Theoretically, the purpose of school is to _EDUCATE_, to inform, challenge, stimulate intellectual curiosity and develop critical thinking.

As part of this process, there are _ADULTS_ who are _supposed_ to provide guidance, set boundaries and limits, resulting in an environment conducive to learning.

As a 6'2" black woman (and I was this tall when I was 12 years old!) , I can tell you that this is NOT just about being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgendered, freckled, fat, big-eared, skinny, unathletic, Asian, Native American, Italian, etc, etc, etc - children come into school from the milieu of their families and community, and hopefully, by being exposed to differences and to information, become citizens who plug-in to the Common Good, who have opinions and beliefs, but can let differing opinions and beliefs be expressed without feeling threatened.

This young man was a HUMAN BEING. Period.

And no HUMAN BEING should be bullied, persecuted or harassed - now, I am an imperfect follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, and according to that belief (and yes, I know there is baggage associated with it), ALL humankind is to be respected as unique persons, as 'imago Dei', as being created in the image of God, and of inestimable value.

I'm amazed at how threatened people are by homosexuality, even when it"s just some kid dressing differently. Those gays must have some power or all the hetros wouldn't be so afraid.

Speaking as a gay man I personally think the article was slanted as well, however I think that on a much broader level we as a society, as parents and as teachers have failed not only both these two young boys but all of our children in general. We have failed in teaching them that it is not ok to ridicule others because they are different than us. We have failed our children when we allow them to witness our own prejudices. We fail on a monumental level when we allow them access to fire arms! (Where did this kid get a gun?) We have failed when we glorify violence even on the evening news; you"ve all heard the saying if it bleeds it leads. Most importantly we fail our children and we shame ourselves when we allow any one to use the defense for murdering anther human being "gay panic"! What does that even mean in real terms? The guy came on to me, so what other alternative did I have but to shoot him in the head? How about saying no, not interested!

I also read this story (just happy Newsweek didn't have a fluff story on Obama yet again.) I'm perplexed by this posting. I thought it was a well-researched article and did a good job explaining this story's many aspects.

I didn't think the writer assigned blame to the asst. vice principal, just reported that others did. Also, the "playing grown-up" sentence did not, in my opinion, exclude heterosexuality. Kids are exploring their sexuality earlier and earlier. And even though gay rights have gone far, they have a long way to go, so dealing with being gay at a young age is still, arguable difficult. Why is that so shocking?

Finally, regarding "To whom? The author? Is he an expert?" Actually a little research reveals the author is gay. And I was impressed that he didn't allow his own sexual orientation to bias his reporting and to tell the story from all angles. He manages to avoid a knee-jerk, shrill reaction to the story, (unlike Whitman.) No one is going to blame an 8th grader for being shot. This article never states he was the "problem." But clearly a story like this contains complexity, and much of it was not initially reported. The issues of family, divorce, bullying, education, mental illness, and yes, gay and transssexual issues intersected and resulted in tragedy. I applaud Ramin for excellent investigative reporting and providing us with the truth.

I have two comments on this story. First, I read the article and thought the journalists did a good job of covering all sides of this tragic story. I did not find this article to be a hate crime. I want my news sources to give me as much information as possible. I do not want them to self censor things and give me nothing more than the "Sara Whitman Politically Correct" version of events. I want to hear all sides even if it offends Whitman. This was a story with many complex issues and they all need to be heard so we can learn from it and prevent awful things like this from happening in the future.

Second, I do not think a person should be forced to hide and pretend they are something they are not. That said, I do not think that gives a person who is gay the right to harass other people because they think that is fun. In other words, the kid could have been openly gay and still left the other boys alone.