"The Nurture of Bullying"

(Pictured above, please find one bully.)

Bullying is not just a problem among Gay youth. It is a problem for our whole community. The laws a government hold sacred and enforce greatly influence the thinking of the people it governs. The message from the United States government has been that Gay people are second class. There is no urgency to end Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Defense of Marriage Act, or pass the Employment Non Discrimination Act. In fact the current administration is appealing court decisions that declared D.A.D.T. and D.O.M.A. unconstitutional, while saying they are against both laws. It is confusing and either side of the road is littered with broken promises and pointed fingers lecturing Gay people to wait and be patient for our rights.

Bullies get the message and act upon it. Our Gay youth get the message and are on the receiving end of the harmful actions that are reinforced by our government’s lack of leadership on our civil rights. The adults in our community are still subject to acts of violence and other hate crimes. How long we are willing to wait for our rights is up to us. It is a choice we make. Wait peacefully or draw a line in the sand and fight back with whatever it takes to get the job done. The casualties of this war mount up as we decide our course.

Below are some definitions of bullying. Keep in mind our governments actions and messages to us as you read them. You may come to the conclusion that we, in the land of the free, are a bullied people. It does get better I want our youth to know that.I want our adults to know that too. It does get better through the perseverance and hard work by those who came before us and now that same blood and sweat is required of us, for those who come after..


Definitions of bullying on the Web:

•The act of intimidating a weaker person to make them do something
•Blustery: noisily domineering; tending to browbeat others
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

•Bullying is a form of abuse. It comprises repeated acts over time that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power with the more powerful individual or group abusing those who are less powerful. The power imbalance may be social power and/or physical power. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying

•Includes behaviors and actions that are verbal, physical and/or anti-social, such as exclusion, gossip and non-verbal body language. It can occur at school or in transit between school and home.
www.oklahomaparentscenter.org/Dictionary.html


If you are Gay and are being bullied, please call The Trevor project 866-488-7386,they will help you.