September 16th, 2011
Tammy Aaberg, mother of the Justin Aaberg who hanged himself after the Anoka-Hennepin, Minnesota school district failed to intervene against persistent anti-gay bullying, met for an hour yesterday with a staffer for GOP Presidential candidate and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. Aaberg and five other students and parents met with staffer Deb Steiskal, who reportedly took notes and asked questions and promised to relay their concerns to the congresswoman, along with more than 130,000 petition signatures calling on Bachman to condemn harassment of gay students in her district.
Bachmann was out of state on the presidential campaign trail. Steiskal promised to bring the groups concerns to the congresswoman, but Aaberg said she doubted Bachmann would take a stand. Aaberg emerged from the meeting saying she was “hopeful that Bachmann will either reach out or come up with a positive response for the country.” The congresswoman’s press secretary later said that Bachmann would respond after reviewing Aaberg’s request and the petitions.
In the past two years, eight students in the Anoka-Hennepin school district have killed themselves. The school district is currently being sued over the school board’s failure to address anti-gay bullying. Bachmann represents the Anoka-Hennepin School District area in Congress.
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Timothy Kincaid
September 16th, 2011
“…met for an hour yesterday with a staffer…”
Oh how that infuriates me.
A staffer!! Good lord, Bachmann is a friggen congressman, not a king. Sure she’s running for national
imageoffice, but still she should have time to meet with a constituent with a community interest.Not only is she a crappy presidential candidate, she’s a crappy congressman.
Regan DuCasse
September 16th, 2011
Hi Tim!
Bachman has a lot to answer to when it comes to the gay community. But she refuses.
The fact that her husband runs unlicensed clinics with unlicensed methodology and receives public funding to do it, says it all.
If I were to predict what Michele Bachman would say about bullying, she’d generalize the term that ALL children are bullied and that gay kids have MORE of a choice: they don’t have to be gay in order to not be targeted.
And you know better than I do that the reverse is true.
And someone like Bachman and others, refuse to understand.
That gay kids are set apart differently because they are at risk of being bullied by the important adults in their lives as well as their peers.
Who already have been influenced to believe as Bachman does, that if they change their orientation and submit to the wishes of those adults, then such bullying by those adults wouldn’t happen either.
Every step is covered with bullshit, and every hole plugged with the same.
BlackDog
September 16th, 2011
“Not only is she a crappy presidential candidate, she’s a crappy congressman.”
Like the school district she happens to represent, she seems to think she’s better than other people and above having to treat others with respect. With her in particular, this attitude is almost palpable. To me, that is evidence that she’s just a crappy person, period.
San Diego Rob
September 16th, 2011
Perhaps if some of these parents had sent their troubled kids to Mr. Bachmann’s therapy place before they committed suicide she might think twice.
customartist
September 17th, 2011
So the School Board repeatedly failed to address complaints of anti-gay bullying, and now, if Plaintiffs prevail, the Anoka-Hennepin district’s Residents can pay the financial settlement(s).
Question is: Whether the Residents will then turn around and sue the School Board Members Personally for negligence, as they very well should?
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