Saturday, March 01, 2008

The Burning Stupidity - Blame The Victim Edition

Just before Valentine's day this year, a gay youth named Larry King was murdered by a classmate. Deadly violence against GLBT youth is not unusual, but, Larry King's case seems to have attracted rather more attention in part because a classmate is the person who pulled the trigger.

As one might expect, the wingnuts are running about trying to blame the victim of the crime. Today's submission is a letter in the Ventura County Star newspaper, and it is an exceptionally vile piece of illogical crap.

Opening statements:

— Larry King was living at Casa Pacifica. It is very well-known, and The Star's article purposely "skirts" the reality and facts concerning this shelter.

— Larry was abused and manipulated by gay, bisexual, lesbian and transgender activists and their message of gender confusion, identity confusion and sexual confusion. Let's unmask the GBLT agenda for what it is: tolerance and celebration for sexual-identity confusion.


It turns out that Casa Pacifica is a shelter/counselling center for "seriously disturbed or at risk" youth and families. It appears to be quite similar to the William Roper Hull program in Calgary. Given what we know about Lawrence, it is not entirely shocking that he might be involved in such an environment.

The claims that young Mr. King was "abused" by GLBT activists is just plain nonsense. In the absence of any evidence to support such an assertion, it is a pathetic cop-out excuse that attempts to lay the blame for what happened to Larry at the feet of the minority population that he had just begun to recognize himself as part of.

— Brandon McInerney is a victim of a broken home life. The Star documented the facts very thoroughly here. To try him as an adult is cruel and unjust. This only further perpetuates the fact that we have abandoned our children.


Holy crap. So, Lawrence King's killer coming from a "broken home" somehow excuses his actions in taking a gun to school and shooting another student? I don't know what "god" the nut that wrote that worships, but it's not even close to the rather vengeful being described in the Old Testament. What we should be asking is just what kind of parent left a handgun somewhere that a fifteen year old could acquire it and sneak it out of the house in his schoolbag.

— Larry's sexual confusion manifested itself with flamboyant cross-dressing, which freaks out junior-high children. This invites ridicule and merciless teasing, a typical junior-high response.


Screech! All Stop, right there! Yes, flamboyant behaviour in junior high is a good way to get ostracized, teased and bullied. Gay, Lesbian and Transgender youth who are "visible" at this age are subject to a kind of harassment that is uniquely vile. The real question here is why we tolerate the kind of bullying and abuse that is dealt to the "unpopular" kids in junior high school.

— We live in a fallen world with a surrounding culture that is degenerating right before our eyes. Violence and sexual impropriety are now the norm. Values and virtues have been turned upside down.


So, somehow, Lawrence being gay and apparently quite flamboyantly so somehow makes it alright that his killer shot him? At the age of fifteen, Lawrence is like any other adolescent, just starting sort out his identity and seek his niche in the adult world. That society is willing to vilify someone who is finding their identity is a sad statement; that Lawrence being openly gay should be seen as so threatening by others that they would decide that killing him is an acceptable course of action is positively depressing.

One confusion leads to another confusion, and people take matters into their own hands.

However, there is a source for hope. His name is Jesus. We were not abandoned, but he came that we might have life.


That we characterize someone's sexual identity if it's other than straight as "confused" is dishonest. The reality is that society's misguided, fear addled prohibitions against homosexuality (or, actually, anything other than reproductive sex) are the problem. We know now that being GLBT is a part of the human condition, unusual perhaps, but as real and ultimately normal as a lot of other things. Nothing, but nothing, justifies the violence and marginalization that these youth are subjected to.

It is part of the reason that articles like the one I critiqued a few days ago deserve to be taken apart, and shown for the utter stupidity that they represent.

Attempting to blame the victim of a murder, and those who are supportive of them for the murder is just plain vile.

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