same reason they are more prone to suicide. They are fragile overly sensitive and broken people, alienated from their own nature. What self-loathing they must naturally feel. So naturally they overcompensate by demanding that no one criticize them. Bullying them doesn’t help them, but neither does pretending that they are okay. They need to know that there is hope for them and meaning for their lives even if they never straighten out their sexual feelings.
Report Post »hiramsmaxim
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:38pmyup figured
Report Post »angrymob
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:56pmLol! It says you have to wait a few minutes for your post to go up. It‘s nothing against you I’m sure…:)
Report Post »hiramsmaxim
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:38pmhmmm?
Report Post »hiramsmaxim
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:37pmwhy dont my post go up
Report Post »hiramsmaxim
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:34pmRemember a bully bleeds just like you get the advantage and whack him out. It is better than turning the cheek 27 times thinking something else will happen. If you have the guts to horrify your family or feel so sorry for yourself to the point you take your own life do the impossible and turn your anger to a positive and give yourself a break and do what you gotta do. You will be stronger for it. NEVER EVER GIVE UP EVER, they are human just like well maybe they aren’t human but they bleed.
Report Post »BRAVEHEART
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:48pmI think most of them will go home and whine and cry like the little sissies they really are !
Report Post »Nvrforget
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:57pmThat really depends. Bullying isn’t fun if you have a chance of losing, so they’re usually a group of people. Also, in the digital world of today, bullying doesn’t stop when the kids get home. They keep getting bullied on the social sites like facebook or by instant messaging. There was a very sad and disturbing, albeit interesting case about that a while back:
http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/the-real-mean-girls-15-year-old-girl-commits-suicide-after-intense-bullying/
A clique of girls bully the new girl just for being pretty and popular until she commits suicide, in part by the methods I named further up. None of the girls say they regret anything, one even says that she got what she deserved.
Report Post »BRAVEHEART
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:21pmBullying is wrong under any circumstances. But Homosexuals need to keep their mouths shut and go home and suck on whatever their little heart desires. They have every right to be as perverse as they want, but to bring it into the public social arena is a deliberate attempt to bully the public to condone deviant perverse behavior. ****’s should go ahead and suck their heads off, but do it in the privacy of their own homes!
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:32pmTo me homosexuality is a sin but we are all sinners in one way or another, if we would just treat all people like we would like to be treated, everything would be butter.
Report Post »hiramsmaxim
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:39pmlet me try this
Report Post »Paul G
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:22pmJeeesh!!! is this a site of a bunch of has been weenies? Bullying? I’m 50…I went through it…I’m sure my dad and his great great great…it’s life!…what a bunch of weenies here…so all you ‘bullied’ weenies here? You want a new law? I mean , another one? I put my TP over the top in the bathroom….you want a law about that next? God! this sounds like a post for never has beens…
Report Post »Prestonian
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:29pmDid someone say something about a law? I must have missed that one.
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:38pmNo this site it full of people looking towards the actual future not nostalgia freaks who can’t seem to figure out that today is not your yesteryear. This is funny in that you are posting this on a media that was non-existent in your wonder years. See my posts to Ga. Tea Party for clarification. Your comment is like riding a bike center lane on a super highway
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 12:26pmYou are a jackass, do you also have a bumpersticker that reads “my bully beat up your honor student”? People condoning this type of behavior ticks me off. By the way, I am not a crybaby or a wimp, in fact, I grew up farming and ranching and have always been very strong, I stood up for any kid that was being bullied (probable by someone just like you). We don‘t want our children to have to fight just because they don’t conform to what may be the norm in someone elses eyes.
Report Post »rolandg79
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:16pmits so sad how people wine and cry about being bullied, ONE thing thats not being taught anymore is to stand up for ones self and others, kids are being taught to be tolorant and weak. The schools teach that everyone is equeal in stead of being a COMPETITOR to bring out CONFIDENCE As a skinny kidd a (twig) i was called bones, Ive been in many fights with bullies, they thaught i would not stand up for myself and others. Ive lost plenty and held my own lol. For me I was taught your only a loser if you dont try, and winners helps others to succeed and try harder. Everthing is Earned NOT Given. Give is Slavery of Luxory and False Hope. I just hope my little one thinks outside the box and ask questions, debates or confronts if needed. Different times, different times…
Report Post »rolandg79
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:26pmI was brought up in a single parent home. My mom is my hero. If I offend anyone Im sorry
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:46pmDid you even watch the video above put any real thought into what you are saying? You equivalence of tolerance and weakness is just one sign that you are arrogant and deluded. You personal experiences are only anecdotal to the cases at hand and your comment is void of any actual facts. This land was establish on the principle that “All men were created equal”. It seems that is just too much for you to have that even taught in schools. For you little ones sake, be an example and do some research with critical thinking before speaking out against that which you do not know.
Report Post »BRAVEHEART
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:14pmBeing different and engaging in perverse behavior are not the same thing . Anyone unable to comprehend the important difference lacks understanding.
Report Post »mintyfresh
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:39pmyou are the reason that this vicious bullying is propagated through generations. teaching hate leads to violence down the line. and you should be ashamed. please keep your idiocy indoors where i don’t have to see you making these crazy statements in public, as i believe your stupidity is an abomination. that is your advise to gay people, right?
Report Post »Star Spangled
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:01pmNO one should be made to feel less of a person because they are different . What ever happened to “ To each his own” & “ Live and let live ” Those are American concepts . Remember ” Life , liberty and pursuit of happiness ”
Report Post »What this guy did took courage and he may be saving lives . I don’t agree with his life style but I defend his right to be who he is .
Nvrforget
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:07pmRight on, that’s the spirit!
Report Post »BRAVEHEART
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:58pmEncouraging Gay teens to hang tough and stay strong may actually be a dangerous theory. It may be
Report Post »wiser to encourage them to stay in the closet and keep their behavior private. This policy worked for many years and would probably still succeed. When gays began to demand that the american public condone their deviant behavior they stepped over the decency line in my opinion !
maryslittlelamb
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 12:50amBraveheart, I agree about using discretion in keeping personal behavior private whether it’s homosexuality, promiscuity or other activity that the doer knows good and well is not accepted by mainstream society. It’s called self-preservation.
The crap about “let it all hang out” and not caring “what other people think of you” was started in the cultural revolution of the 60′s for the purpose of destroying moral standards in America. I don‘t think the promoters of those views meant to get kids killed but I also don’t think they care if there are a few casualties along the way, they just want to destroy America any way they can and at any cost.
I have complete sympathy for the plight of some poor kid who realizes he (or she) is fundamentally different from his classmates but encouraging that kid to be openly “proud” of it is tantamount to throwing him under a buzzsaw. Human nature is what it is and no amount of misplaced “pride” is going to change that.
Report Post »maryslittlelamb
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:21amBTW, while I do not condone persecution or violence against anyone I do reserve the right to consider homosexuals “unfortunate” because of their deviance from the mainstream. I also reserve the right to consider open promiscuity “slutty behavior” and will exercise my right to avoid friendships with the latter. There is a saying that if you remember the 60‘s you weren’t really there. Well, I remember them all to well and thought then as I do now that moral decency is part of the foundation of civilized society.
Report Post »SafeguardOurLiberty
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:40pmYou are an imbecile!
Report Post »godlovinmom
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:52pmwhether homosexuality is a sin or not…bullying anyone for anything is wrong..too many people are doing it…children and adults…and why not God…my life has been soooo much better since I have come to know Jesus …and I wish that for everyone….
Report Post »SgtBarrett
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:34pmI got picked on as well. I was a wimpy little kid, but I didn’t feel like killing myself because my heart belonged to God. I didn’t see my situation as hopeless because my hope was in God.
Hopelessness and despair happen directly because we are too distant in our relationship with God.
Report Post »Am I wrong?
MrButcher
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:43pmyes.
hopelessness and despair are states of mind.
if you don’t like how you feel, change the way you think and the way you act.
the less you bring superstitious beings into your reasoning process the better your reasoning will be.
have fun and fight the good fight.
Report Post »angrymob
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:47pmNo, you are not wrong.
BUT we are talking about people who cause others to take their lives…not just personal sins. When you combine the two you have a recipe for trouble.
Jesus said “don’t judge others” – other people might not be as strong as you. I’ve battled depression in my life before I became a Christian – you never know what’s going on inside a person…that‘s why it’s best to be nice to people.
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:26pmYour statement makes the assumption that the suicidal or depressed are not religious in themselves. There is no evidence for this. Heck, Utah, a state with a majority being Mormon, has some of the highest depression(1st) and suicide(10th) rates in the country. To say that these people were to distant from God is a non sequitur, it has nothing to do with that. The best way to think about these cases and the issue at hand is such: Adolescents are one of the hardest groups of the general population to teach and get important information through to. Depression is a slippery slope even in the best of times and causes “walls of poor reasoning” to be drawn. Combine the two situations into one person and you will begin to see the problem in teenagers in general. Then factor in a more efficient and persistent bully than that of yesterday. Only then, can you begin to understand has tragic these loses are in particular.
Report Post »AnotherWay
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:28pm“What the world needs now, is love, sweet, love. No, not just for some–but for everyone.”
Jackie DeShannon Lyric / 1965
Report Post »clhathaway
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:18pmThe fact is, if you don‘t own up to the fact that your brokeness and sin needs to be laid at God’s feet rather than clung to it doesn’t matter how much “better” it gets. If you are with God and know it all the bullying in the world can’t touch you.
Report Post »MrButcher
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:39pmi disagree with everything you just wrote.
vicarious redemption is ridiculous.
if you are really “broken” and wrong then you need to own up to it and deal with it yourself as an individual.
——————————————–
but, i take it, you’re operating under the belief that homosexuality is a “sin” and thus, the ones who are being picked on and bullied need to submit to this vicarious redemption of yours, go straight and everything will be fine.
all i can say is: no.
Report Post »clhathaway
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 10:49pmEveryone’s broken, everyone’s a sinner. But hey, if you think you can get to heaven on your own steam and merits have at it. That is a suicidal course by definition.
Report Post »MrButcher
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 12:50ameveryone is not broken.
everyone is not a sinner
everyone is natural
everyone will die
“IT” is all about what you do while the blood is pumping through the veins and the oxygen is flowing in the lungs.
be good and just
life is life
that’s it
do it right
while you have it
death is
Report Post »unkowable
except for
the insane.
clhathaway
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 9:16amButcher, if there is no God, as you seem to believe, there is no such thing as good or just beyond the biological imperative to survive and reproduce. Eat or be eaten, leave the weak to die. By that code these wesaklings who can’t take the abuse of bullies are right to take themselves out of the gene pool and feeding trough. Any other “moral” sensibility must be imported from some form of “primitive religion”.
Atheists love to proclaim how moral they can be without God. But they do so barrowing a morality they could not create or justify by their beliefs.
Report Post »MrButcher
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 2:34pmclhathaway, if you’re trying to suggest that prior to moses going up mt. sinai for his meeting with the big guy there was no morality and everyone went around killing and stealing you’re wrong.
Morality is not a product of religion. Good and evil are man-made concepts. Religion has tried to co-opt morality and has been very sucessful in the minds of many ignorant individuals of doing so.
it’s just not true. these things are inate to humanity.
sorry.
Report Post »angrymob
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:15pm“Burns, who is openly gay, prefaced his appeal by recounting several of the recent cases in which teens across the U.S. had killed themselves after being targeted by anti-gay bullying.”
Report Post »*************************
I understand his concern – hazing has become worse through the years. So bad that people want to end their lives over it. We need to be witnesses of Christ’s compassion and not hateful to them…”Love conquers a multitude of sins.”
mcellu
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:48pmI’m not sure if hazing has become worse over the years, but it certainly was NOT published on the internet for the whole world to see. Bullies have been around since the dawn of man and kids need to know – ESPECIALLY from their parents – that they have a safe harbor to return to when things get tough. We love our kids unconditionally.
Report Post »Nvrforget
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:58pm“We love our kids unconditionally.”
We do, yes. But the kids don’t know that. They believe that when they come out to their parents their parents will hate them, too. That’s why most gay people are “in the closet” for 20+ years.
Report Post »WhiteFang
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 11:30amWe live in a society that will always judge a person as to how he acts. It is human nature to either accept or reject a certain behavior. Most people as they grow up recognize what is accepted in their society and conforms to it, thus gaining success in life. Some however choose to push for another “way” and they meet with opposition. So, who’s fault is it? Is it our established society who is wrong, or is it the fault of the the deviant? Every choice we make has either a positive result or negative reaction. We reap what we sow. Perhaps it would be good have the strength to accept the consequences of our choices and quit crying.
Report Post »Blacktooth
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 1:38pmLooks like whitefang and blacktooth agree. Do you remember the “Soupy Sales Show” in the 60′s?
Report Post »Nvrforget
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:06pmThis video won’t hurt anyone, and if this guy keeps one person from committing suicide I say more power to him.
Report Post »Prestonian
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:22pmI totally agree Nvrforget. Hope some troubled kid sees this and is helped by it. I do not support gay marriage, but I can’t believe that these feelings are a choice. This is something I want to ask God about someday.
Report Post »Nvrforget
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:46pmYes. High school is a very difficult time, especially if you’re different. Kids are insecure and will oust others at the drop of a hat, not realizing what kind of damage they can do with that kind of behavior. I used to be nerdy and got my fair share of hazing, but I cannot even begin to imagine how bad it would’ve been had I been gay.
I, also, do not believe that homosexual attraction is a choice and I hope that one day these gay teens grow up to live happy, productive and full lives. And if this councilman shows them that they too, can be successful and respected despite all the bullying and adversity I see nothing but good coming from that.
Report Post »Ga. Tea Party
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 7:47pmI was bullied badly and lived through it all and am fine and I was not a pervert. Give me a break.
Robert W
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 7:58pmSuicide comes from desperation. Invite God into your life. Hes all about mercy.
Report Post »We Are Not Alone
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:02pmYou think you’re fine, but you sound cruel and angry…. maybe not everybody is as tough as you were.
Report Post »snowleopard3200
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:18pm@Robert W
true about the desperation, another part to consider is that at desperation you may also feel there is nothing left to lose and strike back with such force that suprises the opposition – because when you reach the time of feeling your life is about to be end game, you get so blasted angry all that you see is the object hurting you to be taken down at the same time as yourself.
At that point you do commit another form of suicide, just determined not to go down without taking a peice of the problem with you.
Some of us survive this part – and lose a peice of ourselves at the same time.
Report Post »PlaneRick
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:09pmGa. Tea Party,
Report Post »You ignorance is sad and not completely surprising. You sound like you weren’t bullied enough to have near an understanding of this topic in specifics. Just because you might have gotten razzed on by friends or classmates isn’t the bullying talked about in this article. Some studies have shown that reported bullying is usually the least consequential of the actually happenings and because of the fatal consequences, the full extent in these cases will never be known.
For those who think it is okay, please realize that bullying is much farther reaching than it was in our day. Not only have the internet brought us social networks and social network bullying. It has also brought easier dissemination of information that can be used by bullies. Address, social event calenders, Google Earth and many more resources for bullies have appeared with greater ease of use and availibility, which you seem to have no comprehension.
For those who think bullying is necessary in today’s society, you are making a case for increased attrition rates of innocent deaths. That is senseless. Teenagers are extremely susceptible to depression and suicidal tendencies due to physiological not just psychological changes without external pressures. Most will remember the things thought or done in adolescence that with future experience and hindsight seem ludicrous and stupid.
Shame on you Ga. Tea Party
Laura917
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 9:43pmAs a member of the Tea Party, I resent you putting such a hurtful remark to this article. Some may not agree with the lifestyle, but name calling and acceptance of any type of bullying is Not what the Tea Party stands for. I believe you to be a plant.
Report Post »BehindBlueEyes
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 7:40am@GA. TEA PARTY
Report Post »Your not fine. The bullying obviously has had an adverse effect on you.
jedi.kep
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 8:00amI agree. I was bullied, and even suffered a fractured arm because of one bully. It was part of growing up. Deal with your place in the food chain and get over it. All this crying and whining is pathetic. Get some thicker skin kid and deal with it. The bullying will go on no matter how many ‘laws’ they pass. Anyone with common sense can see that.
Report Post »ProudDad
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 9:11amSpoken like a true Tea Party “plant”.
Report Post »MrButcher
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 7:44pmthere is only one way to confront a bully: punch ‘em in the nose.
Report Post »snowleopard3200
Posted on October 16, 2010 at 8:08pmThere is no excuse for harassment or bullying of anyone – for any reason at all. I cannot understand why some people will believe suicide is the only way out, nor am I likely to ever understand.
The series of incidences with this harrassing is also exemplified by the cruelty one neighbour carried out against a young girl with a terminal illness, according to the story a few days ago on the Blaze. And it stemmed from the girls mother not getting back in touch fast enough with a neighbour who invited herself and her kids over to a party.
America needs to stop the bullying and the harassing.
This is one reason I do my artwork, and wish to share of it. I seek to bring joy to people, even if it is not understood they may see something nice within it.
http://www.artinphoenix.com/gallery/grimm (mixed art)
bryan4980
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 2:17amThey will have to deal with it all their lives, if they are sheltered no one is doing then any good. It would be better for them to get bullied so they learn to stand up to the bullies they will be a better person for it. This doesn’t just go for gay people but for everyone.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 11:28amMy son gets bullied all the time and I always told him to ignore it, when it got too bad I told him to hit them, more recently they knocked him off his bike and stomped on his hands. Bullying is NOT ok if you think this kind of intentional torture and infliction of emotional and sometimes physical pain is good for a kid you are as twisted as they are. By the way my son is tortured every day by these animals because he likes to wear his hair long.
Report Post »NoName22
Posted on October 17, 2010 at 12:47pmSome bullies do it because they are raised in an awful home environment. They may not be victims in the bullying scenario but they may be victim in a different aspect (drunken dad, absent mom) who knows? Nobody around to show them what compassion is. If a parent is beating on their kid, it’s easy to see how that behavior is carried on.
Hey, I got picked on. Ignoring it isn’t always enough, you gotta stand up sometimes, maybe at the risk of a broken nose. A sharp tongue helps to. But NEVER SWING FIRST.
This is a product of a society that promotes popularity in schools and competition based on looks, friends, money, cars…….
Like the councilmen said, focus on your grades, you’ll be out of school and away from those people eventually. You’ll still meet mean people, but it’s not in that everyday school environment.
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