Another Dead Boy

My heart is broken. Another dead boy. On the heels of Carl Walker-Hoover's suicide, another boy has killed himself rather than endure the daily taunting.

Jaheem Herrera was eleven. He hung himself in his closet. His mother complained repeatedly to the school that he was being bullied. Nothing happened. What will it take to create massive, systematic change?

Jaheem was harassed physically and verbally. They called him gay. He spoke with an accent.

A number of parents also complained about their children being bullied, too.

Nothing happened.

Nothing happened again.

There is something deeply wrong. We must demand change. We must enable teachers to do the right thing. We must teach our children tolerance. All the crazy talk about storms and the horrible fear that maybe LGBT people might be treated as equals has to stop. We need to all come together to help these kids. Whatever our religious beliefs our, it has to stop.

Kids too young to identify as any sexuality are being brought to levels of pain that leave them feeling they have no choice.

The right wing rhetoric has to stop. Bullies like Dobson, Perkins, Warren, stand on their pulpits and spew hate. Save the family, they say. Unless you don't fit their narrow definition of family.

From everything I've read, I'm fairly certain Jesus would not be on the side of hateful words.

Where is President Obama? We need his leadership on this issue and we need it now. I fear these stories will continue and they can be prevented.

I fear we will become numb to the senseless deaths.