Another One: Ronin Shimizu

I posted the story on my blog once before about the time I was a mascot for one of my high school basketball games. My sister was Claudia the Cougar — this was back in the days when Cougar meant cougar, not predatory older female — and I was Clyde the Cougar. I remember how fun it was being in that costume during the game, but I also remember that I didn’t tell any of my friends that it was me because I didn’t want to seem, you know, gay.

Ronin Shimizu, a 12-year-old Folsom, California boy never felt that way; he was the only male cheerleader with the Vista Junior Eagles Cheer Team; he was a member of the drama club, a Boy Scout, just a boy who took his own life last week after being bullied for being a cheerleader.

For being a cheerleader.

And before he killed himself, Ronin endured insufferable bullying, that became so intolerable that his parents actually removed him from school and homeschooled their son. That just makes me shake my head, in wonder and sadness and anger; Ronin was the victim who was removed from school while the bullies continued on their merry way.

Another thing that makes me angry is that both Folsom Middle School and the Folsom-Cordova School District confirm that they received a number of complaints from Ronin’s parents about the bullying, but maintain they followed protocol. Daniel Thigpen, Public Information Officer for the Folsom Cordova School says the incidents were handled; to which I say, not very well because now a boy is dead.

Here’s how the incidents should be handled: the bullies are removed from the school, not the victim. Why was Ronin forced to leave school but those little monsters who tortured him because, Jesus Christ, he loved to cheer, are still allowed to get up every day and go to school with their friends and, of this I’m certain, find a new target to bully? Why?

And why does Daniel Thigpen say this:

“Any allegations bullying related to this specific incident, we’re certainly reviewing how we responded to those and we’ll use that as an opportunity to always take a look at how we respond to future allegations.”

Oh, so now you’re going to look into how you respond the allegations of bullying? Now? Now that Ronin Shimizu is dead and people are questioning your ALLEGED anti-bullying campaign, now you’re looking into it.

Too late; too late for Brandon and Danielle Shimizu who released this statement about their boy:

The tragic loss of our son has and will forever change our life. The love and support that we received from family, friends and the Folsom community has been immeasurable and words cannot begin to express our gratitude through this most difficult grieving process.

The people close to our family know exactly who Ronin was, but since the story of this tragedy has spread worldwide, we want to take a minute to let the world know who he was.

Ronin was one of the most loving, compassionate, empathetic, artistic and funny kids to grace this earth. Ronin was a child who was not afraid to follow his heart, and we as his parents did everything in our power to allow him to pursue his passions, while protecting him from the minority that could not understand the specialness he possessed.

As you already know, Ronin loved to do Cheer, but he also loved art, fashion, being a Scout and most recently crew/rowing. It is true that because of his specialness, Ronin was a target of bullying by individuals that could not understand or accept his uniqueness.

Ronin was not just a target of bullying because of his participation in cheer, but for him just being Ronin. We as his parents always knew that he would make an impact on the world, we just thought it would be in something like fashion design or art related. We had no idea that God and Buddha had a more important role for him, and we as his parents will make it our mission in life to turn this tragedy into something positive and hopefully prevent another senseless tragedy.

In closing, please remember that education in regards to bullying prevention does not only need to occur in our schools but also in the home.

Thank you.

Why should any parent ever have to release a statement thanking people for supporting them in the grieving of their son’s suicide because of bullying?

It’s time for real Zero Tolerance; you bully, you’re out.

Why should there ever be one more?

Daily Mail

News10
CBS Sacramento

ISBL Asshat of the Week: GOP Communications Director Elizabeth Lauten

I’ve always been one to leave the children of politicians alone because they never asked for the limelight; they may not even agree with their parent’s policies and politics. And because they’re just kids.

But I did laugh a little whenever the Mama Grizzly Bore™ would take Chelsea Clinton, or Sasha and Malia Obama, to task when her brood is either out knocking people around — with their fists — or getting knocked up or using the word ‘fag’ as a derogatory term against people they don’t like.

Still, the rule is: Leave the kids out of it.

Apparently, though, GOP Congressman Stephen Fincher’s communications director — Yes, the communications director — Elizabeth Lauten was so incensed at Sash and Malia Obama that she simply had to go on Facebook and rant, apparently forgetting she’s a grown-ass woman, and again, a  communications director, and not some schoolyard bully.

Last week, when Obama was partaking in that yearly ritual of Pardoning the Turkey — and I don’t mean Boehner or McConnell — he had the nerve to allow his daughters to attend and stand right behind him and act like, well, let’s have Elizabeth Lauten take it from here:

Dear Sasha and Malia,

I get you’re both in those awful teen years, but you’re a part of the First Family, try showing a little class. At least respect the part you play. Then again your mother and father don’t respect their positions very much, or the nation for that matter, so I’m guessing you’re coming up a little short in the ‘good role model’ department.

Nevertheless, stretch yourself. Rise to the occasion. Act like being in the White House matters to you. Dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar. And certainly don’t make faces during televised public events.

Wow. Way to attack the children of the President; way to communicate.

Of course, when her little diatribe, her Mean Girls rant, went viral, and her boss, and the press and the media and anyone with half a brain who knows that adults shouldn’t be using social media to belittle children, went viral, Lauten returned to the scene of the crime, Facebook, to offer her apologies:

I reacted to an article and quickly judged the two young ladies in a way that I would never have wanted to be judged myself as a teenager.

After many hours of prayer, talking to my parents and re-reading my words online, I can see more clearly how hurtful my words were.

Please know that these judgmental feelings truly have no place in my heart.

Furthermore, I'd like to apologize to all of those who I have hurt and offended with my words, and pledge to learn and grow (and I assure you I have) from this experience.

Wait. What? You call yourself an adult and then you behave like a child, and you needed your parent’s help? Grow the f**k up, lady. I wonder how that conversation went ...

Elizabeth Lauten: Oh Mommy! oh Daddy! I saw Sasha and Malia at a White House event and dint like how they were dressed and how they folded their arms so i went on Facebook and called the Obama's lousy parents and told the girls to show some class. What should I do?

Mommy and Daddy [in unison]: Oh Elizabeth. Grow the f**k up.

And so, not sure her parents were right, Elizabeth began to pray on the subject; I wonder how that conversation went:

Elizabeth Lauten: Dear God. I saw Sasha and Malia at a White House event and dint like how they were dressed and how they folded their arms so i went on Facebook and called the Obvama's lousy parents and told the girls to show some class. What should I do?

God: Oh Elizabeth. Grow the f**k up.

Seriously, girl, take some responsibility. You are not some misunderstood teenager; some loudmouthed girl at the back of the class. You are, and again I say this with both shock and awe, a communications director who has no known abilities to actually communicate.

Please follow your pledge and ‘grow’ from this experience. Learn that, as an adult, you don’t bully children; something most of us already know, and most of us in positions of importance, like communications director, or not, already know.

The good news is that Elizabeth Lauten won’t be communicating anymore; she resigned this morning because, you know, belittling children is very professional … or kind … or right.

Liberal America
HuffPo

Eric Martin: Bullied and Beaten By Gang Of Students ... And Charged With Assault

A couple of things about yours truly: I know what it’s like to be bullied. I was bullied for being gay — or at least perceived as being gay — all through junior high and high school. I cannot remember a day going by that I wasn’t called “faggot” or “queer.” But luckily for me, if you could consider it luck, the bullying was mostly name-calling and, maybe, the occasional shove in the hallway’ I didn’t have to live with the threat of physical harm, just the still painful verbal taunts which make me shudder even today, decades later.

Another thing about me? I am not a violent person. I have never been in a physical fight in my life; the closest I ever came was one day when my sister was so irate—that girl had a temper—that she tried to slug me; I grabbed both her wrists and basically set her down on the kitchen floor. I don’t fight.

So, I cannot begin to imagine what Eric Martin went through, after years of being called “faggot” and “queer;” years of shoves and taunts and harassment, until, one day, he’d had enough and decided to fight back against those who bullied him.

He fought back against several, several, of his classmates called him names and then beat him into unconsciousness; Eric spent nearly two weeks in the hospital with a traumatic brain injury, multiple contusions and a broken arm.

And finally the school has decided to press charges … against Eric.

Yes, the kid who has been bullied and taunted and name-called since he was a child is being charged as a criminal because he finally stood up for himself.

When are we going to stop letting this happen? When are we, as a community of parents, of bullied students, of allies, going to demand that the schools do something? How many students have to die, have to be beaten, have to be arrested before it’s enough?

We go to school to learn, not berate and abuse those students who seem different; we go to school to study, not to gang up on someone who acts in a way we don’t understand, we don’t like.

The bullies are winning; LGBTQ youth are being harassed to death, unless they fight back, and then they are being charged as criminals.

There is a GoFundMe page set up to help Eric pay his legal bills; bills he’ll have to pay because he was the victim of gang violence and fought back — keep in mind not one of his attackers was hospitalized or hurt during the fight, but Eric himself was in the hospital for six weeks.

There is also a place to send Eric letters of support, to let him know that while his own school, his own teachers, principal and administrators stood by and did nothing for him, that we can stand by him, and support him, and let him know that he is not alone.

We are all Eric Martin.

sources:

NCRM

GoFundMe: Justice for Eric

ISBL: Two Cases of Bullying ... Two Ridiculous Outcomes

Letters for Eric
P.O.Box 993
Sandston, Va. 23150

Two Cases Of Bullying ... Two Ridiculous Outcomes

We’ve heard all the stories about students bullying other students; pushing, shoving, taunting, teasing, beatings; we’ve heard it all. And we’ve heard of teachers who bully students, or allow the bullying of one student by another to continue, but this is a new one … A teacher has been fired because she refused to let a bunch of viciously racist kids bully a black student. Pam Aister had been a teacher at Four Peaks Elementary School for 25 years has been fired because she refused to let a gang of racist kids bully a black student. That’s right; she stopped the bullies and lost her job in the process. It all began when Aister was at the school, as a group of students surrounded their “target,” and like any good teacher, like most of us think teachers should be, she stepped in to stop the abuse. “He was called the n-word, ‘monkey,’ and ‘coon' and [I said] if you’re picking on him, you’re picking on me. It’s not five against one, it’s five against two, and there will be no more taunting, teasing or racial names.” — Pam Aister That’s how it should be right? That’s what we expect of those who teach our children, right? Well, apparently not the parents of those racist punk kids at Four Peaks Elementary because they called to complain about Pam Aister getting their children in trouble; some say she even threatened their little darlings. The parents of these racist students claim that Aister had the nerve to tell the bullies to “shut up” — you know, stop with the racist names; that’s what they’re complaining about. In the end, Pam Aister was fired; the racist kids were not punished. A twenty-five year career ruined because some parents don't like teachers reprimanding their little racists.  It seems sickening, doesn’t it, but let me remind you that this happened in Arizona, not exactly known for its “live and let live” attitudes; this, after all, is the same state that once refused to recognize Martin Luther King Day and recently passed a law legalizing racial profiling. Arizona, where it’s sunny and hate-filled, I’m guessing. But is it what the people of Arizona really want? Do they want teachers fired for standing up for a bullied child? Do they want racist punks running roughshod in freaking elementary schools? Pam Aister should be back in the classroom as soon as possible, and those racist punks and their idiotic parents should all be making phone calls and driving around looking for another school because they clearly do not belong in a public school system. Maybe the KKK has an educational program for these punks and their racist parents.

source

We’ve heard all the stories about students bullying other students; pushing, shoving, taunting, teasing, beatings; we’ve heard it all. And we’ve heard of teachers who bully students, or allow the bullying of one student by another to continue, but this is a new one …

A teacher has been fired because she refused to let a bunch of viciously racist kids bully a black student.

Pam Aister had been a teacher at Four Peaks Elementary School for 25 years has been fired because she refused to let a gang of racist kids bully a black student.

That’s right; she stopped the bullies and lost her job in the process.

It all began when Aister was at the school, as a group of students surrounded their “target,” and like any good teacher, like most of us think teachers should be, she stepped in to stop the abuse.

“He was called the n-word, ‘monkey,’ and ‘coon' and [I said] if you’re picking on him, you’re picking on me. It’s not five against one, it’s five against two, and there will be no more taunting, teasing or racial names.” — Pam Aister

That’s how it should be right? That’s what we expect of those who teach our children, right?

Well, apparently not the parents of those racist punk kids at Four Peaks Elementary because they called to complain about Pam Aister getting their children in trouble; some say she even threatened their little darlings. The parents of these racist students claim that Aister had the nerve to tell the bullies to “shut up” — you know, stop with the racist names; that’s what they’re complaining about.

In the end, Pam Aister was fired; the racist kids were not punished. A twenty-five year career ruined because some parents don't like teachers reprimanding their little racists. 

It seems sickening, doesn’t it, but let me remind you that this happened in Arizona, not exactly known for its “live and let live” attitudes; this, after all, is the same state that once refused to recognize Martin Luther King Day and recently passed a law legalizing racial profiling.

Arizona, where it’s sunny and hate-filled, I’m guessing.

But is it what the people of Arizona really want? Do they want teachers fired for standing up for a bullied child? Do they want racist punks running roughshod in freaking elementary schools?

Pam Aister should be back in the classroom as soon as possible, and those racist punks and their idiotic parents should all be making phone calls and driving around looking for another school because they clearly do not belong in a public school system.

Maybe the KKK has an educational program for these punks and their racist parents.

And then there's this .... Eric Martin, a fourteen-year old Virginia boy, has been beaten and bullied, called “gay” and a “faggot” too many times, and finally, one day, when at least four other students began to beat him again, he’d had enough and he fought back. And now he’s being charged with two counts of assault — he allegedly threw the first punch — and school officials are refusing to allow him back into school until he signs a statement saying he threatened the school, something he says he didn’t do, and something that the school cannot prove. After his beating at the hands of those four thugs, Eric was hospitalized for nine days due to a possible broken arm, a concussion, and because, after the beating he is on suicide watch. And all because some students think he’s gay and cannot handle that. Mary Martin, Eric’s mother, admits that he threw the first punch, but says he was a victim of bullying, of constantly being called one gay slur after anther until he’d had enough and fought back. "He's got bruises all down the spine of his back where he was just slammed on that table. … When I try to call the school, and I try to get answers they just blow me off. They don't want to talk to me." The school also sent an email to parents saying the incident is being dealt with according to their established policies and procedures which seems to be a zero tolerance policy, but if Eric has endured the name-calling and the taunts and the bullying, it’s not quite “zero tolerance” is it? I hope the school investigates, and I hope they see that this was a case of four students attacking one student, and just because he fought back — he did get one hit in on a boy — does that mean those other four boys get to beat him so badly he was hospitalized? Something is wrong when the victim is the one being punished … again.

source

photo credit

SIDENOTE:

Eric's family has started a campaign, Letters for Eric, to show him some support, and if you’d like to write to him, here’s how:

Letters for Eric

P.O.Box 993

Sandston, Va. 23150

And then there's this ....

Eric Martin, a fourteen-year old Virginia boy, has been beaten and bullied, called “gay” and a “faggot” too many times, and finally, one day, when at least four other students began to beat him again, he’d had enough and he fought back.

And now he’s being charged with two counts of assault — he allegedly threw the first punch — and school officials are refusing to allow him back into school until he signs a statement saying he threatened the school, something he says he didn’t do, and something that the school cannot prove.

After his beating at the hands of those four thugs, Eric was hospitalized for nine days due to a possible broken arm, a concussion, and because, after the beating he is on suicide watch.

And all because some students think he’s gay and cannot handle that.

Mary Martin, Eric’s mother, admits that he threw the first punch, but says he was a victim of bullying, of constantly being called one gay slur after anther until he’d had enough and fought back.

"He's got bruises all down the spine of his back where he was just slammed on that table. … When I try to call the school, and I try to get answers they just blow me off. They don't want to talk to me."

The school also sent an email to parents saying the incident is being dealt with according to their established policies and procedures which seems to be a zero tolerance policy, but if Eric has endured the name-calling and the taunts and the bullying, it’s not quite “zero tolerance” is it?

I hope the school investigates, and I hope they see that this was a case of four students attacking one student, and just because he fought back — he did get one hit in on a boy — does that mean those other four boys get to beat him so badly he was hospitalized?

Something is wrong when the victim is the one being punished … again.

Random Musings

So, the other night we were sitting in the living room and, as usual, MaxGoldberg likes to sit by Carlos. So he jumped in Carlos’ chair and sat for about a second and then jumped over to me, where he stayed for about a second, until jumping back over to carols for another second before … you guessed it … round and round.

So, when he went back to Carlos, Carlos told him to stop running around and sit still; and then he told MaxGoldberg that he wasn’t going to pet him. And Max stood there staring at Carlos until Carlos finally  looked away.

I said, “My god, you two are the biggest babies!”

And Carlos actually said, “No, Max is a baby.”

Then he turned around and refused to look at MaxGoldberg … a cat.

To the folks — mostly rightwingnuts and lard asses like Drug Limbaugh — who constantly berate the First lady on her appearance: grow the f**k up.

I mean, you’re nothing but a bunch of schoolyard bullies whose little teeny heads would explode if a Democrat ever said anything negative about a Republican First Lady.

Seriously, grow up and shut up.

So, Ricky Perry wanted to fire someone because she was arrested for DUI, and she refused to quit and then he decided to cut the funding for her office and found himself arrested for abuse of power.

Hmm, wanting someone to quit, and they don’t, so you cut the money off to their job and other’s jobs is an abuse of power? Even I knew that Ricky.

So, here’s to Governor Smugshot who just shot himself in the foot for the 2016 Presidential election. Asshat.

We’ve been watching Under The Dome this summer, after having seen the first season last year. It’s kind of what I would call Lost: Under Glass. That same kind of story; but it does have some nice man candy.

Mike Vogel [left] has been on this blog before but he is very hot, and has the kind of ass you could … use your imagination.

Eddie Cahill [middle] is just plain cute, with a twinkle in his eye.

And this week we met Max Ehrich [right], who plays a computer nerd. There is just something about a cute nerd that burns up my motherboard.

Just sayin’.

The other day I was chatting with my Dad on the phone and we were talking about everything from politics to rainforests to furniture. And then we started talking about Carlos and I getting married and my Dad said, “You’re doing it in New York?”

I said, “Yes.”

He said, “Well, I won’t be there. I don’t do big cities.” 

And he doesn’t; he and my mom used to live in an area of California called Blue Canyon — ninety minutes or more from anything you could call a city. Then they moved to Toledo, Oregon, hours away from a city.

After my mom died my dad moved to Sumas, Washington, in the far North West. It’s close to Bellingham, but Bellingham is a big town or small city.

But I digress.

After hanging up I started thinking. Sometimes you don’t really listen to people and you miss an important fact. When he said “I won’t be there … “ I missed the little glitch in his voice that seemed to suggest he wanted to be there. And then I thought about how my Dad was there when my sister got married and was there when my brother got married and, even though for a very long time, we never believed I could actually ever get married, I knew he wanted to be there for Carlos and me.

Cut to the chase: we’ll be getting married in Washington state rather than New York because we want Dad to be there.

Good on Mariela Castro, the daughter of Cuba’s president Raul Castro and niece of Fidel Castro, for making the first recorded vote against the government in a show of support for LGBT people.

The proposed update to Cuba's expansive labor code included explicit protections based on sexual orientation, but Mariela — who was behind the sixth International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Conference held in Cuba earlier this year — said that because it didn't also specify protections for people based on their gender identity and HIV status, it was inconsistent with her beliefs.

It is thought to be the first time that a government bill has been voted against.

Brava chica!

So, a few years back I saw a picture of hot model, hot gay model, Josey Greenwell, He was all over the internet and all over Pride festivals, singing and performing and being, well, openly gay. In fact, for a time he was publicly dating model Rodiney Santiago, former boyfriend Reichen Lehmkuhl.

Then suddenly he was gone; no Pride performances; no modeling jobs; no Rodiney. And no Facebook page and no more Josey Greenwell fan pages; even his Wikipedia profile was scrubbed clean.

But now he’s back … as Nate Green, straight country singer. And he wants to be seen as straight anywhere and everywhere and apparently even deletes any gay comments about him or any comments that say he is really Josey Greenwell and really gay.

And now, in interviews, he denies being gay or even being Josey.

Uh huh. Josey, honey, the gays never forget a pretty face, especially one that tries to re-closet himself.

The Archdiocese of Cincinnati has issued a call for all Catholics to refrain from participating in the Ice Bucket Challenge because it funds an ALS study that uses embryonic stem cells. 

People should suffer because, well, stem cells.

To date, however, the challenge has raised some $31,000,000.

Speaking of Carlos and me getting married, he was in downtown Smallville this afternoon and stopped in a jewelry store to look at wedding bands. The woman in the shop began showing him what they had, and then she asked that question:

“Your fiancé? What kind of ring does she want?”

Without hesitation, Carlos said, “It’s what kind of ring does he want.”

And the woman said, “Oh, okay, Here’s some other ones you both might like.”

Smallville, you never cease top amaze me.