The Politics of Bullying
“We need the younger generation to vote and to participate and be part of the system and actually run for office before many things actually happen. All we have to do is listen to the rhetoric on the Senate floor about “Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT)” and the same hateful remarks are still coming out. So, you know, we have work to be done.” –Judy Shepard, October 12, 2010The Po
The above quote moved me when I first read the transcript of the NPR interview with Judy Shepard, the mother of Matthew Shepard. During a recent screening of The Laramie Project, I was shocked to learn just how many young people have no idea who Matthew was. Twelve years ago, on October 12, 1998, Matthew Shepard died from injuries caused by two young men who attacked him for being gay. They brutally beat him and left him tied to a fence outside of his hometown, Laramie, Wyoming. His mother, Judy, has been an activist for gay youths since his death, and her comments struck a chord with me because she mentioned voting and DADT in the same breath as her reference to the recent string of suicides caused by the bullying of gay teens.
By the time you read this issue, it may be before the Election Day (November 2!), but more than likely it will be afterwards. Our new round of leaders, from local to state to federal, will likely have already been chosen. If we are fortunate, we will have elected leaders who will represent our community and our cries for civil rights and for equality under the law. Amongst Bexar County voters during this mid-term election year, those leaders will have been chosen from about 30-35% of the electorate, a fact which I find incredibly sad. Things will only improve if we elect leaders who will quash institutionalized discrimination via practices such a DADT and who will create institutionalized protection via laws such as ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act).
So how do all of these legal issues tie in to the strings of gay teen suicides? As Judy Shepard indicated, the lack of understanding and empathy that leads youths to attack LGBT kids is also rampart among some of our politicians, though perhaps in a more veiled manner. If there is hateful rhetoric or hateful practices in place among adults, we know that some children will mimic those words and actions when interacting with LGBT youths.
The politics of bullying—particularly anti-gay or anti-trans bullying—are very real, as evidenced by recent calls for a nationwide anti-bullying law that would require all colleges and universities to adopt non-harassment policies for LGBT students. Even if this election year is past when you read this, remember next time that slowly we are making strides, and those strides cannot just be cultural or social. Our strides must be political if we are ever to gain the rights we know we deserve. Year by year, “it gets better.”
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