Comments on: Texas School Officials Suggest Parents To Blame for Asher Brown’s Suicide

By: BJ Heckman

BJ Heckman — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 02:34:00 +0000

My grandson was also threatened at knifepoint by a student in the same school district and the school nrver suspended the kid or removed them to separate classes. Even after the attack, my grandson had to put up with his bullying because CyFair said there was nothing they could do. My grandson was a sixth grader and it was his first year in the school.

By: John

John — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 21:18:07 +0000

“The district, together with the Hamilton community, is saddened by the death of Asher Brown,” the statement read. “A district administrative team is conducting a thorough and involved investigation into the allegations of bullying that have been made since the death of Asher Brown. Although the investigation is not completed, the initial findings indicate that Asher’s personal and family histories were very complicated.”

Any investigation should be done by an independent third party, although in Texas that may be hard to come by. A school district that states that it doesn’t have a bullying problem is to investigate itself? Please.

By: werdna

werdna — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:24:03 +0000

Wait, is blaming the family considered “loathsome and disgusting” now at BTB?

By: Timothy Kincaid

Timothy Kincaid — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:53:08 +0000

I wonder if a case can be made for either criminal negligence or child endangerment.

By: Seraphiel

Seraphiel — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:40:48 +0000

School officials -> prison.

Once a few of those useless a$$holes get a few years’ time for criminal negligence, it should inspire the others to start doing their jobs.

By: John in the Bay Area

John in the Bay Area — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 19:07:52 +0000

We absolutely need to address anti-gay bullying in schools. The school seriously failed to protect this kid. I have no reason to disbelieve the parents when they say that they tried to get the school to protect their kid.

I also agree that gun owners need to be responsible with their guns. Gay and straight child suicides occur with improperly stored guns in homes. In California, it is a crime to leave a gun so that a child can get access the gun.

Guns are one of the most effective ways to complete a suicide (along with falls from great heights and hanging).

We have to do what we can to decrease the needless stress and persecution that might drive a child to contemplate suicide ( such as anti-gay abuse at school), and take basic precautions to make sure that children don’t have access to guns that could result in accidental or non-accidental injuries or deaths.

This isn’t about ideology. It is about doing what we can to decrese needless childhood deaths.

By: Rossi

Rossi — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 17:55:08 +0000

This family’s appearance on CNN last night was pretty heart-rending. I’d suggest a little less bluster about locking people up here. You didn’t just lose a kid. I don’t have any more facts than anyone else, but I’ll take a guess that they were fully within the law down in Texas in terms of gun ownership and possession.

It seems a bit cold to redirect away from the overall point here which is something could have been avoided long before it came down to the means used by this boy to take his own life. Have a little empathy.

By: Dakotahgeo

Dakotahgeo — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:52:05 +0000

elaygee
September 30th, 2010 | LINK
The family must sue and sue big and sue wide. Sue every school administrator there, every teacher, every school board member and the city and county. Nothing teaches people how to behave better than having to pay lots of cash money for their prejudices and hate.
————————————
elaygee, you are correct, of course, but how much money will it take to eradicate “stupid” and “insanity” from Administrations, School Boards, and teachers? I have a better idea. Insurance companies simply should not insure any schools outside of fire, flood, and weather damage situations. Let the Administrators, school board members, and teachers insure themselves like Drs. do. There would soon be a total turnaround if they HAD TO be responsible for what happens in a school! And it can’t start soon enough!
As with automobile insurance, no Administration/teaching certificate until you have purchased insurance!

By: Dakotahgeo

Dakotahgeo — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:38:04 +0000

Even his home and family situation aside, I want to know why this student was not safe inside or on the schoolgrounds! If the school regards “in loco parentis” as their sworn duty, they damn well better start doing their jobs! Why does it always take a financial settlement of any size to make the school districts in the USA responsible for the students’ (ALL students’) safety?? Until administrators and school board members start doing serious jail time for their inabilities to run the schools effectively, this garbage will not stop! Parents, get to work!!!
(From a retired school teacher who has experienced some unbelievably inept Educational Administrators!)

By: Christopher

Christopher — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:05:17 +0000

@Alex: If Asher Brown had hung himself, would you be blaming his parents for leaving rope where he could get to it?

I’ll admit that it was negligent and irresponsible of the parents to leave a gun where a child could get to it, and if he’d been playing with it and accidentally killed himself that would have been at least as tragic, and would have been the parents’ fault.

His parents, however, as far as we know, aren’t the ones who drove him to commit suicide, in spite of the school board’s implication that they are.