Vigil in Texas for Victim of Anti-Gay Bullying, 13
0An Oct. 5 candlelight vigil memorialized a Houston-area 13-year-old suicide victim whose parents say was driven to take his own life after suffering anti-gay bullying.
The vigil took place at the school where Asher Brown was tormented by four other students because, his parents say, of his religion, his size, his clothing--and his sexuality. The straight-A eighth-grader had come out as gay on the morning of Sept. 23, the day he killed himself using his stepfather's gun.
Asher's suicide took place in the midst of a rash of gay teens across the country taking their own lives after enduring anti-gay bullying. A 13-year-old in California hanged himself, as did a 15-year-old in Indiana and another 15-year-old in Minnesota. In New Jersey, a college freshman jumped from a bridge. In Rhode Island, a college sophomore also took his own life.
"Losing one young person because of bigotry and hate is too much," an emailed statement from Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director Hayley Gorenberg made in response to the suicides read, "but two, three, four? Each person and story is unique and tragic, but taken together, they deliver a powerful and painful message: We must act urgently and do everything in our power to end the prejudice and protect our youth."
For Asher Brown and the others, any new measures to counter anti-gay harassment will have come too late. Anderson Cooper interviewed Asher's parents on his CNN news program.
Asher's mother, Amy Truong, told Cooper that kids at Asher's school "thought he was nerdy because he read a lot of books." Stepfather David Truong said that his stepson had been picked on at Hamilton Middle School "from the very beginning," and told Cooper, "They taunted him because he didn't wear Abercrombie and Fitch [clothing], he didn't wear fancy shoes... he didn't want that. We could have bought that for him," added Truong, "we asked him if he wanted it--he said to me, 'No, there's more important things.' "
Asher was a Buddhist. His parents said that Asher's religion was another reason their son was harassed and bullied.
The day before the Oct. 5 candlelight vigil a protest took place across from the school. School administrators responded by canceling that day's after-school extracurricular activities, except for a football game, which was moved to another location, reported local newspaper the Houston Chronicle on Oct. 4.
The school claims that Asher's parents did not contact administrators about their son being bullied, but David and Amy Truong say that claim is absolutely untrue. Anderson Cooper noted during his interview with the Truongs that other parents with children attending Hamilton told his program that they, too, had encountered issues around bullying.
The Oct. 5 candlelight vigil was attended by schoolmates and students from other area schools, though many of them had not known Asher, reported Houston's Channel 2 in an Oct. 6 story.
At least one vigil for Asher took place outside of Texas. Palm Springs GLBT equality advocate Richard Noble posted a YouTube video of his vigil for Asher, who he called his "little gay brother" in the video. "People have been bringing candles for him all weekend," added Noble, who said that he was on a hunger strike for gay issues such as bullying and "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."
Anti-Gay Response to a National Concern
But the national dialogue about gay suicide has not been entirely friendly toward the victims. The students who spied on Tyler Clementi have their fans and supporters online, and another YouTube posting recounted how a Facebook page, "R.I.P. In memory of the recent suicides due to gay abuse, wear purple," was attacked with a spate of anti-gay postings on Oct. 5.
Many of the anti-gay messages were issued from accounts using obvious aliases. Others appeared to come from accounts under genuine names. One message at the page attributed to "Doc Tor Robotnik" read, "Haha, I'm glad that the fags are killing themselves!" A notification below the text indicated that three people "liked" the posting.
Another posting, under the name "Cindy Fuxalot," read, "This is some serious faggottry." Still another anti-gay message read, "All fags go to Heaven... LOL, JK [laughing out loud, just kidding]." Another posting showed a photo of Asher to which text had been added: "Don't worry about me, I'm having a great time in Purgatory!"
Others jested about killing gays. "Overkill!" wrote one. "Killimanjoro! [sic] wrote another. "I'll be a killionaire by the end of Oct. 20," posted another. Oct. 20 is the date on which the Facebook page encourages visitors to wear purple in protest of anti-gay bullying. One hallmark of anti-gay murders is the level of violence to which the victim is subjected, a phenomenon known in law enforcement as "overkill."
"Overkill! Killing spree!" one posting read.
Wrote another, "faggots, faggots everywhere."
Another doctored photo showed a man underwater over whose face the image of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi had been superimposed. "Glub, Glub, Im GaY [sic]" read the accompanying text. Clementi jumped from the George Washington Bridge after his roommate surreptitiously recorded him having an intimate encounter with another man using a web cam. The images were then streamed online.
One individual whose profile picture depicted a muscular male torso posted the message, "rest in hell, homos." Another posted a reminiscence about tormenting a deceased man: "I remember beating you [with] bars of soap in the locker room," the posting read. "I'm gonna miss watching you cry after the football team [threw] glue on you and called you a comedumpster, RIP fag," the message added.
Another showed a group of concentration camp prisoners wearing pink triangles. "Now this is an acceptable gay rights parade," the text accompanying the image read.
One anti-gay posting simply echoed the slogan for which anti-gay church Westboro Baptist, based in Topeka, Kansas, is known: "GOD HATES FAGS!"
"On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at their schools," read text at the Facebook page. "Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that's exactly what we'd like all of you to have with you: spirit.
"Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality," the text added. "RIP Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase and Billy Lucas. You are loved."