Do not mess with ‘flamboyant’ Dynasty or his Mama. Just don’t.

Timothy Kincaid

July 10th, 2013

Darnell “Dynasty” Young, a 17 year old gay kid, attended Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis. And last year, Dynasty got a bit tired of being bullied and harrassed at school – and of the administrators telling that if he didn’t want to be bullied he shouldn’t be so flamboyant.

So he turned to someone much more pragmatic (and kid savvy) than his school administration: his mother. And Dynasty’s mother, Chelisa Grimes, had a solution. Like many a parent, she had the philosophy that if someone is picking on you, you find a way to defend yourself.

And when complaining to the administration didn’t work, she sent Dynasty to school with a stun gun.

And, on April 16, 2012, when Dynasty was cornered by six kids threatening to beat him up, he pulled out his stun gun, pointed it at the sky, and set off a stun charge. The bullies quickly discovered that they had other compelling engagements and couldn’t hang around to beat up Dynasty this time.

The school’s response was to expel Dynasty. As it turns out, while the school does not have a zero tolerance policy for beating up gay kids, it does have a zero tolerance policy for using quasi-sorta-gun-like-items to defend yourself from physical harm.

Dyanasty’s mama wasn’t buying it. (CNN)

Grimes told CNN’s Don Lemon on Sunday that she would do it again, despite the threat of expulsion.

“I do not promote violence — not at all — but what is a parent to do when she has done everything that she felt she was supposed to do … at the school?” Grimes said. “I did feel like there was nothing else left for me to do but protect my child.”

“I brought the stun gun ’cause I wasn’t safe,” the teen said.

So Grimes and Young sued the district. The asked whether “butch up, young man” was really the appropriate response to a kid being taunted and harassed and subjected to threat. And, this week the school admitted that maybe that was a good question. In fact, it was the $65,000 question. (WISHTV)

An openly gay Indianapolis teenager who was expelled for bringing a stun gun to school to protect himself from bullies has agreed to settle his lawsuit against Indianapolis Public Schools for $65,000.

The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis also calls for the school district to remove all references of Darnell “Dynasty” Young being expelled from school from the 18-year-old’s academic record.

So to all you principals out there who look the other way when some gay girl gets beat up, or who tells some gay boy that if he wears womens boot that he deserves what he gets – and there seems to be a lot of you – listen up. I have some advice.

The next time you go to dismiss some flamboyant little queeny thing, give that a second thought. The next time you ignore a parent who is desperate to protect their child, you might want to pay attention. Because that little boy – and his mama – may be a whole hell of a lot tougher than you think they are.

Update: I also want to point out that Arsenal Tech has a higher than 50% dropout rate. But this young gay bullied black young man is so determined to have an education that he fought for that right. And he learned to value education somewhere – obviously somewhere other than his school.

Cowboy

July 10th, 2013

It is Principal. He/She is your Pal.

Timothy Kincaid

July 10th, 2013

thanks cowboy, fixed

Ben in Oakland

July 10th, 2013

I’m not a big fan of violence, but I love this. A deine he didn’t actually use the gun on anyone, I love it even more.

Ben in Oakland

July 10th, 2013

Sorry. “And as he didn’t….

Oh, yes. Six of them against one queeny little gay boy? What is itthe bigots are always saying about our alleged lack of manhood?

Andrew

July 10th, 2013

What a great mom – great message to her kid, smart about using moderate force to defend himself (I shudder to think how many kids bring a firearm to school).

What a smart kid for knowing to fire it straight up. The message is clear: I’m not here to start something, but I’m damned well going to defend myself.

My mom used to ask questions like “what did you do to antagonize them”. Granted, I was a pain in the ass, but that doesn’t give kids group license to pick on or physically assault – especially in groups.

And yes, you’ll want to watch out for pushing the gay boys (or anyone else) too far… in my case, I ended up taking a bat to someone who had decided to beat my (at the time) 4’11” 100lb. frame to a bloody pulp (bat was not my first choice – it was just handy). We both went to the hospital for x-rays. “Both of us” being the key phrase. That kid terrorized everyone in our high school for the next 4 years and ended up with a lengthy rap sheet as an adult – assaults, robbery, domestic abuse… but he turned the other way when he saw me coming.

Ben In Oakland

July 10th, 2013

Andrew– the same thing happened to me when I was 12. The bully went one step too far, and I beat the crap out of him, barehanded, even though I was the faggy little guy and he was the jock.

I’ll always remember that he came to school the next day and told me that his mother said I had to pay for his ripped shirt.

I just laughed at him and asked him he’s like to take the money from me. I still smile when I remember that.

iDavid

July 10th, 2013

This is a great article for justice. I’m impressed the lawsuit went down the way it did. Arsenal Tech would have fallen flat on its lack-of-arsenal face in court.

Though Dynasty didn’t zap the bullies directly, he did zap the School, about $65,000 times.

Sweet. Very sweet.

CPT_Doom

July 10th, 2013

@Andrew & Ben – count another one here who finally dealt with the bullies via force. I was in junior high when the bullying escalated to a coordinated attack in a hallway by a group of kids. I didn’t get a good look at which ones – they hit me from behind – but it would have been easy for the school to figure out, as they all came from one classroom (hallway was a dead end). I was told by the Vice Principal that I wouldn’t get attacked if I didn’t act like a fag (yes, that’s the word he used).

Couple weeks later one of my regular bullies was beating on some much smaller kid and I simply lost it. I was giving him a good thrashing when my mother pulled up to drive me home and pulled me off him. I will give my school credit – they refused to discipline me, knowing of the previous abuse I’d suffered. Also the bullies stayed far away.

Regan DuCasse

July 10th, 2013

He’s just graduated and I think with honors. He’s a great boy and he and his twin brother have enjoyed support and their family life is good.
I’ve been following them on FB, and these boys are truly charming as all get out.
I think their handsomeness and beautiful smiles can’t hurt either. They are doing very well and what’s not to love?

Andrew

July 10th, 2013

I’m so impressed with the restraint showed by this kid – I would have been too scared, too angry, too emotional not to pull an Emperor Palpatine and go all dark side on them.

With all the brutally horrible stories – kids who wither under the social stress, or kids who snap – with tragic results, it’s so nice to see things turn out so… very, very well.

RexT

July 10th, 2013

Always great to hear about another young adult unwilling to sit around and be the victim when there are more important issues at hand, graduation and the future. Supportive parents – always make a huge difference, his Mom awesome! The conversation within their home no doubt lends itself to one of responsibility, strength, success and respect.

The ‘Bullies’ – their Parents, their Family/Homes – the examples they are learning from – lack essential and important qualities for a successful future. Administrators who fail to step into these situations not only perpetuate the difficult moments which are horrible for the student who is being bullied, they are complicit in the parental/family failures at home.

The Youngs deserve this win and every penny they’ve received – more importantly, every Eye they’ve opened and the ripple of change they’ve created. We will never know how many potential bullies may benefit out of some extra focus, guidance, someone taking the time to dig under why this young person turns to bullying.

Timothy Kincaid

July 10th, 2013

Regan, that is wonderful news. And $65K will certainly help pay for a quality college education.

Rob Tisinai

July 11th, 2013

Great article. And I love the point you made about the 50% drop-out rate. If only we could track how many of his bullies stay in school.

Neon Genesis

July 13th, 2013

Did the mother not think to call the ACLU first before resorting to encouraging violence? As a gay man, I abhor homophobic bullying but don’t we have enough school shootings going around? I’m not sure we need gay blogs to be going around encouraging this kind of behavior.

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