Recent Gay Suicides

I don't know how many of you out there who read my blog even realized what a tragedy the past couple of weeks have been for the Gay/Lesbian community of the U.S. There have been 5 reported suicides of teen-aged gay boys. http://www.washingtonblade.com/2010/10/01/national-lgbt-community-reeling-from-4th-teen-suicide-in-a-month/

This article doesn't include the fifth that made national news today of a Rutger's student who was pulled out of the river after jumping to his death from the George Washington bridge. He was 18.

Closer to home, a 13 year old whose name was Asher Brown shot himself in the head after relentless bullying at a school in the Cy-Fair Independent School District. This school was located in Cypress, TX- a crappy, mostly white, middle-upper middle class, evangelical protestant suburb of Houston, TX. The very same day this story was reported, it was reported that another student in the same school district was beaten with a metal pipe by a group of students. The victim was told ahead of time that a group was planning to beat him so he told the principal. He did nothing. He got on the bus and told the bus driver. He did nothing. After getting off the bus, at some point the boy was chased and beaten outside a neighbors front door. The beating only stopped after the neighbor came out wielding a gun. This is in my back yard and that REALLY pisses me off. Cypress is a 20 minute drive away.

The unfortunate part is that these kids didn't/don't know that there are resources available to them in the city of Houston. What does this kind of behavior say about us as a society? How do we move past parents who allow their children to literally bully or in some cases beat another child to death? Why didn't/doesn't the school administrators even attempt to help these kids? This is infuriating and the school(s), school district, the bullies, and the parents of the bullies need to be held accountable. It is bullshit like this that makes me embarrassed to be an American citizen. I have decided that since I am past my prime in being an advocate for my generation, I am going to be an advocate for our up and coming gay youth who have to suffer living in horrible places like Cypress, TX, or central Louisiana where I grew up. I too had to deal with incessant bullying for several years during middle school. My bullying was focused more on my class(as I grew up relatively poor) and less on my sexual orientation, which I was very good at keeping secret. Thankfully, I was born with an already strong sense of self and had the benefit of having fantastic parents who supported me and instilled in me that it was they, and not myself who was crazy. I held onto the knowledge that those years wouldn't last forever and neither would my residency in that area.

This is all of our problem and there is no excuse for it. No one can hide behind the bible and if you do, you're a hypocrite and know absolutely nothing of what Jesus taught. This is an indication of societal sickness caused by the mixing of religion(evangelical protestantism) and politics. Check out some of the spew put forth in the press from Anne Coulter. She isn't the only one. Check out 'focus on the family'- they actively fight anything involving gay rights issues. Some of these kids who commit suicide may come from families who listen to and believe what these wretched, evil people are speaking. Who can blame a child for rationalizing such a decision when he or she is told that they are worth nothing or are bound to hell simply for being who they are? Enough is enough.

Second adventure to San Francisco

Last Thursday Chip and I flew out to San Francisco for the first time since our 10th anniversary three years ago this November. This time we traveled there with the purpose of experiencing the notorious Folsom Street Fair. For those of you who do not know, it's a fair-now in it's 26th year- celebrating all sorts of sexual fetishes with an emphasis on the leather scene.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folsom_Street_Fair
It was kinda nice being back in San Francisco. It was a great being in a nicely compact and densely populated city with excellent public transit. However, what I didn't know was that September is San Francisco's warmest month, and yes, it was hot. The downsides, I must confess outweighed the good in this trip. The heat apparently activated the city's many hundreds of homeless and they were exceptionally aggressive, the city smelled awful, and the crowds were so tightly packed at many of the bar and street events that they couldn't be enjoyed. I tend to get highly claustrophobic in tight crowds in cramped spaces(which is every gay bar in San Francisco, so I wasn't engaged very much. I did had some alternative plans and made my own fun on a couple of nights though.
My general thoughts on the event are: 1. There were way too many unattractive people wearing too little clothing while the attractive people were wearing too much. 2. I didn't see all the public sex I was expecting to see- and that I had read and been told would happen. I found nothing about it shocking, but maybe it's because I lead a 'more exciting' life than most people? Lastly, there were several booths that went a little over-board with the whips and chains and paddles and such. I'm of the opinion that a little of that can go a long way, and that people who are good at sex don't need so many 'accessories' to have an awesome experience.
Bottom line: It was sexual, but not sexy.

Random thought

Magic can be found in the shapes and experiences that can not be labeled.