Survey links gay suicides to religious messages - SLTrib.com

[_The Mormon Report]

For your consideration:

Survey links gay suicides to religious messages - SLTrib.com

[_cinepro]

I don't care what religions are teaching, or how accepted homosexuality gets in society, there will always be kids who bully other kids because they're weaker, sensitive or different. And homosexual kids can be very different!

It may be factor in adult and teenager suicides, but it was my impression that the recent high-profile suicides were a result of teasing and bullying, not religious guilt.

[_Fence Sitter]

I don't care what religions are teaching, or how accepted homosexuality gets in society, there will always be kids who bully other kids because they're weaker, sensitive or different. And homosexual kids can be very different!

It may be factor in adult and teenager suicides, but it was my impression that the recent high-profile suicides were a result of teasing and bullying, not religious guilt.

How much of the teasing and bullying was a result of the religion of the teasers? I am not sure how you can seperate the one from the other.

[_cinepro]

I don't care what religions are teaching, or how accepted homosexuality gets in society, there will always be kids who bully other kids because they're weaker, sensitive or different. And homosexual kids can be very different!

It may be factor in adult and teenager suicides, but it was my impression that the recent high-profile suicides were a result of teasing and bullying, not religious guilt.

How much of the teasing and bullying was a result of the religion of the teasers? I am not sure how you can seperate the one from the other.

I would guess almost none of it.

Kids get teased for anything that makes them different or vulnerable: weight, clothes, physical features, too smart, too dumb, unusual smelling, shyness, poor social skills, bad at sports, jealousy...

Bullies don't need a religion to tell them that someone is vulnerable to bullying. They can figure it out all on their own.

[_Fence Sitter]

I would guess almost none of it.

Kids get teased for anything that makes them different or vulnerable: weight, clothes, physical features, too smart, too dumb, unusual smelling, shyness, poor social skills, bad at sports, jealousy...

Bullies don't need a religion to tell them that someone is vulnerable to bullying. They can figure it out all on their own.

I don't think kids consciously think of religion when they are bullying anyone. But I do know that kids are greatly affected by the POV of their parents and other adults with whom they come into contact. If the message is that certain behavior is wrong, the kids will use it against other kids. No religion is telling them anything (for the most part) but the attitudes and teachings of the adults in their lives does.

I do not know how much it does come into play, but I disagree "almost none". I have seen way too many kids grow up acting like their parents to believe otherwise.

[_Fiannan]

Our sociopathic secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, recently showed how she can politicize tragedy by releasing a video on bullying. when I saw the title I actually thought it was something worthy to share with friends as there have been some high profile suicides, several involving young women, who have been bullied by classmates and incompetent, uncaring administrations not really showing any interest.

Instead, Ms. Sociopath concentrates on gay suicides, probably hopiing to score some political points for her in-trouble party before the elections. She could have said something about gay kids, fat kids, weak kids, kids with poor social skills, etc. but no...it mostly centered on gay kids. So it just appeared to be pandering, rather than true concern for all at-risk kids.

[_MCB]

true concern for all at-risk kids.

But, weak boys, boys with poor social skills, boys who would rather study, who get along with elders, etc and etc, are often bullied with homosexuality-related words, even when they are not. So, if you want to retract your generalizations, please do.

[_Fiannan]

true concern for all at-risk kids.

But, weak boys, boys with poor social skills, boys who would rather study, who get along with elders, etc and etc, are often bullied with homosexuality-related words, even when they are not. So, if you want to retract your generalizations, please do.

That's not what the freaking politician said and no, I will not retract any words. It is absolutely wrong to bully a kid for being gay, but it is equally wrong to bully kid for any other reason. I have absolutely zero respect for Ms. Sociopath since she is taking on only one aspect of the problem, which I suspect is for political reasons. Let her condemn all bullying equally as wrong -- like the cases where an Irish immigrant girl was bullied to suicide or where a Croation immigrant girl was bullied -- but then again, maybe someone should tell her that she might score some points with Irish or Croatian voters if she took on those issues.

[_EAllusion]

Cinepro -

If children receive the message that some trait makes a person a member of a lesser class, that will encourage children to mistreat members of that class. There's a fair amount of research on this, showing even entirely arbitrary traits can encourage this behavior.

If a religious culture encourages children to view homosexuals as an inferior minority, that's going to cause more bullying of them. It isn't just because of religion that being gay is seen as a bad thing - that merely calling someone gay is an major insult to them - but it certainly plays a large role. It's true that children bully other children for all sorts of reasons, but I think it is naïve to think religious culture plays no role in why certain children get targeted.