“It Gets Better” Needs Some Muscle Behind It

Jim Burroway

October 27th, 2011

Canadian comedian and commentator Rick Mercer responds to Jamie Hubley’s suicide:

Dan Savage agrees:

So: yes to that assembly, yes to confronting the kids who abused Jamie Hubley. Since the beginning of the project I’ve called for bullies to be arrested and prosecuted. If it’s a crime for a 16-year-old kid to beat up a little old lady in a shopping mall, it’s a crime for for a 16-year-old kid to beat up queer kid in a high school. Parents whose kids are being assaulted need to go to the police first, school administrators second.

Sean

October 27th, 2011

Amen!

Rev Ray Neal

October 27th, 2011

Dan is right! It’s time parents in such situations stop going to the school administrators first and instead file charges against the perpetrators of violence against their child.
Rev Ray Neal
Emerald City MCC Seattle

Timothy Kincaid

October 27th, 2011

The parents are also financially responsible for the damage caused by their kids.

I think a good starting point would be to price a private school and start suing the parents of bullies (also as defendants, the school administrators if they are not making a genuine effort).

Andrew

October 28th, 2011

Well, it’s a nice comment, but, again, it’s not just about protecting gays. I don’t give a rat’s ass WHY a kid is tortured in a school. I have a soft spot for gay kids… but I also have a soft spot for any kid who stands apart and is subject to the bullying that frankly goes with teenage pack mentality.

Teachers see this shit go on every day. So do administrators. So do parents.

There’s something in the law called “criminal negligence” and “willful indifference”. These are prosecutable crimes. I’d really like to see some of these adult witnesses who fail miserably not only in their jobs as teachers or parents, but as human beings, whose sole task in life it is to help educate and raise the next generation, to see standing against bullying as something other than optional. Something other than a nice sentiment or “the reason I got into teaching”.

It’s a damned moral obligation, and failure to fulfill that obligation should be subject, at a minimum to dismissal — or to losing all your kids to foster care. Personally, I’d much prefer criminal prosecutions.

Get with it, or get away from kids. If you can’t raise kids to become decent people, we really don’t need you in a classroom. Hell, I debate whether we need you walking the streets.

Lindoro Almaviva

October 28th, 2011

Two words: MY HERO

Wilberforce

October 29th, 2011

The community has money to use for this. It’s time for HRC and others to use some of that cocktail party cash and hire lawyers to prosecute these cases.

Charles

October 30th, 2011

Any child that is assaulted should go to the police ……….. in fact the school administrators should be the ones calling the police. Those people running the school these days do have a mess on their hands they are raising the children of many dysfunctional families. They need to create an atmosphere where children learn. The teachers and administrators need to create an atmosphere where these children can learn and get support from their peers.

Helen in Ireland

November 1st, 2011

In US schools, do you not adhere to what we used to call ‘in loco parentis’? If the teachers are supposed to act in place of the parents whilst the child is on school premises, why are they not defending these gay or perceived gay kids, for heaven’s sake?

Nevermind – I just realised the type of parents that are out there that raised the abusive kids anyway…

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