Friday, October 01, 2010

Bullying and an Epidemic of Suicides

It seems wrong to put the letter "s" on the end of suicide: suicides. A person's choice to end his or her life is a singular event, it isn't a fad, choosing the finality of death is a rejection of life, and it is it impossible for us, the living, to imagine the pain that leads to that decision.

September was a terrible month for young gay people committing suicide as a response to bullying: suicides. With an "s" on the end.

Wednesday, a gay student named Raymond Chase hanged himself in his dorm room at the campus of Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island. He was the fifth young gay person to commit suicide in the past three weeks. There is, at this time, not much information available about Chase's death.

Earlier this month, in Greensburg Indiana, Billy Lucas hanged himself in a barn. From a poignant news story:
Jade Sansing met Billy as he was being harassed a year ago. She tells 24 Hour News 8 of his final days “everything seemed normal, but he did tell me some people were making fun of him and I told him I would help him and I did.” Help from Jade is now memories in the Facebook memorial page she created. She says, “I made a Billy Lucas memorial page so I could say my last goodbyes and everyone could know about the bullying.” She had to make her last goodbyes on the internet because there was no public funeral for Billy. Jade says the bullies would call Billy “gay and tell him to go kill himself.” Karen questions, “You actually heard people tell him go kill yourself?” She answers “yes”. Teen suicide victim hangs himself from barn rafters


In Texas, eighth-grader Asher Brown killed himself.
Asher Brown's worn-out tennis shoes still sit in the living room of his Cypress-area home while his student progress report — filled with straight A's — rests on the coffee table.

The eighth-grader killed himself last week. He shot himself in the head after enduring what his mother and stepfather say was constant harassment from four other students at Hamilton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.

Brown, his family said, was "bullied to death" — picked on for his small size, his religion and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes. Kids also accused him of being gay, some of them performing mock gay acts on him in his physical education class, his mother and stepfather said.

The 13-year-old's parents said they had complained about the bullying to Hamilton Middle School officials during the past 18 months, but claimed their concerns fell on deaf ears. Parents say bullies drove their son to take his life: They claim school district took no action


Tehachapi, California, is a desert town in the mountains of central California. The news this week, from CBS News:
Seth Walsh, a 13-year-old California middle school student, died in the hospital on Tuesday, days after he attempted to take his own life after reportedly enduring relentless bullying.

Seth, a student at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi, Calif., was found unconscious and not breathing on Sept. 19 after he apparently tried to hang himself from a tree in his backyard, according to a police report obtained by The Bakersfield Californian.

Friends told NBC affiliate KGET that Seth had been picked on for years because he was gay.

Police investigators interviewed some of the young people who taunted Seth the day he hanged himself, and determined despite the tragic outcome of their ridicule, their actions do not constitute a crime, reported KGET.

"Several of the kids that we talked to broke down into tears," Jeff Kermode, Tehachapi Police Chief, said. "They had never expected an outcome such as this." Seth Walsh: Gay 13-Year-Old Hangs Self After Reported Bullying

And there is the problem. They thought their cruelty would have no effect. These monsters may live the rest of their lives believing it was just a joke that the kid took badly.

At Rutgers University, Tyler Clementi's roommate secretly videotaped him with a male date and posted the video on the Internet.
Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old freshman, was a gifted violinist, a quiet young man who kept things to himself. Sadly and tragically, his life was cut short. Clementi’s roommate, freshman Dharun Ravi, and another student, Molly Wei recorded a private moment between Clementi and another man, uploaded the video to the internet, sharing the intimate and private life of Clementi.

In great distress at this becoming knowledge to the world, Clementi took his own life, jumping off the George Washington bridge into the Hudson River.

Before Clementi’ suicide, he left a message on the gay community message board two days after finding the video online.

“He … saw me making out with a guy,” the message reads. “The school (probably) won’t do much of anything.”

Clementi attempted to speak to an adviser at his college, however what was actually done about this is unknown.

Ravi, his room mate, tweeted “Roommate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly’s room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay.” Rutgers Student Death – Did Tyler Clementi VIDEO Lead To Suicide

Uh, the answer there is "Yes," the video did lead to suicide. The roommate humiliates this student in front of the whole world and then he kills himself, and the question is, is there a connection? Yes, there is a connection.

Anyone reading this understands what the problem is. We may label it "bullying" but it's worse than that. The bullying exists in an atmosphere that tolerates it. In every one of these cases you will find that the brutal bullies and the authorities who enabled them are shocked to discover that someone's feelings were being hurt, that someone experienced their own life as being so painful that they would choose to end it, would decide to eliminate the possibility of all future decisions. The bullies and their "adult" enablers cannot comprehend that a gay teenager has feelings, is vulnerable, that their words and actions cause actual hurt.

The Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) released the results of their 2009 National School Climate Survey two weeks ago:
The 2009 survey of 7,261 middle and high school students found that at school nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harassment at school in the past year and nearly two-thirds felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation. Nearly a third of LGBT students skipped at least one day of school in the past month because of safety concerns. 2009 National School Climate Survey: Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT Students Experience Harassment in School

This isn't a case of a few schoolyard bullies, this is institutionalized harassment. Click that link and read the rest of the survey results. It's a stinking mess out there.

Oddly, some who represent themselves as Christian and pro-family want to make sure bullying remains legal, at least bullying of gay students. Senator Bob Casey:
The Safe Schools Improvement Act, introduced in the House by Congresswoman Linda Sanchez, would require schools and districts receiving designated federal funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including conduct based on a student's actual or perceived race, color, national original, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or religion.

This bill has widespread support from educators, administrators, civil rights organizations and the National PTA. Yet, Focus on the Family has launched a campaign to brand the bill part of a vast LGBT conspiracy "to promote homosexuality to kids" and to push a "pro-gay curricula." Focus on the Family Stands Up for Bullying

Anti-gay bigotry is the root of the harassment that has led to five self-inflicted deaths of young people in one month. As long as you can believe that LGBT people choose their sexual identities, that they are making a moral decision that mocks a traditional view of righteousness, you may feel justified in bullying, in harassment of sexual minorities. The long-term solution is education.

These young lives were filled with potential, with hope, and they were driven into the ground by ignorance and hate. It is the responsibility of every well-intentioned citizen to speak up and speak out against this institutionalized hatred, to see that these bright young lives reach maturity. Make sure young people know It Gets Better.

63 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

don't understand how the Clementi incident qualifies as bullying

seems like a roommate prank that went bad

would it have been bullying if the video showed a hetero encounter?

October 01, 2010 10:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

October 01, 2010 11:20 AM  
Anonymous Aunt Bea said...

Thank you, Jim, for shining the spotlight on the terrible consequences of constant bullying LGBT students endure in our schools day after day.

Yes, Anon. What the live streaming roommate felt was a "prank" was actually an invasion of his gay roommate's privacy and that's the crime the two bullies, not pranksters, have been charged with.

Some people are happy to rest knowing we have laws to deal with this situation after the crime has occurred, but IMHO we can do better. We can and should prevent situations that lead to these outcomes with programs like MCPS's revised sex education classes on "Respect for Difference in Human Sexuality."

It's time to stop the bullying and the body countS.

Let's teach the facts and let our students learn that the differences between us -- from religious views to sexual orientation and gender identity -- should be respected rather than mocked and scorned.

October 01, 2010 11:46 AM  
Blogger JimK said...

Try to keep it relevant, Anon. This post describes a serious problem, it has nothing to do with politics.

JimK

October 01, 2010 11:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't think it was bullying

from the accounts I read, this guy didn't feel intimidated or harrassed by his roommate, they got along fine

there is some twitter activity out there from Clementi talking about how he told the roommate a guy was coming over

for all the roommate knew, Clementi was out

as for Jim's "serious" problem, it's a tragedy but so are all the other suicides that happen every year

every year, kids kill themselves because they got bad grades in school

should we outlaw grades?

not saying we shouldn't, but why isn't the media all over that?

the homosexual angle doesn't make it more or less of a tragedy

why is more being made of these gay suicides than other suicides?

it's the media's sensational story of the month

October 01, 2010 2:07 PM  
Anonymous David S. Fishback said...

If elements of our society stopped seeking to marginalize people who happen to be gay, then there would be much less cruel bullying and gay people would not feel the need to keep their sexual orientation a secret from their families and the other people in their lives.

Needless cruelty makes the world a darker place. Those who would tolerate such cruelty are part of the problem.

October 01, 2010 2:42 PM  
Blogger Hazumu Osaragi said...

Yet, Focus on the Family has launched a campaign to brand the bill part of a vast LGBT conspiracy "to promote homosexuality to kids" and to push a "pro-gay curricula." Focus on the Family Stands Up for Bullying

How many times I've seen/read/heard this crap: -turn your kids gay/trans-, -vast conspiracy-, etc. And a nice tactic it is, as some tie themselves in knots trying to avoid being labeled as such while trying to stop the discrimination and achieve civil rights equality, while it encourages others that it's all right to keep on being their bigoted selves. (I have no illusions that the bigotry is directed just at LGBT. As Prof. Bob Altemeyer stated, bigotry and prejudice comes in a pretty much standard package, with LGBT sharing space with prejudice for race, religion and different socioeconomic status. they're truly equal-opportunity haters.)

[Screw] it, I'm ready to fight to shove the 'homosexual agenda', whatever that is, down their throat. I'm ready to try to turn every one of their kids gay (or trans), I'm ready to make their worst nightmares come true, realizing that that nightmare is not that the whole world turned non-procreatively 'gay', but that 'the f@**ots' coldn't be bullied with impunity any more.

October 01, 2010 8:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, wasn't that instructive ?
Are you a public school teacher by any chance Hazumu...

October 01, 2010 10:15 PM  
Blogger Hazumu Osaragi said...

Thank you, Anonymous, for reminding me of what I left out of my post.

You can't make someone gay or trans. Trying to do so is a waste of time.

Even if there were a government-led 'Manhattan Project' to turn every child into a non-procreative gay/lesbian/trans (to, say, stop 'global warming', or solve the energy crisis,) 90% to 95% of the kids would still be opposite-sex attracted and prone to spontaneous procreation. The project would be a failure, even though the proponents would hold up the very few naturally-occurring gay/lesbian/transgenders as 'proof' that the program was a success and could achieve their goals if everyone -just- -prayed- -hard- -enough-...

And, Anonymii, you ask if I'm 'a public teacher by chance'.

Yes, as a matter of fact...

...if that's what scares and enrages you the most.

October 02, 2010 12:16 AM  
Anonymous liberals lie said...

no one is "scared" or "enraged" about gays, Hazmat

there is a gay agenda

it is detrimental to society

just cold hard facts

"(Oct. 1) -- New Jersey prosecutors are considering additional charges against two Rutgers students who allegedly streamed a classmate's gay sexual encounter over the Internet.

"we will be making every effort to assess whether bias played a role in the incident, and, if so, we will bring appropriate charges," Middlesex County prosecutor Bruce J. Kaplan said.

Earlier this week, Dharun Ravi and Molly Wei, were charged with two counts of invasion of privacy for using a camera to transmit an image of Tyler Clementi, who was Ravi's roommate.

There has been speculation in the media that Kaplan's comment could mean he is considering charging Ravi and Wei with a hate crime.

Steve Cron, a veteran criminal defense attorney in Santa Monica, Calif., said he thinks it is unlikely that hate crime charges will be levied. He doesn't see any grounds for such charges.

"I just don't see it," Cron said. "They have got the invasion of privacy, but I don't see it going any further than that unless there is something they are privy to that I'm not."

"Yes, they embarrassed him, but there has to be some intent," he said. "Just because a guy jumps off a bridge doesn't mean he jumped off the bridge because of that. He is not around to say what his motives are. It is wrong, and it shouldn't have happened, but did they really intend for this to happen? I don't think so, and I don't see how you are going to hold them responsible."

Cron said he believes prosecutors are under pressure to hold Ravi and Wei accountable and are trying to appease an angry public.

In fact, an online search suggests many believe they deserve lengthy prison sentences. As of today, nearly 10,000 people had joined a Facebook group called "Manslaughter Charges for Dharun Ravi & Molly Wei."

One poster wrote "They should be ashamed of themselves and I hope they rot in jail."

Friends have spoken out on behalf of Ravi, describing him as an outgoing individual who enjoys playing pranks.

"I definitely don't think it was a hate crime," Ravi's high school friend Jeremiah Ward, 20, said. "I think it was 'I want to play a prank' ... I guess it escalated to something bigger."

Another friend, Derek Yan, 16, who attended high school with Ravi and Wei, said that neither of them was homophobic.

"He had gay friends," Yan said of Ravi. "He said he was lucky to have a good roommate. He said his roommate was cool."

A resident of Clementi and Ravi's dorm, who didn't want to be identified, told The Philadelphia Inquirer he had seen Ravi and Clementi together and "there was no tension."

Regardless of whether additional charges are filed against either of the defendants, they are already facing consequences, Cron said.

"They're looking at jail time now, probably getting expelled from school, and their names and pictures are all over the Internet," he said. "They are going to have to go hide someplace because they have been uniformly vilified. It's not like it's a walk in the park.

"I'm not saying we should applaud these kids by a long shot, but did they really intend for this to happen?""

It doesn't matter.

This is too good an opportunity for exploitation for the gay agenda to pass up.

Right, Hazmat?

October 02, 2010 2:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

More people are getting their news about the upcoming election from cable television than any other source, and from Fox News more than any other channel, according to a POLITICO/GWU Battleground Poll.

The poll found that 81 percent get their news about the midterm elections from cable channels, compared with 71 percent from national network news channels.

Among cable news channels, Fox was the clear winner, with 42 percent saying it is their main source, compared with 30 percent who cited CNN and 12 percent who rely on MSNBC.

How did MSNBC get to this state?

After all, NBC had a long history in television news, starting decades before CNN and even longer than Fox. Its partnership with Microsoft should have given the cable news network a distinct advantage. Their roster of news anchors, present and future, should have immediately challenged CNN and Fox.

Under the direction of GE’s Jeff Immelt, though, NBC’s cable network went for the full-insane demographic.

Fox took CNN’s talking-head format and simply reversed the bias, although Fox rightly argues that it presents more opposing viewpoints than CNN did as part of their establishment talent and not just occasional guests and party spinmeisters.

NBC decided to emulate Air America with its cable lineup instead, perhaps seeing some opportunity in the last Bush term to capitalize on his unpopularity and become a center of opposition opinion.

Rather than accomplish that, the decision by NBC has not just destroyed MSNBC’s credibility but also NBC’s as well.

With the exception of Joe Scarborough, who is hard to pigeonhole but certainly isn’t a hard-Left hysteric, the entire lineup is exactly what one would find on the failed libtalker radio network. It’s no coincidence that two of its featured hosts come straight out of Air America, Rachel Maddow and Ed Schultz.

Maddow has, at least, produced a watchable show, albeit with a hard-Left tilt that clearly is out of touch with the mainstream, but Schultz is barely coherent. Top that off with a daily “news” broadcast from Keith Olbermann that almost literally consists of a Two Minute Hate (Olbermann’s WPIW lists), and it’s a recipe for the kind of disaster that only political hacks could love. The wonder is that GE and NBC apparently seem content to alienate 88% of the viewing audience with its trainwreck theater.

October 02, 2010 3:13 AM  
Blogger Hazumu Osaragi said...

Greetings, @liberals lie;

I'm not arguing with you or any of the other Anonymii here. My provocative statements are designed to, well, provoke already unhinged postings and responses from you to be more unhinged. It helps normal people clearly see how out of touch you are.

See, normal people - the majority - don't see gays as - as one anonymii asserted - 'detrimental to society'.

That's just a few of you over in the corner saying it over and over again until it sounds to you like it must be - yep - 'everybody' - who believes it to be true.

But you really need to get out more. Leave your friends and the pistol at home. It's not that dangerous.

I remind you - I'm not writing to you. You're not that important. You are just a foil. Continue to take advantage of Jim's dedication to the free speech clauses in the First Amendment, and post your 'truth'. I (and, I hope, others) will continue to drop by and provoke you into revealing just how not-normal you really are.

G'night...

October 02, 2010 4:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

liberals lament's entire fear-mongering post about hate crime charges being brought was based on "SPECULATION in the media that Kaplan's comment COULD mean he is CONSIDERING charging Ravi and Wei with a hate crime."

Why limit discussions to facts when speculation can be so much more effective at scaring people about some sort of "agenda?" Fear-mongering tops the list of methods to sway public opinion for those whose agenda is liberty=freedom to discriminate against fellow citizens.

Too bad we won't get to see the videotapes of pro-discrimination fear-mongerer James O'Keefe's attempt to seduce a CNN reporter on a sex toy filled boat!

Conservative activist James O'Keefe's latest caper: Trying to punk CNN reporter
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2010/09/rs-_okeefe.html

O'Keefe intended to make a videotape of what he imagined would become private sexual behavior and stream it out all over the internet in the interest of his personal vendetta against a CNN reporter who wanted to include him in a documentary about rising stars in the conservative moment. Thank goodness his female assistant this time had more sense than he does. I guess O'Keefe is just another "prankster" Anon.

October 02, 2010 9:42 AM  
Anonymous grantdale said...

We are honestly sorry that decent parents like you, Jim and David, have to be witness to this type abuse. The past week has been revolting.

When not even suicides cause them to stop and pause you know you are dealing with depraved, dessicated, self-abusive people.

As much as our parents and siblings wish to stand alongside, we still want to protect them as best we can. We both try to shield people from this river of hatred and we wouldn't ask them to be you for quids.

If you need reminding, again, even from the other side of the World, the decent people in Montgomery have inspired many others to not give up nor shut-up.

Seeing children grow up healthy, happy and independent is reward enough itself, we know; but at least also accept our heartfelt thanks. You guys honestly deserve it.

God only knows how you keep at it.

October 02, 2010 10:53 AM  
Blogger JimK said...

Good to hear from you, Grantdale! They say "the bad drives out the good" but we're not going to let it happen here.

JimK

October 02, 2010 11:02 AM  
Anonymous MADG said...

Briefly, yes, what happened to Tyler Clementi was bullying. How can anyone see what was done to him and not consider that to be emotional abuse?

October 02, 2010 6:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

it's not usually what's referred to as bullying or what most people think of as bullying

bullying is the use of force or coercion to affect behavior

there's little evidence of that here

as a matter of fact, there's every reason to believe the alleged perpetrators would not have done this if they had known it would cause harm

and, actually, it may have simply been a catalyst for an inner conflict soon to explode in the victim anyway

obviously, the privacy issue is a problem but it's one of the younger generation at large

they've got their whole life on their facebook page and they regularly hijack each other's passwords

privacy and public information have become a playground suitable for the pranking common among kids that age

it happens all the time

they've lost a sense of the importance of privacy

these two people really don't seem villainous enough to deserve to bear the sins of a whole generation

give it a rest

you can find more benign ways to push the noxious gay agenda

October 02, 2010 9:39 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There are a lot of questions. Are we speculating into this student’s mental thoughts? Does anyone really know what his problem was? Everybody is guessing. He could have been drunk. Who knows? He could have been suffering from depression or another mental disorder and no body knew. Maybe he was distressed over a bad grade or his dog died! The National Institute of Mental Health on Suicide list the risk factors for suicide, but bullying is not listed. According to the NIMH, committing suicide is not a normal solution to a problem. This student appears to have had mental health problems. He did not act normal. Could that be the real link to his suicide?
Why didn’t the other sex partner kill himself too? What happened to him? Did he coerce Mr. Clementi into the sex acts? Was Mr. Clementi a bisexual and experimenting?
Remember his image was also on the internet. Questions, questions….
Look at this person who committed suicide.
The parents of Austin Trenum, a Prince William County high school football player who committed suicide this week, will donate his brain to a center that studies a trauma-induced disease found in more than 20 deceased professional and collegiate players. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is linked to depression and impulse control. An autopsy recently found the disease in Owen Thomas, a University of Pennsylvania football player who committed suicide in April.

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/blogs/capital-land/parents-to-donate-teens-brain-for-concussion-research-104208503.html#ixzz11G3R0jvn

\
Don't jump to conclusions.

October 02, 2010 10:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"WASHINGTON -- Thousands of demonstrators rallied in Washington Saturday in a desperate attempt to build enthusiasm for liberal candidates one month before the elections.

The crowd on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, was mostly there to see a series of musicians and comedians. Sponsors of the event, called "One Nation Working Together," ironically sought to inspire antipathy against the Tea Party movement.

"Forty Republicans have decided to say, 'no,' while you suffer," Ed Shultz of MSNBC told the crowd."

uh, Ed

what are you talking about?

Republicans didn't stop your agenda

your agenda failed

"The rally attracted diverse concerns, some of which were reflected in signs they carried. "It is NOT ok to Bash Muslims," read one popular sign. There were also several attacks on conservatives.

"I want the Republicans to know that we're not afraid," said Ellen Vogel, who traveled to the rally from Alaska."

uh, Ellen

has someone been trying to scare you?

please, let's have some details

"Several people said they came to address an increasingly divided political environment.

"Over the past few years, there have been these forces that have done nothing but divide the nation," said Michael Fox of the American Federation of State, Country and Municipal Employees."

uh, Mike

the most divisive politician in America is in the White House

look around the country

Democrats are running personal attack ads and the Tea Party candidates are talking about issues

btw, the workers in your union are not too popular right now

""We're down here as disparate groups -- civil rights organizations, labor organizations, social justice organizations -- to demonstrate that people of all kinds can work towards a common goal, which is putting people back to work.""

sounds like every fruit and nut in America has rolled down to Washington

if you want people back to work, you can start by stopping the attacks on businesses who usually create those jobs

let the most capable be part of your "common goal"

"The need for jobs was also on Betsy Daly's mind. "People who are out of work are not lazy," said Daly."

uh, Betsy

no one said that

""They've been characterized as lazy, shiftless, worthless, unemployed people."

actually, that's what Obama has been going around saying about his base

"James White, who led the Sheet Metal Workers International Association, echoed her remarks. "We're here for one reason -- for jobs," he said. "We know the administration's trying, but the Congress and the Senate need to do something and pass a jobs bill.""

uh, James

you've joined the wrong protest

that Congress that isn't doing anything about jobs has huge Democrat majorities working closely with the White House

you need to join the Tea Party

"Al Sharpton delivered a populist speech on the strength of diversity.
"We bailed out the banks. We bailed out the insurance companies. And now it's time to bail out the American people," Sharpton declared."

uh, Al

your buddy, Barack, is the one who did all that bailing

""We need to organize to make sure that in the election this year, we're able to hold on to the gains we've made for equality," said Dan Hawes, who came to the rally with the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

uh, Dan

the gay agenda has been stopped

find another hobby

"The One Nation event mimicked a huge rally Aug. 28 on the same site by conservative talk show host Glenn Beck.

One Nation leaders said turnout for their event was not as bad as they had feared."

October 02, 2010 10:22 PM  
Anonymous Aunt Bea said...

Here's yet another example of the bullying of a gay student. This time it is an adult bully going after a gay college student who had the audacity to be elected as the President of the student body at the bully's alma mater

Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell
The state employee -- an adult -- is obsessed with, and harassing, a gay college student


An no Anon, Tyler Clement was not person with "an inner conflict soon to explode," although IMHO that description does sound a bit like you, now that you mention it.

Tyler Clement was a gifted student and musician who graduated high school with honors. Last night would have been Tyler's debut with the Princeton University Symphony Orchestra. Instead of using his violin to speak last night, Tyler's name was in the program and his seat sat empty during the concert debut he didn't live to experience because a couple of kids thought the public humiliation of their gay friend was just a "prank."

October 03, 2010 9:45 AM  
Anonymous David S. Fishback said...

Grantdale,

I want to join Jim in thanking you for your comments.

David

October 03, 2010 10:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Has anyone looked at the polls lately ?

Nothing said here on this site can upset me anymore, because the rest of the country is waking up...

Teach the Facts and their LOONEY TUNES friends will be out of power quickly.

Thank Goodness.

October 03, 2010 10:48 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Tyler Clement was not person with "an inner conflict soon to explode,""

"a couple of kids thought the public humiliation of their gay friend was just a "prank.""

how did they humiliate him?

unless you're saying being gay is humiliating, he didn't kill himself because of humiliation

he seems to have killed himself because people had found out he was having homosexual relationships

so, that would have happened eventually if he's doing this stuff in a shared dorm room

it was a situation waiting to explode

would the roommate be guilty of anything if he just told people Clementi was gay?

nothing illegal but the result might well have been the same

the lunatic fringe reaction to all this is actually demented and reminds me of another thing they commonly do

if anyone resists the gay agenda effectively, they usually try to insult them by saying they are gay

thus, they confirm that they think homosexuality is negative

similarly here, by saying someone "bullied" an individual by revealing they are gay, you confirm that you believe homosexuality is negative

October 03, 2010 1:28 PM  
Anonymous Aunt Bea said...

"how did they humiliate him?

unless you're saying being gay is humiliating, he didn't kill himself because of humiliation"

He was a teenager who thought he was alone in his dorm room (at Rutgers, not Princeton -- my bad) making out with a person he liked. But instead of remaining private, Tyler Clementi's private behavior was broadcast via live feed on the Internet without his knowledge or permission, but with Twitter postings announcing it inviting strangers to watch.

The New York Times reported these important facts:

"...On Sept. 19, Mr. Ravi messaged his Twitter followers that he had set up a webcam in his room and then watched from Ms. Wei’s room, adding that he saw Mr. Clementi “making out with a dude.”

The postings on the gay chat site last week, reported Wednesday on the Web site Gawker, appear to show Mr. Clementi’s reactions as he read Mr. Ravi’s posts about the camera, and the apparent disdain for his homosexuality.

“And so I feel like it was ‘look at what a fag my roommate is,’ ” he wrote on Sept. 21. “Other people have commented on his profile with things like ‘how did you manage to go back in there?’ and ‘are you ok?’ and the fact that the people he was with saw my making out with a guy as the scandal whereas I mean come on ... he was SPYING ON ME ... do they see something wrong with this?”

In earlier postings on the site, Mr. Clementi referred to his mother’s work as a nurse, his love of music and theater, his fair skin and red hair. The dates and details of the postings about the webcam surveillance match those given by prosecutors.

In his posts last week, Mr. Clementi appeared offended and unsure of what to do, but also logical and circumspect, even employing a bit of humor. “Revenge never ends well for me, as much as I would love to pour pink paint all over his stuff ... that would just let him win,” he wrote on Sept. 21.

But that evening, he wrote, he discovered his roommate’s camera was aimed at his bed, and he decided to tell a resident advisor...

...Through the postings on the site, Mr. Clementi himself could still be heard. Despite the personal revelations he had made online, there were certain things that he felt were strictly private, like displays of affection. “Anything beyond holding hands/linking arms while walking should generally be reserved for private settings,” he wrote.


Tyler Clementi was an excellent student, musician, and a good boy who thought romantic behavior beyond hand holding and arm linking while walking should be private, not public. He expressed no shame of being gay, but he did express his outrage and confusion about what to do because he was being spied on in his dorm room and his private behavior was being streamed to the public repeatedly against his will.

How many teenagers do you know would not be mortified with humiliation upon discovery that their private romantic behavior was secretly being streamed live on the internet for all the world to see, with announcements inviting strangers to watch it?

October 03, 2010 6:25 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Tyler Clementi was an excellent student, musician, and a good boy"

not one person has suggested anything else

"who thought romantic behavior beyond hand holding and arm linking while walking should be private, not public."

we all think that

every single one of us

now, convince the millions of teens who are accustomed to living every detail of their existence online

"He expressed no shame of being gay,"

really? then, why did he kill himself?

"but he did express his outrage and confusion about what to do because he was being spied on in his dorm room and his private behavior was being streamed to the public repeatedly against his will."

loss of privacy is an issue for every college student with a roommate

many colleges don't allow freshmen to choose their own roommates just to teach them to deal with these types of situations

couldn't Clementi just do his thing in his partner's room or somewhere else?

couldn't he just be careful what he did in his room until he figured out how to stop this

if the University allowed this invasion of privacy, they are guilty of something

but he didn't give the system much of a chance to work

if his RA wouldn't do anything, he definitely had other avenues to pursue

and while privacy should be respected, those who kill themselves over something like this can't throw blame on others

which is often what a suicidal person is trying to do

I notice Erin Andrews and Paris Hilton didn't try to take their lives

"How many teenagers do you know would not be mortified with humiliation upon discovery that their private romantic behavior was secretly being streamed live on the internet for all the world to see, with announcements inviting strangers to watch it?"

obviously, they all would

but those who would kill themselves over it are rare

let's not start down the road of justifying someone's decision to kill themself by pointing at whoever had last offended them

while we shouldn't lose compassion, let's not exalt suicide

a society that does that will have a lot more of it

October 03, 2010 9:28 PM  
Anonymous svelte_brunette said...

Anon informed the world:

“the gay agenda has been stopped”

What?!?! And nobody from the Gay Agenda National Headquarters told me??

What am I supposed to do with this case of “Everyone wants a little gayety in their marriage!” bumper stickers???

Oh man, I am SOOO bummed. Maybe I can make some new curtains out of all these rainbow flags.


In yet another psychological tour de force, Anon noted:

“and while privacy should be respected, those who kill themselves over something like this can't throw blame on others”


Dude, he’s dead. He can’t throw the blame on anyone. Get a clue.

When someone wants to blame someone else for something, they can go on-line, paint swastikas on them, and claim they’re going to be the end of our society as we know it, if we allow them to continue what they’re doing, not unlike Andrew Shirvell:

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwObjKZg9Jw )


“which is often what a suicidal person is trying to do”


When a person commits suicide it’s because they feel that there is no other way out of an absolutely miserable situation. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Tyler had to deal with a lot of crap from his classmates in high school, and was trying to keep a low profile in college and avoid repeats of all the harassment. His roommate’s invasion of his privacy and putting it all out there on the web ruined any hope of that.

“I notice Erin Andrews and Paris Hilton didn't try to take their lives”

Good for them. Of course Paris Hilton may not be a good comparison since she seems to be in a chemically induced state of mind much of the time, not unlike Rush Limbaugh. It probably takes the edge off a lot of crap like that.

October 04, 2010 1:42 AM  
Anonymous svelte_brunette said...

I wonder how you would take it if your daughter was featured in a surreptitiously acquired sex video. Somehow I don’t think you’d be so cavalier about what happened.


By the way, maybe you should call Pat Sajak and buy some punctuation.

On another note, since you seem to have difficulty reaching one of the shift keys with arthritic old fingers (so you can use CAPITALS in your sentences), there are some over-the-counter analgesics you can use – a lot of people recommend Ben GAY.


“let's not start down the road of justifying someone's decision to kill themselves (sic) by pointing at whoever had last offended them”

Yet again you seem to have an insurmountable problem with reading comprehension. Try re-reading what has been posted more slowly, with a dictionary so you can look up any words with more than six letters, and perhaps a tutor so you can UNDERSTAND what was actually said. No one ever once hinted at “justifying” his decision to kill himself.

“while we shouldn't lose compassion, let's not exalt suicide”

No one exalted suicide. Is English your first language?

After reading the anonymous conservative tripe posted on here for the past few years it is becoming more and more clear how and why conservatives have retained such a devoted base, and how party leaders have taken advantage of it.

From the leaked Republican party presentation ( http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2010/03/03/rnc_fundraising ) we know that party leaders don’t think much of the intelligence of their base, and aren’t afraid to manipulate them for their own ends. Keeping their message to a few simple one-liners like “cut taxes,” “WMD,” “War on Terror,” and “Obama is a socialist,” they keep what folks have to remember to a few trivial concepts even a 5th grader can understand - which is good, since what remained of their base that had 3 digits in their IQ scores seems to have left some time around 2005.

God forbid that we have a serious problem which requires someone to THINK through the consequences of multiple courses of action and weigh the options of each potential solution rather than mouth worn-out conservative platitudes.


Have a nice day,

Cynthia

October 04, 2010 1:42 AM  
Anonymous Aunt Bea said...

The point Anon (sometimes known as "ha-ha") misses is that it was not Tyler's sexual orientation that caused his death. It was the pain and suffering caused by the thoughtlessness of his "prankster" roomie who violated Tyler's privacy against his will and beamed Tyler's most private moments out on the Internet for all the world to see. Apparently the camera aiming roommate derived his own "ha-ha that's funny" satisfaction by violating Tyler's privacy in this way.

I am certain I am not the only one to see the similarity in Tyler's roommate's ha-ha satisfaction and Anon's bouts of gay and/or liberal bashing on this website.

Paris Hilton was born in 1981 and her sex tape was recorded in 2003, when she was 22 years old. She was already an adult and a well known attention seeking socialite from a rich family who had begun her fashion modeling career 2 years earlier in 2001. Using her family's resources, she sued the young heterosexual man who released the sex tape against her will to the Internet and was awarded $400,000 dollars for her pain and suffering.

Erin Andrews was born in 1978 and was secretly filmed in her hotel room in 2009 by a divorced heterosexual male when she was 31 years old, also an adult. Wikipedia reports In 2007 and 2008, she was voted "America's Sexiest Sportscaster" by Playboy magazine....On July 16, 2009, a video posted on the site "NSFW POA" hinted that a naked blond woman videotaped through a hotel peephole was a popular sports personality....On September 11, 2009, Andrews appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show in what Andrews called her "first and last interview" about the situation. Andrews described the situation as a "nightmare", and stated that at the time she discovered the video she believed her career would end.

On October 2, 2009, the FBI announced the arrest of a Chicago, Illinois area suspect. Michael David Barrett, a 47 year old divorced father, was charged with interstate stalking for taking the videos, posting the videos online and trying to sell them to celebrity Web site TMZ.com. FBI agents matched information in the e-mail to Barrett. On December 15, 2009, Barrett pleaded guilty to the interstate stalking charge. He was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to register as a sex offender.


So these two adult women, who had many more resources available to them than 18 year old college freshman Tyler Clementi did, had some success in righting the wrongs that had been forced on them. Hilton successfully sued for financial compensation and Andrews had the satisfaction of seeing the man who caused her to live a "nightmare" go to jail and be rightly labeled as a sex offender. Both adult women managed to obtain some measure of justice against their sexual predators. Neither woman was a teenager when some of their private moments were stolen from them and publicized against their will and both adult women had good legal representatives and PR people available to them to help them restore their good names. Tyler Clementi the 18 year old college freshman was not an adult and did not have access to lawyers and agents like these professional women did.

Sex offender, that sounds like the charge that should be applied to the two other freshmen who thought streaming their classsmate's private behavior was something they could publicize to give themselves some prankster satisfaction.

October 04, 2010 9:12 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"What?!?! And nobody from the Gay Agenda National Headquarters told me??"

they've been trying to tell you but it's a little bit hard to get through to a person like you

"I am SOOO bummed. Maybe I can make some new curtains out of all these rainbow flags."

they don't have windows in rubber rooms

"Dude, he’s dead. He can’t throw the blame on anyone."

don't think that's true

"When a person commits suicide it’s because they feel that there is no other way out of an absolutely miserable situation."

or to lash out at those left behind

everyone has a story

they're not all the same

"I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Tyler had to deal with a lot of crap from his classmates in high school, and was trying to keep a low profile in college and avoid repeats of all the harassment."

I hadn't heard he was out in HS

in any case, few people try to keep a lower profile in college, where virtually anything goes

and everything you say is guesswork

"His roommate’s invasion of his privacy and putting it all out there on the web ruined any hope of that."

your "that" is nothing but surmisal

"No one ever once hinted at “justifying” his decision to kill himself."

what?!?

you've been blaming someone else for his decision

that justifies it

"God forbid that we have a serious problem which requires someone to THINK through the consequences of multiple courses of action and weigh the options of each potential solution"

we have lots of serious problems that required someone to think through

that's why we need a change

Obama's thinking processes have failed

"Have a nice day"

sit on a cactus

"it was not Tyler's sexual orientation that caused his death. It was the pain and suffering caused by the thoughtlessness of his "prankster" roomie who violated Tyler's privacy against his will and beamed Tyler's most private moments out on the Internet for all the world to see."

actually, neither of those things caused it

it was caused by his own choice

"these two adult women, who had many more resources available to them than 18 year old college freshman Tyler Clementi did, had some success in righting the wrongs that had been forced on them."

please

all these campuses have gay support groups who would've salivated over the chance to take this on

October 04, 2010 12:54 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

look's like the judge who overruled seven million Californians won't be there when the case comes back

he's being forced out:

"The infamous district judge who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage announced on Thursday his retirement plans.

After 21 years on the federal bench, Chief Judge Vaughn Walker of the Northern District of California will be leaving eight months before his seven-year term expires. District Judge James Ware will succeed Walker.

In a letter to President Obama, Walker announced his plans to return to the private sector, effective February 2011.

Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute said this is a significant development in the voter-approved traditional marriage case, which now resides with the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“The case could eventually (be) sent back down to the District Court after the 9th Circuit and Supreme Court consider it,” Dacus said. “Chief Judge Walker’s retirement cannot come soon enough for millions of California voters, who he called ‘irrational’ for their support of traditional marriage.”"

October 04, 2010 1:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And to you, "Anonymous"...you can stuff that cactus where the sun don't shine!

October 04, 2010 2:29 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I bet you do

October 04, 2010 2:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Actually, I was looking for something to paint on a 10x10 yard sign and post on my street, like I typically do during the elections.

I think he just gave it to me...

"America can absorb another terrorist attack"

Barack Hussein Obama

October 05, 2010 1:21 AM  
Anonymous Robert said...

I echo Grantdale's thanks to Jim, David and the other kind people at TTF, for working to make life better for lgbt youth.

rrjr

October 05, 2010 8:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

couple of more nails went into the coffin of the liberal agenda this week

"Waiting for Superman", a movie that details how evil teacher unions work against the welfare of the kids they supposedly serve by fighting school choice in the inner city, is cleaning up at the box office and raising America's conscience

tickets are selling so briskly that Michelle Rhee, one of the films' heroines, couldn't get a ticket to the Sunday 2 pm showing downtown

look for the black vote to start coming home to the party of Lincoln

meanwhile, in the Appalachians, previously popular Democrat governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who polls have slipping badly in his race to become Senator, has become the first Democratic nominee for Senate to reverse his support for Obamacare and call for repeal

we now have that vote, regardless of who wins

we might actually have enough votes by January to override a veto and thus repeal this thing before Obama retires in 2012

maybe his fellow Dems should start encouraging Obama and Biden to resign now

come on, guys

it's no use

October 05, 2010 9:33 AM  
Anonymous which '94 will it be? said...

Late yesterday, Gallup came out with new numbers on the generic ballot question—which party’s candidates would you vote for in the election for House of Representatives?

Gallup also shows the results for two different turnout models. Under its “high turnout model” Republicans lead 53%-40%. Under its “low turnout model” Republicans lead 56%-38%.

These two numbers, if translated into popular votes in the 435 congressional districts, suggest huge gains for Republicans and a Republican House majority the likes of which we have not seen since the election cycles of 1946 or even 1928.

For months, people have been asking if this year looks like ’94. The poll numbers had previously suggested it looks like 1994, when Republicans gained 52 seats in a House of 435 seats.

However, the Gallup high turnout and low turnout numbers now suggest it looks more like 1894, when Republicans gained more than 100 seats in a House of approximately 350 seats.

October 05, 2010 9:57 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

of all the Democrats with complicity in the financial meltdown in 2008, the gay Barney Frank was the worst offender

he's at it again:

"IF AMERICANS ARE angry at Washington, it may be because of episodes like the federal coddling of OneUnited Bank. An institution with close ties to Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) of the House Financial Services Committee, OneUnited got $12 million from the Troubled Assets Relief Program in December 2008, thanks in part to a provision inserted in the TARP bill by the committee's chairman, Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.). OneUnited has since failed to pay the government the $900,000 it owes -- not surprising, given its history of mismanagement, which TARP officials elided to approve the money in the first place.

Ms. Waters now faces a House investigation on charges she improperly aided OneUnited, whose past directors include her husband.

Mr. Frank faces no such proceeding, but this is not his finest hour.

Aware of Ms. Waters's potential conflict of interest, he told her to steer clear of the bank's plea for aid and said he was "taking care of it."

OneUnited specialized in serving itself. Indeed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. cracked down on a top officer's use of bank funds for a Porsche and a couple of mansions. Other regulators had consistently noted OneUnited's failure to meet community credit needs. Mr. Frank made no effort to check OneUnited out beyond what he learned from Ms. Waters.

TARP officials went the extra mile, and then some, to bail out OneUnited. Internal e-mails make clear they believed Mr. Frank and Ms. Waters were interested in OneUnited, in part because Ms. Waters had sought aid prior to Mr. Frank's intervention and in part because Mr. Frank's staff called after the TARP bill passed. A TARP inspector general later confirmed that OneUnited was shown "greater flexibility" than others.

So a dodgy bank with little going for it except access to powerful members of Congress gets $12 million for no evident public purpose and with little chance taxpayers will ever see that money again.

Those responsible insist that, according to prevailing norms in the Democratically-controlled nation's capital, they did nothing wrong.

Worst of all, they might be telling the truth."

October 05, 2010 11:30 AM  
Anonymous Robert said...

I remember my response when my roomate said he would out me. Thoughts of suicide in response to anti-lgbt harassment are, I would guess, typical, not unusual.

rrjr

October 05, 2010 11:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

there are several gay agenda media outlets that have actively outed homosexuals

do you think those media are the equivalent of "bullying"?

should the people in those organizations be arrested?

there is no indication these two were threatening this guy or blackmailing him or trying to coerce him

they are being vilified by the gay agenda apparatus

again, what they did was wrong

they are not, however, responsible for this guy's suicide

he didn't, btw, kill himself after the first incident but when he found out it might happen again

he could have easily avoided a second incident

his response was irrational and such irrationality doesn't develop over one incident

October 05, 2010 12:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"America can absorb another terrorist attack"

Barack Hussein Obama

"Anybody who wants to harm American troops will be found and brought to justice. There are some that feel like if they attack us that we may decide to leave prematurely. They don't understand what they are talking about if that is the case. Let me finish. There are some who feel like the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is, bring 'em on."

George W. Bush on July 2, 2003, three months after May 1, 2003, when Bush stood before a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner and said:

"In the Battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed."

Iraqi Coalition Military fatalities in 2004 = 906
Iraqi Coalition Military fatalities in 2005 = 897
Iraqi Coalition Military fatalities in 2006 = 872
Iraqi Coalition Military fatalities in 2007 = 961
Iraqi Coalition Military fatalities in 2008 = 322
Iraqi Coalition Military fatalities in 2009 = 150
Iraqi Coalition Military fatalities in 2010 = 54
Total = 4172

Total lives lost in terrorist attacks on 9/11/01 = 2977

We've already absorbed the loss of life more than another terrorist attack like 9/11 since George Bush told our enemies to "bring 'em on!"

October 05, 2010 12:13 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

how about Afghanistan, the war Obama claimed was so important when he was trying to trick us into voting for him for President?

then, he gets in office and announces to the enemy there when we're leaving

I guess they consider that decent of him

helps them with long-range planning

read any of Woodward's book?

it's all a political ploy

meanwhile, U.S. soldiers are being sent to die in a war Obama has no intention of winning

Barack Hussein Obama: the crafty bastard that needs to line up other gainful employment in 2013

October 05, 2010 12:25 PM  
Anonymous that's right: crafty! said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

October 05, 2010 12:51 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks, Robert, for focusing and sticking to the topic of this blog: "Bullying and and Epidemic of Suicides"....unlike another blog hog who makes it his life's work to divert attention to topics that suit his selfish motives.
Citizen

October 05, 2010 3:09 PM  
Anonymous crafty duck said...

yes, thanks muchly, Robert

you're a peach of a pear with a cherry on top

as a matter of fact, you're like a fruit salad

we did so want to hear as much about bullying and suicide as possible

that's what makes the gay agenda go 'round!!

question for Citizen:

don't you feel a little hypocritical?

isn't homosexuality kind of selfish?

you know, with the outrageous exhibitionism that doesn't give a crap if everyone wants to share in your fantasies or not and the rampant promiscuity that doesn't give a crap what you're spreading to the rest of society, as long as you can satisfy some deviant urges

just curious what your perspective is on that

October 05, 2010 4:07 PM  
Anonymous cork-poppin' time!! said...

talk about selfish

how about people who support Obama and his policies despite the toll on people around our country:

"Sometime in early June—he's not exactly sure which day—Rick Rembold joined history. That he doesn't remember comes as little surprise: Who wants their name etched into the record books for not having a job?

For Rembold, that day in June marked six months since he'd last pulled a steady paycheck, at which point his name joined the rapidly growing list of American workers deemed "long-term unemployed" by the Department of Labor. In the worst job crisis in generations, the ranks of Rembolds, stranded on the sidelines, have exploded by over 400 percent—from 1.3 million in December 2007, when the recession began, to 6.8 million this June. The extraordinary growth of this jobless underclass is a harbinger of prolonged pain for the American economy."

the recession ended in June 2009, folks

as long as Democrats are in control, the pain will continue to the hard-working citizens of our country

vote for change, next month

btw, the stock market, which usually reflects anticipation of events about nine months down the road, exploded today as new polls confirm that it is highly unlikely that the Dems, who have sucked the life out of our economy, will be running things come January

party hardy!!

October 05, 2010 4:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tea Party-backed Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller (R) thinks federal unemployment insurance is constitutionally questionable. But it turns out his wife benefited from it in the early part of the decade -- after she left a job working for him.

According to a resume that she submitted to the state of Alaska in 2009, Miller's wife, Kathleen, worked for him briefly in 2002. In a statement yesterday, the Miller campaign acknowledged that she received unemployment benefits after she left.

"After leaving my office Kathleen did receive unemployment benefits for a short period of time," Miller acknowledged. Unemployment benefits are typically only given to workers who are fired without cause or laid off.

In July, Miller told ABC "The unemployment compensation benefits have gotten -- first of all, it's not constitutionally authorized. I think that's the first thing that's gotta be looked at, so I do not favor their extension."

In other words, Mr. Miller thinks unemployment benefits are not constitutional, and no US citizen should get them, except of course for his wife after he lays her off from working for him.

October 05, 2010 5:06 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I fail to see why this unemployment issue is a problem for that candidate. There are lots of laws on the books that, even if I benefit from them now, I think they should be abolished.

For example, I've paid into Social Security for the past 30 years, and when I am eligible for benefits, I will take them. That being said...I believe that Social Security is bad for the country, and if I were to vote in a referendum about whether to abolish Social Security, I would vote to abolish it.

October 05, 2010 6:14 PM  
Anonymous dems are scums said...

save your breathe

no one cares

btw, a Republican seat is a lock in Alaska since it's a two-party race and either leader will caucus with Republicans and vote to repeal Obamacare

back to the selfishness topic that unpatriotic Citizen introduced:

did you hear that Democrats have cancelled the D.C. school voucher program even though it educates kids cheaper than public schools and even though studies show the kids were actually getting an education, unlike they didn't get in the failing and dangerous hellholes they formerly, and in the future, will attend?

why?

because they want evil teacher unions to contribute to their campaigns

now, that's selfish!!

October 05, 2010 6:20 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

you think that's selfish?

did you know unpatriotic Citizen favors allowing parents to kill their kids in their mothers' wombs if they decide the kids would be too inconvenient to their care-free and gay lifestyle?

selfish and evil

October 05, 2010 6:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've got selfish for you:

all those TTFers that attend public hearings without bathing first

that's very inconsiderate of those forced to sit nearby!

October 05, 2010 6:57 PM  
Anonymous at least Dems can still laugh said...

hey, wanna hear something funny?

Jon Stewart is planning a big anti-Tea Party rally on the weekend before the election.

Momentum is building.

Oprah is urging her viewers to go.

Hotel rooms are going fast in D.C.

One big problem...

this means that a couple hundred thousand of the most partisan Democrats will be partying in D.C. the weekend before the election

instead of making a final grassroots push on the most crucial weekend

and Barack Obama...he's going to barnstorm that weekend across the nation

except the media will largely ignore him because the Stewart rally will be the big story

it's all really funny

I wonder if Al Franken will make faces....

maybe he and Jon Stewart will do a routine!!

Sounds like Republicans will have the last laugh!

October 05, 2010 9:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

October 05, 2010 11:43 PM  
Blogger JimK said...

We're not talking about "Obamacare" here, Anon, we are talking about innocent young people committing suicide.

JimK

October 06, 2010 6:06 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

everything's connected, Jim

and, if only you were "talking about innocent young people committing suicide"

you're actually only talking about gay suicides, which is a drop in a rather large barrel

what do you mean "innocent"?

is it generally understood that "guilty" people should be committing suicide?

the only relevant thing about the Clementi incident is the breakdown of privacy in our society due to technology

that's worth exploring

the gay thing is just the gay agenda crowd exploiting the suicide of an "innocent young people"

this guy supposedly killed himself because his homosexuality was revealed on the internet

now, the gay fringe have made sure that there is no one in this guy's life who hasn't heard about it

if he's looking down, or up, (who's to say), I'm sure he appreciates it

October 06, 2010 8:37 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Anonymous" Sock Puppet:
You said: did you know unpatriotic Citizen favors allowing parents to kill their kids in their mothers' wombs if they decide the kids would be too inconvenient to their care-free and gay lifestyle?"

You are aware, aren't you, that every time you utter one of your childish, banal, and ludicrous screeds you expose yourself to others who honor civility, tolerance, and recognition of the humanity that exists in most of us?

You are a very poor example of the Christianity that I'm sure you espouse.

October 06, 2010 10:23 AM  
Anonymous svelte_brunette said...

In a previous post I wrote:

"I am SOOO bummed. Maybe I can make some new curtains out of all these rainbow flags."


After which Anon informed us:

“they don't have windows in rubber rooms”


Oh man, I feel terrible now. Here I was going on about making new curtains for my house and you don’t even have a single window. I simply didn’t know, Anon. The few movies I’ve seen with rubber rooms all had a little window in them – but I guess that was just for the camera. I’ll try to be more sensitive to your plight in the future. Now I know why you’re so pissed off all the time.

I should try and make it up to you – how about a little stuffed rainbow bear? Do they let you have stuffed animals in there? That’s probably not good enough.

Hmmm…

I know! I’ll call up some of my gay friends and we’ll make a rainbow unicorn – with SPARKLES! Trust me; you’re going to LOOOVVVVE it!!


And all my joking about Pat Sajak and arthritic fingers – here I just thought you were another grammatically challenged homophobic curmudgeon, and that’s not the case at all. It’s just that your only contact with the outside world is through the old cell phone you managed to smuggle past the nice young men with the clean white coats. It explains the lack of links to supporting reference material as well as absence of comments about videos. I should have picked up on that before. How insensitive of me.

Anon complained:

“and everything you say is guesswork”
“your "that" is nothing but surmisal (sic)”

It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to point out the well-worn path in the woods that leads straight to the dead body. Yes, Tyler could have taken the train to the other county, hitchhiked back part way, and then walked up the hill and through the creek and ended up in the same spot. But not likely.

(That was a metaphor, by the way.)

October 06, 2010 11:07 AM  
Anonymous svelte_brunette said...

In another section I wrote:

“No one ever once hinted at “justifying” his decision to kill himself."

To which Anon exclaimed:

“what?!?

you've been blaming someone else for his decision

that justifies it”

I had to go back to the definition of “justify” to see how you managed to come to this conclusion.

From Dictionary.com:

–verb (used with object)

1. to show (an act, claim, statement, etc.) to be just or right: The end does not always justify the means.

2. to defend or uphold as warranted or well-grounded: Don't try to justify his rudeness.

3. Theology . to declare innocent or guiltless; absolve; acquit.

4. Printing . a. to make (a line of type) a desired length by spacing the words and letters, esp. so that full lines in a column have even margins both on the left and on the right. b. to level and square (a strike).

You are clearly assuming that I was using definition 3 when I wrote that word, and it never occurred to me that you WERE using that form when you originally wrote the comment: “let's not start down the road of justifying someone's decision to kill themself (sic) by pointing at whoever had last offended them”

Since we are not talking about theology here, definition 3 is a rather odd choice to try and discuss this issue – trying to use in a similar context (outside of theology) leads to some rather awkward sentences. For example: “John Hinkley Jr. was justified in shooting Ronald Reagan because of his obsession with Jodi Foster.” While this sentence may be historically “correct” in sense that Hinkley was acquitted (i.e. guiltless) by reason of insanity, and thus fits definition 3, the peculiar choice of the word “justified” also creates a concept that flies in the face of common sense - because definitions 1 and 2 (“just or right” and “well-grounded”) simply do not fit in that sentence at all.

October 06, 2010 11:08 AM  
Anonymous svelte_brunette said...

Use of the word “justify” in the “guiltless” sense is more appropriate when speaking (not surprisingly) in terms of theological issues – such as the concept of a “just war” when your bible has a commandment “thou shalt not kill.” Thus “Christians may feel justified in attacking the Holy Land to retaliate against the recent attack by the Muslims.” And the “Muslims felt justified in attacking the since the Christians had burnt down all their homes the week before.” The concept of the “just war” has frequently been used by people who would otherwise feel guilty about killing people to actually go about killing them and somehow avoid the moral guilt.

Or more recently, “The Catholic Bishops felt justified in shuffling around the pedophile priests to save the reputation of the church, despite the fact that they were guilty of hiding felons.” Those would be more appropriate uses of the term “justify” in the “guiltless” (definition 3) sense.

In the non-theological cases of Clementi and Hinkley however, the use of definition 3 is confusing.

So let me clarify:

No one ever once hinted at “justifying” his decision to kill himself – in the sense that justification means “just, right, warranted or well-grounded.” As for the moral responsibility for his death, that is an entirely different discussion.


Anon suggested:

“sit on a cactus”

No thank you, I’m not that kind of gal.

Have a nice day,

Cynthia

October 06, 2010 11:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sorry, svelte, I should have been clearer:

no one is responsible for Clementi's suicide but himself

"Have a nice day"

go french-kiss a rabid Doberman

October 06, 2010 11:15 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Anonymous"
"Go french-kiss a rabid Doberman"? UGH
The idea is to stay as far away from you as possible! We've already had to deal with too much of the results of your other end!

October 07, 2010 9:44 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

UGH is right

but it's no grosser than stuff homosexuals do every day

October 07, 2010 7:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Perhaps, "Anonymous" you could further reveal your stupidity and hatred by revealing what it is that homosexuals do every day. You speak as if you are an authority on the subject...are you closeted? And be careful..."people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones".
Plautus

October 07, 2010 8:41 PM  
Anonymous Derrick said...

Wow. There are a few bloggers/trolls on here who don't mind having the blood of others on their hands. Shame on you. Can't you see that YOU are the reasons that these young people are taking their lives? That's sickening.

May those souls taken too soon rest in peace and find comfort in the fact that life will get better for those in the same situation.

October 11, 2010 5:03 PM  

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