News and Events => People news => Topic started by: Shana A on July 20, 2008, 03:43:51 PM Return to Full Version
Title: Young, Gay and Murdered
Post by: Shana A on July 20, 2008, 03:43:51 PM
Post by: Shana A on July 20, 2008, 03:43:51 PM
Young, Gay and Murdered
Kids are coming out younger, but are schools ready to handle the complex issues of identity and sexuality? For Larry King, the question had tragic implications.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/147790>1=43002 (http://www.newsweek.com/id/147790>1=43002)
By Ramin Setoodeh | NEWSWEEK
Published Jul 19, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Jul 28, 2008
At 15, Lawrence King was small—5 feet 1 inch—but very hard to miss. In January, he started to show up for class at Oxnard, Calif.'s E. O. Green Junior High School decked out in women's accessories. On some days, he would slick up his curly hair in a Prince-like bouffant. Sometimes he'd paint his fingernails hot pink and dab glitter or white foundation on his cheeks. "He wore makeup better than I did," says Marissa Moreno, 13, one of his classmates. He bought a pair of stilettos at Target, and he couldn't have been prouder if he had on a varsity football jersey. He thought nothing of chasing the boys around the school in them, teetering as he ran.
Kids are coming out younger, but are schools ready to handle the complex issues of identity and sexuality? For Larry King, the question had tragic implications.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/147790>1=43002 (http://www.newsweek.com/id/147790>1=43002)
By Ramin Setoodeh | NEWSWEEK
Published Jul 19, 2008
From the magazine issue dated Jul 28, 2008
At 15, Lawrence King was small—5 feet 1 inch—but very hard to miss. In January, he started to show up for class at Oxnard, Calif.'s E. O. Green Junior High School decked out in women's accessories. On some days, he would slick up his curly hair in a Prince-like bouffant. Sometimes he'd paint his fingernails hot pink and dab glitter or white foundation on his cheeks. "He wore makeup better than I did," says Marissa Moreno, 13, one of his classmates. He bought a pair of stilettos at Target, and he couldn't have been prouder if he had on a varsity football jersey. He thought nothing of chasing the boys around the school in them, teetering as he ran.
Title: Re: Young, Gay and Murdered
Post by: Nero on July 20, 2008, 03:53:41 PM
Post by: Nero on July 20, 2008, 03:53:41 PM
that's messed up. :(
Title: Re: Young, Gay and Murdered
Post by: Kate on July 20, 2008, 05:05:15 PM
Post by: Kate on July 20, 2008, 05:05:15 PM
A sad situation all 'round. I'd always wondered what the "other side" of the story was.
I was tormented by someone throughout my earlier high school years. And I'm ashamed to admit that it got the point where I actually started plotting how to make it stop. It's frightening to write and admit that now, even thirty years later, but I did.
And it wasn't from being called names or being teased... that's typical of growing up. It happens. But no, this person simply became obsessed with proving how he could control me and my life, the people in it, the friends I had, what people thought of me, and my concept of reality and who I was. It wasn't what he DID so much as the fact that he'd DO it, if that makes sense? I just couldn't believe anyone would be THAT obsessed with me specifically, that sadistic, that bent on proving that he had some sort of "power over" me. Piece by piece, he'd remove the things from my life... people, friends, assumptions, confidence, trust... and any sense of self-determination I had left.
In the end, something in me snapped, but instead of reacting with violence, I simply lost interest in it all. I just crashed emotionally, became cold, stopped caring, just focused on schoolwork and enjoying my time alone, and over time the "high" he was getting from watching me squirm faded, the people he'd turned against me ended up laughing at HIM, and life went back to normal for me.
But it's frightening to think how close I was to becoming a "Brandon" myself.
~Kate~
I was tormented by someone throughout my earlier high school years. And I'm ashamed to admit that it got the point where I actually started plotting how to make it stop. It's frightening to write and admit that now, even thirty years later, but I did.
And it wasn't from being called names or being teased... that's typical of growing up. It happens. But no, this person simply became obsessed with proving how he could control me and my life, the people in it, the friends I had, what people thought of me, and my concept of reality and who I was. It wasn't what he DID so much as the fact that he'd DO it, if that makes sense? I just couldn't believe anyone would be THAT obsessed with me specifically, that sadistic, that bent on proving that he had some sort of "power over" me. Piece by piece, he'd remove the things from my life... people, friends, assumptions, confidence, trust... and any sense of self-determination I had left.
In the end, something in me snapped, but instead of reacting with violence, I simply lost interest in it all. I just crashed emotionally, became cold, stopped caring, just focused on schoolwork and enjoying my time alone, and over time the "high" he was getting from watching me squirm faded, the people he'd turned against me ended up laughing at HIM, and life went back to normal for me.
But it's frightening to think how close I was to becoming a "Brandon" myself.
~Kate~