Over at Beliefnet, a tempest in a teapot. Still, if we don't challenge the 'phobes, they'll only get worse.
Hmn... I've read a bunch of posts about what shouldn't be done to address bullying of LGBT students. So, please tell me what SHOULD be done to address the bullying. I'd really like to know what should have been done to address the bullying I received as I was growing up.
My mom was given DiEthylStilbesterol (DES), a synthetic estrogen, to take while pregnant with me. It would reduce the chances of miscarriage and promote healthy babies, she was told:
http://forum.mesomorphosis.com/mens-health-forum/prenatal-exposure-diethylstilbestrol-des-134253671.html
I was like a magnet to the bullies. They couldn't stay away. Being called 'fag' I could ignore, but a coordinated attack by 5 of them suddenly slamming me into a wall, wailing on me for 5 seconds, and then dispersing was difficult to avoid (surprise) and impossible to defend against.
I did fight back. I got good at it. The Principal would usually blame me for starting the fight, which was never the case -- I would receive the punishment(s).
But I won two-thirds of the fights, because I was so enraged at the indifferent cruelty they directed at me. And the third that won their fight with me paid for their victories with visible wounds. I was lucky, luckier than most who are bullied.
My first stepfather was relieved I was standing up for myself -- he was afraid I was turning into a homosexual. He thought it would teach me to be a 'man'. And to maintain and enhance my safety, I joined the Marine Corps, hoping it WOULD make a man out of me. Many of us do join the military for just that reason. There are three times as many transsexuals (in denial) in the United States military as there are in the general civilian population.
DES feminized the brains of one in five 'sons' born to women who took it while pregnant. In contrast, Thalidomide only produced limb deformities in 1 of 10 children whose mothers took it.
So, what should be done to address the bullying? Should it be handled just the way it was in my case, with the adults in charge looking the other way? With parents hoping it might cure me of (they thought) becoming a homosexual? Should children prone to being bullied be educated in segregated facilities, separated from the 'normal' children?
What is your SOLUTION to bullying?
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