BLOGGING: "Just Another Dead Queer" -- Rainbow Cincinnati post!

New post over at Rainbow Cincinnati. Here's a preview, click here for the remainder.

Matthew Shephard and Lawrence King are dead queers with good publicists.

Not to undermine their deaths, but there are hundreds of people who have paid the ultimate price for being out, and the lack of coverage of their stories gives me pause.

I mourn every time I hear about another death. It's not often, as the lack of a central source of this kind of information leaves me only with the mainstream media. Even the blogosphere is silent on many people who die.

It's times, though, when I hear about Sean Kennedy, who was run down outside of a bar by a man who later referred to Kennedy in a phone call as a "fucking faggot," that upset me the most.

Not because Mr. Kennedy is dead, but because I never heard about it.

And make sure you click through the site... there's a lot there... by clicking on the image below.

GAY STUFF: Cameron McWilliams (pt. III)

Remember when I said that here was precious little blogged about the death of Cameron McWilliams???

If you go to Google and search for Cameron McWilliams... I am the sixth link. There are three news stories (all almost identical) and two blogs ahead of me.

Really, guys. Really? Does no one care?

I guess we care less when we do it to ourselves than when others do it to us. It's been a while since I've read any studies -- but they say that gay and lesbian youth are two to three times more likely to commit suicide.

Is this a problem, as the world becomes more "accepting," that we are going to stop forgetting? To the point that a ten year old hanging himself is just passe and to be ignored by the world?

There are still battles to be won, folks.

GAY STUFF: Lawrence King and Cameron McWilliams (pt. II)

I'm trolling the blogosphere for responses to these two events, and I thought I'd share some of my favorites:

This is from a fabulously angry post over at the FruitFly blog. The whole thing is just well written and well researched.

…because most feminine boys need to be bullied and kicked around once in a while, don’t they? I’m sure Superintendent Dannenberg can drive home proudly knowing that there will be one less queer kid who won’t be showing up at his school no more. And I’m sure he’ll have plans to “talk” to other students about bullying. There’ll be some student wide meetings about bullying. *yawn* Boring stuff that’s all put on to make sure everybody knows the school “cares”. But since the “problem child” is dead, the superintendent’s concern will last about seventy-two hours…maybe a few minutes more.

In a month, Dannenberg won’t even remember the kid’s name.

What does it take for a couple of professionally trained educators to see a 15 year old boy wearing make-up and girls clothes to keep an eye on the kid? Make sure he’s safe? An occasional “watchful eye” on the boy as he’s walking down the halls or out on the grounds? You can’t tell me every faculty member in that school knows which kids are living in Casa Pacifica and that those are the kids who don’t have a family to go home to. And here comes this strange little boy with fingernail polish and wearing a pair of girls high-heeled boots and their answer is to “send him to counseling”?!?!

Somewhat sappy, but nicely done over at Garyblog.

In times when a mind reels with sadness what can a person do?

well . . .I sent flowers to the church for the service tomorrow.

If I could travel on a whim I would sit on the sidewalk . . .and most likely cry my eyes out. . . but no ..I send flowers with a note from myself and my partner.

Why? Because my heart is broken. . . again.

broken for a kid who wasn't given the opporunity. . . again.

broken for a kid that will never have. . . again.

broken for a kid that didn't know. . . again.

broken for a kid who loved butterflies and bugs.

Hits into my core.

From the Kate Evans blog.

Never mind that faggot and gay are still the put-downs of choice. Never mind that even with the support of GSA's, it's very hard to be an out queer or gender-bending kid.

From the Unusual Music ("Everyman is guilty of the good he did not do...Voltaire") blog. This one, which I just discovered is a really good blog.

Tell me, how many more people will we kill with our fear and hate? How many more lives will we stunt and destroy? How much more blood will we bathe in while we turn up our noses, selfrighteously? When will we stop? Will we ever stop?

From the GenderShift blog.

If the events of the past week act as a catalyst for change there perhaps their young lives will not have been in vain, unfortunately noticing that the anti discrimination legislation due to have been enacted on December 21st has still not been represented to parliament two months later I will not hold my breath. Regrettably I suspect that a few more innocent lives will be lost before the government has the balls to tackle these problems.

There's also a great take on the British media's spin on Cameron's death here at the F-Word blog, though, for some reason, I can't copy. And there's no "one thing" I wanna post.

Overall, I've noticed two things:

1) There are far too few things being said about Lawrence King out there. The big ones are talking, and few minor blogs, but, for the most part, the blogosphere is more quiet than you'd expect.

2) Where the issue of Lawrence King is quiet -- the issue of Cameron Williams is almost silent. Perhaps because it was a suicide (his decision) versus a murder (someone else's decision), or because Americans blog more than the Brits, it just isn't out there much.

The media has been silent, but, at the same time, it happened at the exact same time as the NIU shooting, which was equally tragic. Let's just accept that this has been a hard week for kids, and let's remember everyone who died... and those who have to live, knowing others have died.

GAY STUFF: Cameron McWilliams

Wow, in my search about Lawrence King, I found this story which isn't getting much play this side of the pond.

Boy, 10, hangs himself after telling his mother: 'I want to be a girl'



copyright The Star

A BOY of 10 has been found hanged at his South Yorkshire home after telling his mum he wanted to be a girl.

Tragic Cameron McWilliams had already asked for permission to wear make-up, and been teased after he was found wearing his half-sister's knickers.

His desperate mum Kelly McWilliams told a Doncaster inquest she had bought him girls' underwear to wear in private, but had refused his requests to be allowed to wear make-up.

She said: "It was apparent he was unhappy and said he wanted to be a girl. He did like girls' things."

Mrs McWilliams told a Doncaster inquest Cameron was older than his years and had expressed an interest in transvestism.

He had been teased after once being found in his half-sister's knickers, and had asked if he could wear make-up. His mum told him he would have to wait until he was older.

Mrs McWilliams found her son hanging, with a black leather belt around his neck, in his half-sister's bedroom at the family home in Montrose Avenue, Intake, Doncaster.

"When I got in the room he was not asleep, he was standing by the window with a dressing gown on," she said.

"His head was down and I realised something really serious had happened and I screamed."

The court heard Cameron was a lonely boy with no friends outside school. He spent all his time at home listening to music, playing on his XBox and using a laptop computer.

His mother revealed Cameron had been very interested in recent reports of a spate of teenage hangings in Bridgend, South Wales.

"He was not himself but he made no mention whatsoever that he would harm himself," she said. "On that day he was happy as Larry."

She said her son was in the habit of writing her notes if he wanted to discuss something, and added: "He would have asked me questions about hanging but he never did."

Doncaster coroner Stanley Hooper told the court: "I do not know what was in the mind of this little boy. All I know ishe was an unhappy little boy and that he wore his sister's underclothing, and that would be a cause of worry to his mother and stepfather."

Referring to Victoria Beckham's famous claim that her husband David wore her knickers, he added: "If there is anything I can say to avoid similar fatalities in the future, I observe it is well-known that there is a very rich and successful footballer married to a pop singer who is known to have worn his wife's underwear."

Attempts by police to revive Cameron when he was found in the early hours last Monday were not successful, and his body was taken to Sheffield Children's Hospital for a post mortem examination. Inquiries into his death are continuing.

I'm kind of speechless. Rough day here at QitC.