Eleven year-old Tyler Wilson joined his school’s cheer team. So bullies with little to no breeding broke his arm.
But he’s pushing through it, and he’s going to cheer, by god.
Tyler, and all others out there: It will get better. I promise.
A longer report and full interview with Tyler and his mom from Good Morning America are here, but for some reason, it refuses to be embedded.
What the Religious Right doesn’t seem to understand is that bullies will go after kids for any perceived weakness or difference in their peers. This is why their bitching and moaning about how “if kids are taught not to bully gay kids, that means they’re saying gay is okay” rings so hollow, and belies how little they actually care about children. They can hate gay people all they want, but nothing they ever do will change the fact that, in every school in this country, there are gay kids, and they’re at risk of being bullied, hurt or driven to suicide over that. Period. No amount of preaching, no amount of condemnation is going to change that, because here in reality, gay kids simply exist. Kids who are more artistic than athletic exist. Kids who don’t fit the norm exist. All of them are at risk of being targeted by bullies.
This boy happens to be going against the grain because he really thinks it’d be fun to be a cheerleader, so he’s being targeted, for no reason other than that.
It’s all part of the same story.
Anyway, stay strong, kiddos.
Little to no breeding? I think you mean integrity, character, decency, respect. The one thing the American Revolution was intended to get rid of was the concept of “good breeding,” and the American Civil War was supposed to be the completion of that quest, but of course we’re still hashing it out and probably always will. Sorry to be the political correctness officer, but of course railing against “political correctness” is a diversionary tactic of the right wing to avoid acknowledgment of, well, what’s correct.
It’s a common expression when yr dealing with a Southern writer.
Molly Ivins woulda said it.
Molly Ivins card well played, sir. Should you ever visit Austin, her key to happiness here is a profound truth: “Never, ever drive on I-35.”
Hahah, I bet.
Kids will find ANY reason to pick on another kid. Disability, glasses, hair color, skin color, nationality, ethnicity, accent, religion, you name it. If it in any way sets you apart from the crowd, they WILL use it against you.
That said, Tyler is one hell of a kid. Keep rockin’, little dude!
I think that anti-gay losers like Focus on the Family & others are saying more than “if kids are taught not to bully gay kids, that means they’re saying gay is okay”. They don’t believe there ARE gay kids! They believe susceptible kids are ‘recruited’ to ‘become gay’. They believe homosexuality is contagious! It’s like, if someone just mentions the word ‘gay’ Presto! like magic, the kid will ‘choose’ to become gay! What utter b******t, but I think that is where their objections lie. They can’t handle the concept that kids are identifying as gay at younger ages. But just think about the religion they adore. No differences are allowed. Everyone is a Jesus clone. For them, no one is gay until they are ‘made gay’ by saying the word ‘gay’. Go figure!
Wingnuts *do* know that george w bush was a cheerleader in college don’t they? Actually, I think it was his major.
I can’t wrap my head around the whole cheerleading-must-mean-you’re-gay thing. Like, yeah, obviously it’s bad to be a bully, whatever the reason. And I don’t want to diminish that. And then there’s the whole effeminate != homosexual aspect. And the hobby != sexual orientation aspect.
But even if we set all that aside, why is cheerleading such a big deal to homophobes? The boy is saying that he (1) is enthusiastic about the success of his school’s sports teams, and (2) wants to partake in an activity that involves meeting lots of girls, usually stereotypically attractive ones. If he sticks with it until he gets a bit older/taller/stronger, he’ll probably be picking those girls up and hoisting them (in their short, short skirts) above his head. Aren’t these stereotypically masculine, heterosexual things to be interested in?
NFQ, cheerleading is “traditionally” a girls-only thing, or at least predominantly girly, and even though it’s true that effeminate =/= gay or that enjoying “traditionally” girl things =/= gay, that doesn’t stop idiot bigots from believing so.
They’re pissed off because a boy dares to challenge gender norms by “lowering” himself to doing “girl things”.
Let’s not forget that the first cheerleader was a man. People with lower brows tend to forget that part.