And if you doubt me dog, you betta out me dog

I'm throw'd off slightly, brah

Oh I see they're still trying to out Queen Latifah. I think I saw this story a while ago but since I'm on a roll with sadness why not. I can't depress myself much more this week--wait.

QUEEN LATIFAH THREATENED THROUGH TABLOIDS

So a make-up artist and a stylist are suing Queen Latifah claiming she owes them $1 million dollars combined. Roxanna Floyd says she’s owed $700,000 on work done between July 2005 and February 2008.

Stylist Susan Moses says she was cheated out of $300,000 during that same period. While the lawsuit has yet to go to court, it’s already spilling over into the gossip pages.

Apparently the two are threatening to go public about Queen Latifah’s private life if they don’t get their cash.

Lawyers for the two told the National Enquirer, “Whether Latifah is gay or straight has absolutely nothing to do with our clients claims,” though they added that “Latifah’s personal life could become an issue in the case as it relates to her treatment of another stylist.”

*rolls eyes backwards until the whites show, trembles, falls backwards and starts clawing at the air*

Bring em out bring em out! Suddenly sounds different.

This is old fucking dumbness but it's still fucking dumbness and that's what we're going for this week.

I really hate it when the gay community tries to force people out. Like, against their will. I mean celebrities, politicians, what have you. Because it's fucking dumb. I used to think it was a good thing but I've realized that being forced to come out is rather scary and hurtful.

"Oh Xands, they're being selfish by staying in the closet!" I beg to differ head voice, for I think you are being fucking selfish by demanding they come out. Especially in this case when we're not even sure that Queen Latifah is...gay.

Do you not get that if it were safe for gays & lesbians and whoever to come out about their differing sexualities that we would all do it? There are hypocrites that stay in the closet because of fear, and then there are people that stay in the closet. It is, frankly, none of our goddamn business. If Latifah wanted to come out, she would have. But threatening to out her and sue her for unpaid fees is some ol bullshit. If you agree with any of that you are also on some ol' bullshit and I really don't care.

As a black person, I don't mind coming out to a few friends every now and then but I am scared to death, really, of coming out to the world. It would not be good. I'd rather run around with an upside down cross and three sixes on my head screaming "GODLESS" than whisper I'm gay. I try to live as openly as I can but it's pretty rare, except in print, that you'll hear me admit to my queerness. It is not good. It would not be good for me to come out to very many people until society changes its fucking dumb views on sexuality.

I look at celebrities that are out, and I do not feel better about coming out. I do not relate to very many of them even in sexuality. They feel safe to come out. I do not. Is Queen Latifah in the same situation? I do not know and I do not give a fuck. Perhaps she feels like Wanda Sykes, who officially came out about last year some time, and said it was just not a big deal or anyone else's business to broadcast. Perhaps Latifah is not gay. Perhaps she is. Perhaps you feel forcing her out of her comfort zone is the way to go. Perhaps you feel those pesky human rights and right to privacy are getting in the way.

Pretty much all of the above just brings me much sadness. And that's the theme of the week!

Your Transphobia Also Makes Me Sad

Don't make me cry.

Note: I'm awful mad today and, at random, will let off steam and use horrible words.

Alright, while I have a few minutes, let me clear up exactly why your transphobia brings me *SADNESS*

"But I'm not transphobic!" you cry out. Shut up, for right now you are.

So, I told you why your biphobia makes me sad. If you didn't read it or quite get the gist, it's because it's fucking dumb. It's fucking dumbness to deny that a group exists just because you don't think they do (even science isn't on your side, for once). Again, think about who also denies your existence and think on whether you really want to align yourself with the people that hate you.

Transphobia is also fucking dumb but for a few different reasons. It's bad enough having to validate yourself to cisgender "normal" (bleh!) folks but you have to do so to that group that you were supposed to be aligned with at first. Not only that but there are apparently people who will try to deny your womanhood or manhood because you weren't really born a woman or a man what with your vagina and testicles and what not. Never mind reconstructive surgery and how you FEEL and shit, you're not really _______.

See, the closest I get to this is I usually feel like the wrong gender. I don't think I'm a female. I'm not a very good female by most Western standards--I'm not very sensitive, I wear pants and or capris a lot, I don't like cleaning (unless I'm mad), I do like to cook but only for me, and I'm not very maternal. I do however suck at math so that's my only redeeming quality.

The thing is, gender is a social construct and the sooner people realize this the better. But where does that leave SEX, what you are actually born as before society fucks you up?

Well, as it turns out that's not so set in stone either. I'm pretty good with someone who feels that they are truly a female or are a male and want to live that way, reassignment surgery or not. I don't even care if you somehow end up changing your mind. It's not my place to tell you what you are or that you don't exist and your problems have nothing to do with me.

To see the G&L outcast bisexuals and trans people and other groups makes me rather weepy and depressed because it just shows a complete lack of empathy and awareness. They want the same rights you do, probably even more because if I see trans people get utterly shafted in terms of hate crime laws and what not I will punch a chipmunk (they're awful abundant on campus). It isn't right, I will go so far as to say that it's wrong.

Do you recall the Remembering Our Dead project? It's still up and it's not just relegated to one day a year. Remember the burst of trans women being murdered in Memphis? That shit happens a lot and it's fucking sad. Your fear of the unknown is fucking dumb. I'm sorry trans people don't fit your dumb ass gender binary but you should really get over it now.

I think I might have mentioned this a while ago but I wrote a (n unfinished) story involving drag queens and trans people. Just for fun. There was one character who was a trans performer going through a divorce and one person asked me how can he be straight when he's trans. I died a little because I realize that sexuality & gender exists on all planes and just because you're trans or a drag queen doesn't mean you have to automatically like the opposite of your sex *blink*

I know, it's so confusing and so hard. Damn those perverts wanting to wiggle into every aspect of society!

Oh yeah, Adhamh Roland, who is now my man crush, also does a song called Bathrooms, Boxes & Binary that you should seek out. I really appreciated hearing about it after reading this post of utter fucking dumbness. Which just goes to show that anyone can be transphobic at any time for any reason.

Trans people don't make you comfortable, sort of like your former nemesis bisexuals. And again, sort of like bisexuals, I don't think trans people have to make you comfortable or validate themselves to you, sort of like you don't have to validate yourself as society as a straight person, or to straight people and society again as a gay and/or lesbian.

Auuugh~

Thank you, I'll be here until the 17th.

Your Biphobia Makes Me Sad

You wouldn't want to see a little girl cry would you?

Edit: I'm blogging on pure rage, I say "fuck" and other variations a lot.

So, you know, I've engaged in biphobia before. Like my agnostic buddies I've called them flip-floppers. Mixed up individuals. MODERATES (oh noez). Which is strange coming from someone who's more or less bisexual with an affinity more to females. I cut it out eventually when I realized how fucking dumb it was (I used to do a lot of dumb things). That's pretty fucked up, but what's ALSO fucked up is denying that someone exists because you either don't think it can happen or you've never seen it happen.

Let's take it from the top with asexuals. Do you believe asexuality exists in humans? Of course you don't, everyone wants to get laid at some point, never mind the group of people who, calling themselves asexual, sort of disprove this. But you've never seen it in real life, and furthermore, SCIENCE, so it can't and doesn't exist, and FURTHERMORE you don't want those icky creatures tacked on to your "movement".

Let's keep going with...I dunno, polar bears. I've been to my fair share of zoos but damned if I've ever seen a real polar bear up close, despite Youtube and scientific evidence. I've never seen one up close therefore they don't exist.

He who does not feel me is not real to me therefore he doesn't exist

Let's see...what else. Pagans. I've never seen a real pagan that stayed pagan for very long, despite evidence to the contrary so they don't exist.

Okay, bisexuals. What IS it about bisexuality that confuses/disturbs people so badly? So someone's attracted to both sexes. You don't believe them? Guess what, they don't have to prove shit to you for your clarification.

This shit annoys me. It annoys me when straights say bisexuals don't exist, but it annoys me even more when the GL community pulls this shit. You know who else doesn't exist? Gays! We're horrific freaks of nature, fucked up by one or two genes that make us attracted to the same sex. Where are the benefits? We can't conceive babehs or marry each other. Why do we do this?!

...And here we go turning on bisexuals. We don't want those icky people attached to our movement because they're weird and unnatural! We're at war pick a side! /colbert

Reading this thread (and the link therein) a few days ago made me rather sad and really just gave me one more reason to be really annoyed with the GL community. Which is a pity because I used to like it until it started becoming apparent that I wasn't wanted there either.

You're uncomfortable with bisexuals. You don't think they're really real, like the invisible pink unicorn. But! you want equal rights and shit. You know who also wants to deny certain groups equal rights? Your opponents! They want to deny you rights and deny your existence! Do you see how fucking dumb that is? I'm not comfortable with people in jail but I don't think they should live in sub-human conditions, this coming from someone who has had two uncles murdered.

Sure, you've never seen one of those rare elusive bisexuals in real life or you're think they're all just faking. Lulz! Too bad we can't just shut off our sexuality and our personalities like Them O Mighty Privileged. I'd like the G&L community to get their shit together, again, and check back with us aft'while. I'm gonna be busy trying to advocate and shit and not fucking around with who and what I want tacked to "my side" or what I think or don't think exists.

Lulz, these get angrier and angrier.

Ally failitudes and *sadness*

First, failitudes:

Being an ally is tough work. Not "omg woe is meeee" tough but "augh I fucked up, let me try that again" tough. The difference is the former, I think, is more self-serving, and the latter is an admittance of need-to-do-better-ness, not only because you feel you have to, but because you WANT to.

Over Twitter last night I talked about a song Danz had sent me from a trans performer named Adhamh Roland. Danz said he was a trans woman, and I gleefully went about saying "she" until I stumbled upon his Myspace and realized I should be using male pronouns. Oops! I changed, but kept stumbling because...well he looks and sounds female, and in my binary mind = girl = she regardless of every source referring to him as a "he". Oops again!

While talking about the artist at some point my brain clicked in with "auuuug this is harrrrd~ *flailflail*" in a sort of self defeating manner. I didn't totally give up though.

You see, also, in my journey on becoming a better ally and maybe a better human being in the proecess, I've been trying to figure out how to tackle trans issues. I write up blog posts in my sleep (no shit) and dismiss them like little mental drafts because they're never quite right. Because I've been so focused on the negative aspects of life--which is driving me nuts--all I wanted to talk about was transphobia.

The thing about transphobia is, I think of all the isms and phobias, it actually confuses me most of all. Gays & lesbians can be transphobic and I've seen it and just thought "Eh?" Then those normal cisgendered hetero folks can be transphobic as well--even gleefully so. And it's so strange to me when anyone is derided and abused just for living their lives, even with the groups you'd think they would belong with, like the gay & lesbian community. But that's also the same community that blamed blacks for prop 8 and has apparently decided that bisexuals of any type don't exist so I should take that back...no I'm not bitter at all.

Pretty sure last year I talked about the Remembering Our Dead project and I'm still astounded at how many trans women and trans men are murdered each year. That's part of the reason I'm so anxious about the Angie Zapata trial (note: I'm too stupid right now to figure out the light a candle button so don't think I just forgot about it or something, working on it). I want to see a court charge this as a hate crime and put a foot down and say this is MURDER and it's a HATEFUL murder. You killed this woman because she was different and you deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

But who knows how that will turn out...it seems our country is still having a hard trouble accepting "differences"--I'm looking at you, entire country, even Hawaii and Alaska--and I'm feeling rather moot instead of optimistic. Being an ally is tough work...when there's not even any hope in you.

If I may transition to SADNESS, occasionally I'll bump into people I don't really want to be ally'd with. No, not the groups I'm ally'ing for, but other allies. Let's talk about my fucking Am Lit II professor yet again.

See, prof has declared himself a "bleeding heart liberal" in front of the class...with no irony, and even has the nice pink triangle on his office door, which I GUESS makes him a friend to gays. This man is no friend of mine though and I'd rather he not be.

I know, we can't all be enlightened. But I really doubt your "liberal" credentials when you can refer to a story involving Zora Neale Hurston in which she allegedly molested a "retarded" child and then call Zelda Fitzgerald "insane" and "crazy".

SADNESS.

Even more SADNESS is the failure of the class--including myself--to call him out on this...stupid-speak. I felt like less of an ally and more of an apathetic student, which I am, but I picked the wrong time to just lose all empathy (and feeling in my pimp-hand).

Being an ally is tough work and never-ending, sometimes tiring, sometimes gratifying, sometimes amazing, sometimes AMAZING, sometimes NYARLATHOTEP BE PRAISED. And I hope I can continue...

Let's adopt the children...I guess

So, I've been on a roll it seems with kids lately because the world's been on a roll with them. I told you to stop fucking with the kids but you aren't listenniiinnng~

Let's take it from the bottom with Madonna's continuing adoption saga. I'm so very annoyed.

I don't know when adopting the poor children from Africa became a fad. I don't care. I've been tired of Ye Mighty White and Privileged Kiplings feeling so entitled to go snatch up African children and bring them to the states. I'm sure that while their rich & famous parents are busy erasing any memories of their home & culture they're being provided with the best schools, best education, best life they can have in the glorious United States. And these young black children, when they get older, will be treated just like every minority in the US, with dignity, respec--*snorfle*

Anyway, so you've heard this. Madonna wants to adopt a child named Mercy, Madonna is denied, Madonna freaks out at being denied something for once and goes on a campaign to adopt this child. The problem is, according to Malawi law Madonna can't adopt Mercy because she hasn't lived there for over a year. Madonna don't care none and decides she's going to build a house just so she can adopt her Mercy and whisk her away, away, awaaaay~

...The other problem here is that, uh, Mercy already has a family. I know right, and African child with a family still in tact. The family, quite understandably, doesn't want their child/grandchild to be taken away. Again, fancy that. How dare they stand in the way of Madonna's progress! The other thing is, Madonna already has her token African baby, David, whom hasn't even seen his real father but once since he came to the US and doesn't even know his own language. Niiiice.

I blog about this because I really, really find it outrageous that this woman, this celebrity, feels so ridiculously entitled to go up and adopt her African babies like it's going out of style (and I wish it was) against the family's wishes. Nyarlathotep be freaking praised, is she serious? Kind of like Bob Geldof, she seems to only be interested in Africa on it's knees (wish I remember who said that first).

I used to hate this phrase, you know, back when I too thought Africa was uniformly in the whole, why don't they just adopt American children? Well honestly I'm kind of asking now, why DON'T they just adopt American children, if they want to do something so kind? Why bring them into a unabashedly xenophobic country? Oh the whiteness, it's hurting my eyes! *shields with hands*

Actually, there are some normal folks in America that wouldn't mind seeing American children out of foster homes & orphanages, except the restrictions for those are getting tighter and tighter. There are states *coughfloridaarizonacough* where you can't adopt if you so happen to be not straight. There are states *coughflorida* where you can't adopt if you're single or just unmarried. So many restrictions, so few loopholes, unless you want to adopt an African/Chinese/Indian/ehhh baby from elsewhere in the world, bring them to a country that kind of hates foreigners & colored folks, and why don't they just adopt american and so on and so on and so on and auuuugh.

But I'm not absolving celebrities of any guilt or wrong doing, what the Madonnas and Angelina Jolies are doing is still kinda fucked up *shrug* but what America does is even fucked upper still.

Then I see this article on CNN regarding...oh, whew! its China:

Fewer children up for adoption in China

The Chinese government imposed new regulations in 2007 to limit the number of international applications, putting more restrictions on prospective parents from outside China. The rules basically say you need not apply if you are single, overweight, deformed, taking anti-depressants or poor. China has said the rules are in the best interest of the child.

After leading the world in international adoptions, adoptions in China are slowing down- though it is not clear if there is a link to the new rules. According to the U.S. State Department, Americans adopted 7,906 Chinese children in 2005 - a number that dropped to 3,909 children in 2008.

However, Melody Zhang of Children's Hope International, said it is not that fewer people want to adopt but there are instead simply more Chinese and foreigners who want to adopt and fewer children up for adoption - however, the government does not release data on the numbers of children up for adoption in the country.

"In the past, Chinese people would not consider adopting someone out of the family, but more and more people are educated, and they understand the important part is to raise the child, not necessarily a blood tie," Zhang said.

The Asian giant's growing economy has given more people the means to raise a child, so Chinese parents are less likely to give up their children.

I dunno, I guess you may say that Madonna probably has the right idea, you may say China has the right idea. I've never been quite here or there when it comes to foreign adoptions other than the fact that orphanages typically aren't the nicest places to be (note: extreme understatement ahoy!). I'm just annoyed at the Privileged Ones and their oh-so-entitled-ment. Perhaps there's even a bigger problem at work here...but there always is...

Amazon, get thee to a corner and sitteth down

Well, I actually have no idea what to say on this other than:

1) Eh? Again?
2) Ah, gay hate
3) My closet is still stuck
4) Oh that amazon thing is really stupid

So I'll just direct everyone to these two posts and if you want a summary, well...

Looks like Amazon is stripping sales ranks from GLBT/Qetc books because they're adult in material. You may say, "Oh...so?" Well that means when you search for, say, Heather Has Two Mommies, you'll instead get books on healing your gayness. Not quite what you were looking for is it? See, we're talking ANY gay literature, not just the naughty stuff.

I dunno, I seem to remember similar incidents a year ago in which Amazon actually did censor actual erotic literature, which was also kinda fucking stupid, but I may have either imagined that or they've just fixed it. Anyway, the point is now someone either cried mama or Amazon's lost its collective mind and has decided no one needs to see those dirty gay books, BUT you can still probably get graphically illustrated Kama Sutra translations and stuff~ good logic there.

Edit: Well, Amazon does still seem to have a vendetta against erotic literature, but taking down NON-erotic works of gay literature in the process is just...um...what's the word...not...right? Yeah.

I feel like if I read any more on this I'll just launch a massive trolling campaign for the fuck of it so until I see further breaking news I'm just going to stare.

Edit: If you're that hooked on Amazon and wondering, "Well if I boycott the fuckers how will I finish reading Ranma 1/2?!" or some such, try IndieBound, the link to which I nabbed from Random Babble.

Oh and Powell's. For real, keep the fail coming Amazon. Can't stop won't stop til I get free clothes!

Stop Fucking with The Kids

Is the only way I can describe it.

Look, I don't like kids that much. I like babies even less. I can tolerate them now but thanks to some teething incidents I had when I was a kid, I just do not like kids. I have not since I was one myself. I like plants. When my maternal instinct kicks in, I buy a new one.

BUT

That doesn't mean I want to see them suffer. Kids that is.

I seem to be the only one who remembers I was a fucking child once, and the memory of my child hood is still very fresh in my mind.

When I tutor, I treat my kids as equals more or less. I do not speak down to them. I treat them like damn human beings and try to set an example for my peers to do the same. It's been proven that children are no where near as stupid as we, adults, would like to think they are.

They make mistakes. They're young. They need guidance, but they don't need to be screwed over. Let's take it from the top with the educational system.

This story pissed me off so badly I honestly could not see straight for a few minutes. This child was bullied daily, being taunted with anti-gay slurs even though he was 11 and even though he did not identify as gay. This child hanged himself over daily abuse despite his mother's pleas for the school to do something. If the school did, it proved woefully uneffective.

The thing is, this isn't the first child suicide over bullying we've heard about, is it. There have been FOUR this year according to the GLSEN article, middle school aged children. Fucking middle school when things are at such a critical stage. What are you, about 11-14 now for middle school I think. This child will never see his 12th birthday for being taunted by his peers over a perceived orientation. He was different and that's all the kids needed.

Bullying is a part of the school experience you may say, it builds character, teaches kids about the real world and what not and toughens them up. Alright, tell that to the young lives that have been snuffed out because their voices were ignored. Tough enough for you, now?

Children are cruel, but it's foolish to think that they come out of the womb screaming "fag!" and "dyke!" and "omg fatso!"

No, it's fucking us, man. Directly or indirectly, children learn from us. They learn from the outside. They. LEARN. Intolerance. You can have a personality but kids, I do not believe, are seldom born to be a bully. That's not it. That's passing off blame to shit we don't understand therefore absolving US of any guilt but fuck that, it's US.

I was bullied quite often as a child for being overweight and not the prettiest, and this seems to be commonplace in childhood. And I can only speak from my experience but my teachers seldom did anything about it. You could almost say they had just given up--because bullying occurs so often they figure kids will get over it. Well as we're finding out not all of them do.

And these are the same people who wonder why these kids are killing themselves because life is already too damn hard for them. You want to know why?

Check this out. A while ago, a month or so ago, there was a bill in TN that wanted to remove all teachings of any human sexuality outside of heterosexuality at ANY grade level. This would have effectively erased homosexuality from these kids' lives. I can't say if it actually got anywhere but I wouldn't doubt it since being afraid of TEH GAYNESS is what's in now.

Parents don't want their kids to learn about what is different. They teach the children, even if it's indirect, to mock what is different. So when someone doesn't act like you, look like you, you're bad. We don't want you. See where I'm going here?

I would go into how much I hate the images on TV with hyper-sexualized women, racism and other such bigotry but must I?

There's no guarantee that you'll just mysteriously get over a lifetime or torment, nor is there a guarantee that you'll just leave high school like "oh wow, all that shit I did? So lame. I'll be a good person from now on!" No. It doesn't always work like that. Hell I'd say rarely because I'm a misanthrope.

So, we teach the kids hate, they see hate, they hate, and...well, what DO we do about it, other than just assuming the kids will toughen up.

About that. Do none of these adults, these protectors & educators of our young, remember being kids? Or were their childhoods so idyllic that they can't possibly fathom the sort of abuse that goes on in schools? I digress...

What do we do? Stop fucking with the kids is what we should do. Stop not taking them seriously. Stop not believing them. Stop passing over cries for help. It's not that you're not doing all you can do with limited resources, money, and time, but think about what's at stake here. It's not your spare time & sanity, it's a child's fucking LIFE, man.

Let me get to the bottom real quick with the government and wrap this up--

Oh, about Wednesday night, I caught a special on HBO called Hard Times at Douglass, looking at the effects on the No Child Left Behind act on Frederick Douglass High in Baltimore. Yes, even the government is fucking with the kids for whatever reason (and the teachers let's not forget), because we know how well that improved education *coughitdidn'tcough* *coughitjustfuckedupthecurriculumand* *coughmadeithardercough* But the gubmint has been fucking with the kids for years, in all sorts of countries, what with child labor and insurance and what not. Yeeah, government doesn't seem to care bout the future much, go figure I guess.

No really though, stop fucking with the kids. I'm sure all your intentions are in the right place, and that's great! But you're fucking up and I'd like not to open my browser or look in my newspaper and hear about yet another child in danger or dead over things we should be getting our act together on, alright? Alright.

11 year old commits suicide over gay bullying, a bigger problem

I have a bigger post to make about this but I realized human events don't just wait until it's convenient for you to talk about them.

But this story just kills me. I'm so sick of people fucking around with children and not taking them seriously. Bullying is a fucking problem no matter who it is but you do NOT sit on kids getting bullied and act like they get over it. You DO NOT. You handle it quickly, swiftly, and appropriately and it seems schools aren't interested in doing any of the three.

/fuck

Borrowed from...strangely enough, Perez Hilton. Don't worry we're going to get all up in this shit when I'm feeling a little more coherent.

GLSEN Calls on Schools, Nation to Embrace Solutions to Bullying Problem

NEW YORK, April 9, 2009 - An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hung himself Monday after enduring bullying at school, including daily taunts of being gay, despite his mother’s weekly pleas to the school to address the problem. This is at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school aged child linked to bullying this year.

Carl, a junior at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield who did not identify as gay, would have turned 12 on April 17, the same day hundreds of thousands of students will participate in the 13th annual National Day of Silence by taking some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying and harassment at school. The other three known cases of suicide among middle-school students took place in Chatham, Evanston and Chicago, Ill., in the month of February.

"Our hearts go out to Carl’s mother, Sirdeaner L. Walker, and other members of Carl's family, as well as to the community suffering from this loss," GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard said. "As we mourn yet another tragedy involving bullying at school, we must heed Ms. Walker’s urgent call for real, systemic, effective responses to the endemic problem of bullying and harassment. Especially in this time of societal crisis, adults in schools must be alert to the heightened pressure children face, and take action to create safe learning environments for the students in their care. In order to do that effectively, as this case so tragically illustrates, schools must deal head-on with anti-gay language and behavior."

Two of the top three reasons students said their peers were most often bullied at school were actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression, according to From Teasing to Torment: School Climate in America, a 2005 report by GLSEN and Harris Interactive. The top reason was physical appearance.

"As was the case with Carl, you do not have to identify as gay to be attacked with anti-LGBT language," Byard said. "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."

Nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (86.2%) reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half (44.1%) reported being physically harassed and about a quarter (22.1%) reported being physically assaulted, according to GLSEN’s 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students.

In most cases, the harassment is unreported. Nearly two-thirds of LGBT students (60.8%) who experience harassment or assault never reported the incident to the school. The most common reason given was that they didn’t believe anything would be done to address the situation. Of those who did report the incident, nearly a third (31.1%) said the school staff did nothing in response. While LGBT youth face extreme victimization, bullying in general is also a widespread problem. More than a third of middle and high school students (37%) said that bullying, name-calling or harassment is a somewhat or very serious problem at their school, according to From Teasing to Torment. Bullying is even more severe in middle school. Two-thirds of middle school students (65%) reported being assaulted or harassed in the previous year and only 41% said they felt very safe at school.

Carl's suicide comes about a year after eighth-grader Lawrence King was shot and killed by a fellow student in a California classroom, allegedly because he was gay.

GLSEN recommends four simple approaches schools can take to begin addressing bullying now.

Said Walker in the Springfield Republican: "If anything can come of this, it's that another child doesn't have to suffer like this and there can be some justice for some other child. I don't want any other parent to go through this."

The Amurrrr'can Dream pt.1

Or, I'm Going to Try My Damnedest to Give Someone Nightmares

So, for the dreaded AmLit II class, I have to do a paper on the "american dream". Not so bad eh? I could write that in my sleep while skipping the George Carlin quotes and shit. Shame my professor wants to get all personal on a bitch.

You see, in addition to looking at works of literature and giving MY view of what the American Dream is, I also have to include...some of my family's history. That...changes things because, uh, I'm black. My family, both sides, are descended from slaves (as well as, you know, just oppressed minorities in general--except for that one english ancestor). Put my family history in it? That's going to be hard. But at the same time it will be wonderful.

See, it'd be too easy for me to just spew vitriol on how the American Dream is dead and we killed it, oh no. I can't imagine too many people would write that optimistic of a paper anyway, but look. My family never HAD an "american dream" and damn sure won't be/haven't attained it. We didn't sleep at night and dream of flags and apple pie (pie isn't american, fact!) and stocks and baseball or whatever that is they try to feed you.

My mother's big dream was to own a house, and now we do, and the mortgage is breaking her back. Not to mention we live in what you might call "the hood" what with drug activity all around us and our windows getting shot out and shit. You seeing it yet?

I re-read over the syllabus again and just had to laugh. The man's been teaching forever and a half so I doubt I'll say anything to shock him too much. He may even knock it down some points because that's just what he does--we never seem to meet eye to eye on interpretations, not because he's wrong and I'm right, but I never like his--but...I thought about it, and I said, I want to make it as bleak as possible. Because that's real. I'm getting my reference material and come the 24th I'm probably going to have the most fucked up psyche but I don't care.

Why so serious, you may wonder? Just because. You know my complaints with that class and a couple of days ago I just finally hit the last straw--I'll tell you about that probably later on today--and this might be the last thing for me to express all my discontent under the guise of hating America.

We'll see how it goes...