General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBullied 11-Year-Old Takes a Stand Against Antigay Tenn. Bills
Marcel Neergaard is an 11-year-old sixth-grader in Oak Ridge, Tenn., who happens to be gay. In a new video calling attention to a petition he began, Neergaard says that he was bullied so severely in middle school that he had to be homeschooled because the harassment was leading him to contemplate suicide.
When Neergaard discovered that Tennessee nonprofit StudentsFirst had decided to give a Reformer of the Year award to rabidly antigay state representative John Ragan, he launched a petition on MoveOn.org asking the group to rescind the award. That petition now has more than 40,000 signatures.
In February, Ragan, an Oak Ridge Republican, introduced the Classroom Protection Act, which has been described as an even more homophobic version of state senator Stacey Campfield's infamous "don't say gay" bill. Campfield is also a cosponsor of the Classroom Protection Act, which would forbid teachers from discussing any sexual activity that is "inconsistent with natural human reproduction." The bill later died in the legislature.
In an op-ed for The Huffington Post, Neergaard contends that the bill would have required teachers to respond to students trying to report antigay bullying by saying something like, "That subject is inappropriate for your age group." If the student was able to find one of the limited number of school officials who can discuss homosexuality a nurse, counselor, or principal that official would be required by the law to report the gay or lesbian student's sexuality to the student's parents.
http://www.advocate.com/youth/no-more-bullying/2013/06/03/watch-bullied-11-year-old-takes-stand-against-antigay-tenn-bills
Behind the Aegis
(53,921 posts)Go on with your bad self, little bro!
William769
(55,144 posts)When I was 11 I was scared to death that someone would find out I liked little boys instead of little girls. We've come a long way.
Behind the Aegis
(53,921 posts)I wouldn't have dared come out in HS, much less at 11...though I knew.
ETA: Just because I am a bit pissed off, I am adding that the legislation is homophobic swill and is a PRIME example that homophobia is much more than "fag/dyke" and "smear the queer." Homophobia takes on many guises and must be confronted in ALL of them!
William769
(55,144 posts)When I turned 18 there were Gay bars close to where I lived but I travel from Naples to Daytona Beach to experience my first Gay bar and I still felt uncomfortable being that close to home.
Behind the Aegis
(53,921 posts)But the past few days have really put a burr under my saddle, with some of the comments and stories I have read.
William769
(55,144 posts)But we have gotten good at debunking this shit. There will come a day when all this will be but just a bad memory. Until then we will just fight the good fight.
Behind the Aegis
(53,921 posts)justiceischeap
(14,040 posts)and Evangelicals want gay kids to kill themselves.
I'm proud that this 11 yr. old has the courage to make this stand.
William769
(55,144 posts)Zoeisright
(8,339 posts)repukes would burn in it. That's the most despicable part of "christians" - they think that their hate is somehow protected religious speech. Fuck them.
BrotherIvan
(9,126 posts)Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)StudentsFirst is run by teacher-hater Michelle Rhee. She claims to be a Democrat, but her stances clearly don't reflect that as the organization becomes more and more in alliance with the extreme right-wing.
Good for Marcel, what an amazing kid! Signed and shared!