Gay kids keep dying
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There has been considerable news coverage over the past few weeks of the suicides of Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi and four other gay teens. The timing of the stories is especially poignant since Oct. 12 will mark the 12th anniversary of the murder of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard.
Only a handful of similar cases have made ripples in the news since Shepard was pistol-whipped, tortured and left strung up on a fence to die. Most people may think the killing of gays at this point is exceedingly rare, but more than 200 have been gay-bashed to death in the United States since Shepard's death rocked the nation into ... inaction.
The recent bullying/suicide stories hit close to home for me. I got picked on almost every day at St. Thomas More Elementary School and Bethel Park High School when I was growing up. I got beat up so often I tried to hide from my parents.
High school administrators could not have turned a blinder eye if they had buried their heads in the sand: One principal advised me to "fight the kid. If you don't, he'll just keep picking on you." Given that my tormenter had about 8 inches and 60 pounds on me, I didn't think that getting my head crushed would discourage him from abusing me further.
In my recently published novel, "Rounding Third," I used those experiences to provide background for the main character's struggles. Another character succumbs to abuse and attempts suicide. That is also not really fiction; it is based on a friend's story.
Since the book came out, I can't tell you how many heartbreaking e-mails and comments I have received from people asking if I had somehow surveilled them when they were in high school because the bullying and suffering I described told their stories, too.
First Published October 10, 2010 12:00 am
