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Even if he'd been forced to comply with the dress code, he'd still be gay, and things still probably would have unfolded the same way.
It is noted that Larry did come on to Brandon at one point while wearing women's clothing. Brandon was probably humiliated far more by Larry because of Larry's cross dressing, and Brandon's humiliation was essentially his motive for murder.
Brandon was probably humiliated and his humiliation exacerbated far more by the echo chamber of his peers' than by Larry's actions. Of course, Brandon probably redirected all of that rage to the seeming 'source' -- Larry -- when in reality it was the communal homophobia that likely drove the whole thing to a fever pitch.
Even if he'd been forced to comply with the dress code, he'd still be gay, and things still probably would have unfolded the same way.
It is noted that Larry did come on to Brandon at one point while wearing women's clothing. Brandon was probably humiliated far more by Larry because of Larry's cross dressing, and Brandon's humiliation was essentially his motive for murder.
"I'm coming on to you as a misguided attempt at self-defense, revulsion being the only weapon I have at my disposal and all."
"That's cool, but if you did this dressed as a woman then I'd probably end up shooting you."
"Good thing dress codes prevented that very thing from happening, then."
So from the article I gather that alot of this could have been avoided by the school not being staffed by fucking idiots with equal rights agendas.
How so?
Well when a vice principal is regularly meeting with a kid who is not under her direct authority and the only thing they have in common is being gay you have to wonder what they were talking about.
She allowed him to ignore dress codes and wear makeup. She gave him obvious special treatment despite Teacher complaints.
It's clear to me she saw this kid as a way to further some sort of agenda.
Edit -
Maybe not Equal rights per say. It could have been as mundane as helping gay kids at catholic schools feel less threatened.
Or she was trying to help a kid who was being harrassed by his peers. And since she has first hand knowledge of what it's like, she was in a good position to help.
It's pretty obvious that this kid was using his sexuality as a way to regain some power that the bullies were taking away from him.
Blame the victim much?
Victim shouldn't have been a dick about it.
But, more to the real point, dude shouldn't have shot him over it.
Teenage years are way too fucking overdramatic, but this is ridiculous. I wish there was some way to impart on younger teens that once you leave high school, things change dramatically.
It's pretty obvious that this kid was using his sexuality as a way to regain some power that the bullies were taking away from him.
This is an emerging idea in the psychiatric community for 'outcast' personalities (especially in the LGBT community) and attempting to explain why so many of them begin behaving so loudly and obtrusively -- essentially, why so many of them begin doing the things that the homophobic community fears them doing.
It's a power grab. By fulfilling his mythology, he begins to control the narrative again. He pushes back against the bullies by turning their fears into his actions.
So from the article I gather that alot of this could have been avoided by the school not being staffed by fucking idiots with equal rights agendas.
How so?
Well when a vice principal is regularly meeting with a kid who is not under her direct authority and the only thing they have in common is being gay you have to wonder what they were talking about.
She allowed him to ignore dress codes and wear makeup. She gave him obvious special treatment despite Teacher complaints.
It's clear to me she saw this kid as a way to further some sort of agenda.
Edit -
Maybe not Equal rights per say. It could have been as mundane as helping gay kids at catholic schools feel less threatened.
When I was a transgender student at my high school I regularly met with the vice principal [and other members of the administration] in private to discuss my needs and how to protect me. The school recognized that enforcing their dress code to the 'T' or just ignoring what was happening around me set them up for a media clusterfuck, beyond any liability issues or lawsuits I levied after the fact (with the backing of the ACLU or whatever).
I think your viewing this as some sort of 'equal rights conspiracy' is silly. She gave him special treatment, probably, because there was no better short-term option than to weather the storm for both student and school. I don't think there was an agenda.
I am fully aware that Transgender students are usually exempt from dress codes for obvious reasons. However I saw no mention of this kid even going to psychiatrist. He simply claimed he was gay and wanted to be a woman. There's alot more to the process than that as I'm sure you know.
It never metions wether he met other administrative staff( doubtful) just the one Vice Principal who again wasn't the person he should have been talking to in the firstplace.
King Riptor on
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
0
jungleroomxIt's never too many graves, it's always not enough shovelsRegistered Userregular
edited August 2008
And I do agree with the comment that his friends were probably the ones moreso responsible for driving the kid to shoot Larry than any of Larry's actions in this situation. Peer pressure can be quite powerful, especially when you're younger and your friends seem to be the center of your personal universe.
Who should he have been speaking to? How do you know he wasn't receiving any form of counseling? What does it matter how far along he was by the measure of the Standards of Care, were we to class Larry as transgender? What does it matter how tightly he adhered to the 'process' when his actions spoke more clearly than he was likely able to speak himself?
Stop assuming the worst. I did it wrong, too, if the vice-principal was the wrong person because she was my goddamn liaison and they were damn insistent my liaison was to be her. Even the school counseling staff played second-fiddle.
I fail to see where I'm blaming the victim for something that from either side of the argument has alot more to do with poor role models and peer pressure.
King Riptor on
I have a podcast now. It's about video games and anime!Find it here.
Larry King wasn't transgendered. He dressed in women's clothing.
Big difference.
I think that the school isn't willing to play this card, though, if push came to shove. If the ACLU comes knocking on your door and you say, "Well, he said he was gay -- not that he was transgendered," you're going to have a foot in your ass before you even get the foot out of your mouth.
So from the article I gather that alot of this could have been avoided by the school not being staffed by fucking idiots with equal rights agendas.
How so?
Well when a vice principal is regularly meeting with a kid who is not under her direct authority and the only thing they have in common is being gay you have to wonder what they were talking about.
She allowed him to ignore dress codes and wear makeup. She gave him obvious special treatment despite Teacher complaints.
It's clear to me she saw this kid as a way to further some sort of agenda.
Edit -
Maybe not Equal rights per say. It could have been as mundane as helping gay kids at catholic schools feel less threatened.
Yeah, fuck that woman, for telling him it's okay for him to dress the way he wanted.
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
I am fully aware that Transgender students are usually exempt from dress codes for obvious reasons.
Okay, hold on. Why would a transgendered person be exempt from the dress code, rather than just allowed to adhere to either code?
Actually, it's more like you say, Adrien. An MtF transgender wouldn't be allowed to show up to school with a bare midriff and an ass-showing miniskirt, for instance, or a t-shirt that says "Fuck you, I'm a tranny!" because neither gender would be allowed to wear those things.
According to the story, he wore a full-length dress, makeup, and high-heels. Shit, kids at my school wore dresses and makeup, but we didn't call them gay, we just called them goth.
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
If you're going to blame the school, blame it for being part of the problem of schools shirking their obligation to address and eliminate bullying.
If a kid can't help but victimize his or her peers, then he or she needs to be put on in-school suspension and given time to sort out his or her issues with the counselor.
If you're going to blame the school, blame it for being part of the problem of schools shirking their obligation to address and eliminate bullying.
If a kid can't help but victimize his or her peers, then he or she needs to be put on in-school suspension and given time to sort out his or her issues with the counselor.
I agree with this.
Also, mental health resources at public schools in general are woefully inadequate. Both of these kids should have been in counseling, and their behavior at school should have been scrutinized.
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
I don't think it's a reach for a gay vp to counsel an openly gay student, no matter what grade she was assigned to. The allowing to wear articles of clothing that aren't allowed normally is. But I'm not sure, the article is very vague on it. What are "distracting" clothes? I've never heard of such a rule in school. They're usually very specific with that.
I don't think it's a reach for a gay vp to counsel an openly gay student, no matter what grade she was assigned to. The allowing to wear articles of clothing that aren't allowed normally is. But I'm not sure, the article is very vague on it. What are "distracting" clothes? I've never heard of such a rule in school. They're usually very specific with that.
There is usually a blanket rule against distracting or disruptive clothing in addition to any specific rules in the dress code.
A dress code might not specifically state that you can't come to school with a big neon sign over your head, but a blanket rule would cover that.
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
I really feel sorry for Larry, he reminds me alot of my younger brother. My younger brother was a big kid, and smart, but due to some extremely pacifistic upbringing got picked on alot because he wouldnt fight back. So he became what forumers would call an attention whore, doing anything he could to get any attention positive or negative. And negative attention he did indeed recieve.
I feel sorry for Brandon, he too reminds me of my younger brother. He was sexually harassed by one of his managers at his part time job when he was only 16. His manager who was sexually harassing him was a man as well, possibly gay, possibly just a pedophile. My brother was completely filled with rage because of this harassment/sexual assault, and truly wanted to murder his manager. Luckily we got him in touch with a councilor in time to help him learn to deal with his anger.
I really think that there is no good solution to what happened here. But trying Brandon as an adult wont help anyone, and certainly wont do anything to help him or the victim and wont deter future instances of this happening.
The school really dropped the ball on this one. They should have came out long ago with a hard line against bullying, then applied that hard line against bullying on harrasment. The school failed Larry, then they failed Brandon.
Yeah. The blanket rule we had was 'provocative' clothing. Before I started doing anything strange they threatened to hold that rule against me, but they never brought it up again once it happened. The school was surprisingly accommodating and I really can't imagine it was for any other reason than that they know they risked serious incident to their institute if the situation brewing around me escalated.
This is all so very delicate and all so very much a 'devil in the details' situation. When the larger story comes to light after the trial, it'll be interesting to see how this all played out -- though admittedly I probably have a larger interest than most, for obvious reasons. :P
"If a GUY who was extra flirtatious, incredibly forward and very aware of his sexuality, was shot to death by a girl who didn't want his attention, would we be considering him a victim, or blaming him for [the] murder[?]"
Different situations bring about different feelings. News at 11.
Ah, so in your world, "gay panic" is acceptable?
And for people who have been noticing that I've been harping on this, there's a reason for that - because the "gay panic" defense is bullshit. It's basicially saying that because you have issues with someone expressing their sexuality to you, it justifies you going out and killing them. The courts need to take a stand and kick this bullshit "defense" out.
Yeah, see, what I'm seeing isn't "I shot him because he was super gay," it's "I shot him because he was a giant fucking asshole who used his sexuality as the primary tool in his asshole repertoire." These are two very different things.
"If a GUY who was extra flirtatious, incredibly forward and very aware of his sexuality, was shot to death by a girl who didn't want his attention, would we be considering him a victim, or blaming him for [the] murder[?]"
Different situations bring about different feelings. News at 11.
Ah, so in your world, "gay panic" is acceptable?
And for people who have been noticing that I've been harping on this, there's a reason for that - because the "gay panic" defense is bullshit. It's basicially saying that because you have issues with someone expressing their sexuality to you, it justifies you going out and killing them. The courts need to take a stand and kick this bullshit "defense" out.
Yeah, see, what I'm seeing isn't "I shot him because he was super gay," it's "I shot him because he was a giant fucking asshole who used his sexuality as the primary tool in his asshole repertoire." These are two very different things.
His sexuality was only an issue at all because people were afraid of it.
Which is, of course, why he wielded it as a weapon. He perceived it as his one source of power in an otherwise completely disempowered life.
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
There seems to be some disagreement as to whether Larry started bullying Brandon or he was just using his sexuality to respond to Brandon's bullying of him
But really... no one knows they're fucking gay in middle school. I hardly knew what a vagina was until 8th grade. If you're claiming to be gay and wearing stilettos to school you're just a confused attention whore.
You ass.
I knew I was gay in middleschool. It was an extremely painful realization, and even though I had been taught by my parents that homosexuality was fine and normal, I was horrified by the realization. I realized at the age of 12-14 that for the rest of my life I would be different, ostracized, and hated by the majority of americans. It fucking sucks to learn that at that age, so it's not surprising that people will react in different. I chose to ignore it and pretend it would go away. That didn't really work. Larry obviously chose to go a different route.
That said, I don't know what to think about this. Larry's flamboyance and feminine actions don't matter. They just don't. However his harassment of other boys and brandon was entirely inappropriate. It was simple sexual harassment and should have been dealt with more appropriately. From the article linked in the OP it seemed like Larry was calculating and quite vicious towards brandon.
However, herein lies a problem - if larry had been an unpopular girl or what not, brandon probably would have gotten some ribbing or whatever but it would have passed. I think the whole basis of this crime is that middleschool is a toxic environment full of little shits that are changing and scared and confused and ready to lash out at others in order to find a 'place'
Middleschoolers are much more homophobic than highschoolers, and I think this was a huge contributing factor to the death of Larry.
King Riptor, umm, you obviously don't understand what Vice Principals do. It's the management position that deals with the kids directly.
Yes and the one Larry was talking to daily was assigned to the grade below his.
And?
This whole tragedy really underscores the need for a dialogue on gender and sexuality.
I dont think it does. I think it was about a kid getting harassed and then he killed someone. Just like any other school shooting. The same thing would have happened if a normal straight kid harassed him all the time as well I'd bet.
Not that such dialouges aren't needed. Parents should explain such things.
Don't call for a fucking dialogue on gender and sexuality. I don't feel like enduring a solid year of shitty CNN "special investigations" about dudes kissing.
Umaro on
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
King Riptor, umm, you obviously don't understand what Vice Principals do. It's the management position that deals with the kids directly.
Yes and the one Larry was talking to daily was assigned to the grade below his.
And?
This whole tragedy really underscores the need for a dialogue on gender and sexuality.
I dont think it does. I think it was about a kid getting harassed and then he killed someone. Just like any other school shooting. The same thing would have happened if a normal straight kid harassed him all the time as well I'd bet.
Not that such dialouges aren't needed. Parents should explain such things.
The problem is the parents don't have a clue either. There needs to be more public knowledge of what it means to be homosexual, heterosexual, transgender, cisgender, and everything inbetween. People are grossly uninformed, or even worse misinformed, on these subjects.
2. If you leave it up to the parents, 50% of them are going to instruct their children that homosexuality and/or homosexuals are bad, which won't really get us anywhere, will it?
Umaro on
0
ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
2. If you leave it up to the parents, 50% of them are going to instruct their children that homosexuality and/or homosexuals are bad, which won't really get us anywhere, will it?
1. Exactly, you're uninformed on the subject. (It means that your biological sex matches your gender role)
2. Because they're grossly misinformed. You're right, they shouldn't be the ones teaching them; this is why there should be a dialogue, or, really, a monologue because fuck homophobes.
Edit: OK, an open dialogue between professionals in the field, with the public as an audience.
But really... no one knows they're fucking gay in middle school. I hardly knew what a vagina was until 8th grade. If you're claiming to be gay and wearing stilettos to school you're just a confused attention whore.
You would be surprised. I knew I was Trans at a fairly young age even though it's not exactly the same thing.
This is a couple pages late, but I saw someone refer to E.O. Green as a Catholic school, which it isn't. If that had anything to do with me saying that he was a homosexual in a predominantly Catholic population, I just meant that most of the students are Catholic or were raised in Catholic families. Probably should have been clearer now that I read it again. D'oh
There seems to be some disagreement as to whether Larry started bullying Brandon or he was just using his sexuality to respond to Brandon's bullying of him
It's the second one (but he was responding to everyone bullying him)
you people need to read the article tht muddbudd posted:
Here's another article on the topic. And an interesting quote.
His friends say the verbal cruelty persisted for months, and grew worse after the slightly built Larry pushed back by “flirting” with some of his mockers. One of them was Brandon, who seethed over it, the friends say.
The idea that Larry could somehow bully Brandon by using his sexuality but yet not get bullied himself for that same sexuality is fucking laughable. Did you people even go to school?
I'd put money on the situation being like this:
1. Even before he comes out, Larry gets bullied for being weird/different/whatever.
2. Larry comes out and the bullying gets worse.
3. Larry discovers he can use his sexuality to push back a bit, to turn the attacks back on his attackers. Starts cross dressing as a way to do this.
Arg! Missed this choice quote from the OP article this first time:
They're not blaming Larry for his own death—as if anything could justify his murder—but their attitude toward his assailant is not unsympathetic. "We failed Brandon," a teacher says. "We didn't know the bullying was coming from the other side—Larry was pushing as hard as he could, because he liked the attention."
"because he liked the attention"... REALLY? REALLY? How can someone be that dumb?
Oh, if only Larry had just taken the abuse for years and years like a good little gay this would never have happened!
Proto on
and her knees up on the glove compartment
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
If you're going to blame the school, blame it for being part of the problem of schools shirking their obligation to address and eliminate bullying.
If a kid can't help but victimize his or her peers, then he or she needs to be put on in-school suspension and given time to sort out his or her issues with the counselor.
I agree with this.
Also, mental health resources at public schools in general are woefully inadequate. Both of these kids should have been in counseling, and their behavior at school should have been scrutinized.
I think this right here would solve so many of these types of problems, but there's such a stigma about mental health in our culture it's not exactly practical.
Wonder_Hippie on
0
ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
If you're going to blame the school, blame it for being part of the problem of schools shirking their obligation to address and eliminate bullying.
If a kid can't help but victimize his or her peers, then he or she needs to be put on in-school suspension and given time to sort out his or her issues with the counselor.
I agree with this.
Also, mental health resources at public schools in general are woefully inadequate. Both of these kids should have been in counseling, and their behavior at school should have been scrutinized.
I think this right here would solve so many of these types of problems, but there's such a stigma about mental health in our culture it's not exactly practical.
There's stigmas at every turn in this case, though. We have the most fucked up taboos.
There seems to be some disagreement as to whether Larry started bullying Brandon or he was just using his sexuality to respond to Brandon's bullying of him
It's the second one (but he was responding to everyone bullying him)
you people need to read the article tht muddbudd posted:
Here's another article on the topic. And an interesting quote.
His friends say the verbal cruelty persisted for months, and grew worse after the slightly built Larry pushed back by “flirting†with some of his mockers. One of them was Brandon, who seethed over it, the friends say.
The idea that Larry could somehow bully Brandon by using his sexuality but yet not get bullied himself for that same sexuality is fucking laughable. Did you people even go to school?
I'd put money on the situation being like this:
1. Even before he comes out, Larry gets bullied for being weird/different/whatever.
2. Larry comes out and the bullying gets worse.
3. Larry discovers he can use his sexuality to push back a bit, to turn the attacks back on his attackers. Starts cross dressing as a way to do this.
Arg! Missed this choice quote from the OP article this first time:
They're not blaming Larry for his own death—as if anything could justify his murder—but their attitude toward his assailant is not unsympathetic. "We failed Brandon," a teacher says. "We didn't know the bullying was coming from the other side—Larry was pushing as hard as he could, because he liked the attention."
"because he liked the attention"... REALLY? REALLY? How can someone be that dumb?
Oh, if only Larry had just taken the abuse for years and years like a good little gay this would never have happened!
Did you read all of it?
Larry would chase kids down the hallway.
He approached Brandon in the incident that led up to the murder.
He was not just "defending himself." He admitted that he did this for fun to mess with people, and he was the one instigating it.
Posts
"I'm coming on to you as a misguided attempt at self-defense, revulsion being the only weapon I have at my disposal and all."
"That's cool, but if you did this dressed as a woman then I'd probably end up shooting you."
"Good thing dress codes prevented that very thing from happening, then."
"Indeed!"
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
Victim shouldn't have been a dick about it.
But, more to the real point, dude shouldn't have shot him over it.
Teenage years are way too fucking overdramatic, but this is ridiculous. I wish there was some way to impart on younger teens that once you leave high school, things change dramatically.
It's a power grab. By fulfilling his mythology, he begins to control the narrative again. He pushes back against the bullies by turning their fears into his actions.
I am fully aware that Transgender students are usually exempt from dress codes for obvious reasons. However I saw no mention of this kid even going to psychiatrist. He simply claimed he was gay and wanted to be a woman. There's alot more to the process than that as I'm sure you know.
It never metions wether he met other administrative staff( doubtful) just the one Vice Principal who again wasn't the person he should have been talking to in the firstplace.
Stop assuming the worst. I did it wrong, too, if the vice-principal was the wrong person because she was my goddamn liaison and they were damn insistent my liaison was to be her. Even the school counseling staff played second-fiddle.
Okay, hold on. Why would a transgendered person be exempt from the dress code, rather than just allowed to adhere to either code?
Big difference.
Yeah, fuck that woman, for telling him it's okay for him to dress the way he wanted.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Actually, it's more like you say, Adrien. An MtF transgender wouldn't be allowed to show up to school with a bare midriff and an ass-showing miniskirt, for instance, or a t-shirt that says "Fuck you, I'm a tranny!" because neither gender would be allowed to wear those things.
According to the story, he wore a full-length dress, makeup, and high-heels. Shit, kids at my school wore dresses and makeup, but we didn't call them gay, we just called them goth.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
If a kid can't help but victimize his or her peers, then he or she needs to be put on in-school suspension and given time to sort out his or her issues with the counselor.
https://twitter.com/Hooraydiation
I agree with this.
Also, mental health resources at public schools in general are woefully inadequate. Both of these kids should have been in counseling, and their behavior at school should have been scrutinized.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Yes and the one Larry was talking to daily was assigned to the grade below his.
And?
This whole tragedy really underscores the need for a dialogue on gender and sexuality.
There is usually a blanket rule against distracting or disruptive clothing in addition to any specific rules in the dress code.
A dress code might not specifically state that you can't come to school with a big neon sign over your head, but a blanket rule would cover that.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I feel sorry for Brandon, he too reminds me of my younger brother. He was sexually harassed by one of his managers at his part time job when he was only 16. His manager who was sexually harassing him was a man as well, possibly gay, possibly just a pedophile. My brother was completely filled with rage because of this harassment/sexual assault, and truly wanted to murder his manager. Luckily we got him in touch with a councilor in time to help him learn to deal with his anger.
I really think that there is no good solution to what happened here. But trying Brandon as an adult wont help anyone, and certainly wont do anything to help him or the victim and wont deter future instances of this happening.
The school really dropped the ball on this one. They should have came out long ago with a hard line against bullying, then applied that hard line against bullying on harrasment. The school failed Larry, then they failed Brandon.
MWO: Adamski
This is all so very delicate and all so very much a 'devil in the details' situation. When the larger story comes to light after the trial, it'll be interesting to see how this all played out -- though admittedly I probably have a larger interest than most, for obvious reasons. :P
Yeah, see, what I'm seeing isn't "I shot him because he was super gay," it's "I shot him because he was a giant fucking asshole who used his sexuality as the primary tool in his asshole repertoire." These are two very different things.
His sexuality was only an issue at all because people were afraid of it.
Which is, of course, why he wielded it as a weapon. He perceived it as his one source of power in an otherwise completely disempowered life.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
You ass.
I knew I was gay in middleschool. It was an extremely painful realization, and even though I had been taught by my parents that homosexuality was fine and normal, I was horrified by the realization. I realized at the age of 12-14 that for the rest of my life I would be different, ostracized, and hated by the majority of americans. It fucking sucks to learn that at that age, so it's not surprising that people will react in different. I chose to ignore it and pretend it would go away. That didn't really work. Larry obviously chose to go a different route.
That said, I don't know what to think about this. Larry's flamboyance and feminine actions don't matter. They just don't. However his harassment of other boys and brandon was entirely inappropriate. It was simple sexual harassment and should have been dealt with more appropriately. From the article linked in the OP it seemed like Larry was calculating and quite vicious towards brandon.
However, herein lies a problem - if larry had been an unpopular girl or what not, brandon probably would have gotten some ribbing or whatever but it would have passed. I think the whole basis of this crime is that middleschool is a toxic environment full of little shits that are changing and scared and confused and ready to lash out at others in order to find a 'place'
Middleschoolers are much more homophobic than highschoolers, and I think this was a huge contributing factor to the death of Larry.
EDIT: But yes, middle school is fucking insanely evil. Worst three years of my life without a doubt.
I dont think it does. I think it was about a kid getting harassed and then he killed someone. Just like any other school shooting. The same thing would have happened if a normal straight kid harassed him all the time as well I'd bet.
Not that such dialouges aren't needed. Parents should explain such things.
The problem is the parents don't have a clue either. There needs to be more public knowledge of what it means to be homosexual, heterosexual, transgender, cisgender, and everything inbetween. People are grossly uninformed, or even worse misinformed, on these subjects.
2. If you leave it up to the parents, 50% of them are going to instruct their children that homosexuality and/or homosexuals are bad, which won't really get us anywhere, will it?
1. Exactly, you're uninformed on the subject. (It means that your biological sex matches your gender role)
2. Because they're grossly misinformed. You're right, they shouldn't be the ones teaching them; this is why there should be a dialogue, or, really, a monologue because fuck homophobes.
Edit: OK, an open dialogue between professionals in the field, with the public as an audience.
You would be surprised. I knew I was Trans at a fairly young age even though it's not exactly the same thing.
It's the second one (but he was responding to everyone bullying him)
you people need to read the article tht muddbudd posted:
The idea that Larry could somehow bully Brandon by using his sexuality but yet not get bullied himself for that same sexuality is fucking laughable. Did you people even go to school?
I'd put money on the situation being like this:
1. Even before he comes out, Larry gets bullied for being weird/different/whatever.
2. Larry comes out and the bullying gets worse.
3. Larry discovers he can use his sexuality to push back a bit, to turn the attacks back on his attackers. Starts cross dressing as a way to do this.
Arg! Missed this choice quote from the OP article this first time:
"because he liked the attention"... REALLY? REALLY? How can someone be that dumb?
Oh, if only Larry had just taken the abuse for years and years like a good little gay this would never have happened!
took out her barrettes and her hair spilled out like rootbeer
I think this right here would solve so many of these types of problems, but there's such a stigma about mental health in our culture it's not exactly practical.
There's stigmas at every turn in this case, though. We have the most fucked up taboos.
Larry would chase kids down the hallway.
He approached Brandon in the incident that led up to the murder.
He was not just "defending himself." He admitted that he did this for fun to mess with people, and he was the one instigating it.