"That's so gay"-- this is a phrase that is all too common in our society. You probably even say it, yourself. Everybody hears it at least once a day, and most of the time it isn't even to comment on someone's sexuality-- they're just expressing their negative opinion on one thing or another (because somehow, being gay is a bad thing and an insult).

But sometimes, it is to hurt somebody and ridicule them of their sexual orientation, even if they aren't even gay in the first place.

Only a few weeks ago on April 6th, an 11-year-old boy named Carl Walker-Hoover was found by his mother hanging by an extension cord in his room, dead. He had apparently committed suicide after dealing with months of teasing from his classmates, who relentlessly attacked him with anti-gay harassment. The 11-year-old did not identify as being gay.

His mother, Sirdeaner L. Walker, said that the New Leadership Charter School did nothing to stop the bullying despite her repeated complaints to the school.

In an interview with the “Republican” newspaper, Walker said that the 6th grader suffered taunts and threats from other students who made fun of him, insulted the way he dressed and called him gay.


This is at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school aged child linked to bullying, according to the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.

A boy of 17 named Eric Mohat went home from school on March 27, 2007, put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

In a federal lawsuit, the parents of Eric allege that he regularly “was called ‘gay,’ ‘fag,’ ‘queer’ and ‘homo’ among other names” and that the school did nothing to prevent it.

"You do not have to identify as gay to be attacked with anti-LGBT language. From their earliest years on the school playground, students learn to use anti-LGBT language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their peers. In many cases, schools and teachers either ignore the behavior or don’t know how to intervene." -(GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard)

Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half reported being physically harassed and about a quarter reported being physically assaulted, according to GLSEN’s 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students.


Why? Why does this have to happen? Today, I myself had an experience in class where students were making anti-gay comments, and the teacher not only failed to stop them, but joined in. I was appalled at how the she handled the situation. She didn't stop them from their comments, she actually encouraged them, perhaps unknowingly. I feel that our society is highly uneducated and incredibly disrespectful when it comes to understanding other people.

I feel like we're back in in times when African Americans were considered to be lower class, not deserving equal rights and being enslaved with the justification from certain verses in the Bible. Replace "African Americans" with "Homosexuals" and it's the same exact thing. We may as well be calling someone a jigaboo the next time we shout the word faggot. What's the difference? Does anyone even know how the word "faggot" started? It's from when the KKK would kidnap people who were homosexual (or thought to be) and burn them at the stake, referring to them as the "faggot" which originally meant "a bundle of sticks bound together for burning". Why are we still so hateful? Why are we still so dense?

I am ashamed of our society. Something needs to change.