Stop Hate 2000 - We Remember Bullying Victims

Will’s father commented about how difficult school is for queer students. “Most parents worry about if they make a grade, make a team, or do things like that. When we sent Willi to school, we worried that it would be the last time we would see him.” Stated in interview in the documentary movie Anti-Gay Hate Crime: A & E Investigative Reports. Available from Amazon.Com and Amazon.Ca.
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This is a special edition of the Stop Hate 2000 Newsletter.

Years ago, in western Canada, it was tradition for all traffic to stop for funeral processions. Even when meeting a funeral procession going the opposite direction, traffic stopped. There was no safety reason to stop, but everybody stopped. All traffic waited until the entire funeral procession passed.

September, Stop Hate 2000 stopped. We stopped our newsletter production, stopped our efforts to strive for social justice. We waited for the funeral processions for those who took their lives due to either bullying or homophobia. We watched the long line of friends and loved-ones, grieving the loss of young middle school, high school and college students.

Just as the traffic stopped to show respect and solidarity for those in the funeral, we stopped to show respect and solidarity. At Stop Hate, our hearts went out to the family, friends and loved-ones of the young people who died. Our tears mixed with their tears, as we reflected on our own losses, losses of significant others, of family members, of friends, due to homophobic violence or suicide.

The thoughts and prayers of our volunteer staff are with the families, friends, classmates, colleagues, teachers, and loved ones of the following people:

Asher Brown, 13, of Houston, Texas. News articles about Asher can be found on the following web sites:

• Dallas Voice
• Chron Huston & Texas News

Seth Walsh, 13, of Tehachapi, California. News articles about Seth can be found on the following web sites:

• Fox News
• SFGate

Billy (William) Lucas, 15, of Greensburg, Indiana. News articles about Billy can be found on the following web sites:

• Indy Channel
• Queerty

Tyler Clementi, 18, who attended Rutgers University. News articles about Tyler can be found on the following web sites:

• ABC News
• CBC News

Raymond Chase, 19, who attended Johnson and Wales University. News articles about Raymond can be found on the following web sites:

• TowlerRoad
• Now Public

These suicides add to the many victims of hate crimes who touched our lives in a special way.

We do not want to leave this topic without sharing hope. Those who created It Gets Better You Tube videos are correct. Life after school is often better than school life. The school years are very difficult for many students. Teasing and bullying are common. Fortunately, things get better. Many people find within a few years of graduating they lose contact with many of their classmates from school, so the opinions of judgmental classmates is less important.

In a You Tube video Dan and Terry discuss how their lives improved after they left school. There is a You Tube Channel where people who experienced bullying in school tell their stories. The You Tube Channel is named It Gets Better Project.

Youth needing support to cope with bullying are encouraged to contact people who can be of support. Physicians, school counsellors, psychologists, social workers, and nurses are often able to provide assistance. Youth living in the United States are able to obtain support at 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).


Anybody with news about hate crimes or discrimination is welcome to email us.


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