FIGHTING THE BULLIES: The recent suicides of five gay teenagers who were harassed were horrific, and highlight the need for stepped-up efforts to protect all children.
L.A. TIMES EDITORIAL | HTTP://LAT.MS/D2ZPI6
October 14, 2010 -- In "Lord of the Flies," William Golding's famous allegory about a group of English schoolchildren stranded on a deserted island, the boys gradually begin to bully, hunt and even kill their weaker peers. In the book, however, it is the boys' isolation from civilization that causes standards of decency to be overwhelmed by primitive group think. The implication is that the students would not have lost their moral bearings if they had been at home in the suburbs, in their dormitories or in school classrooms.
If only that were so. The recent suicides of five gay teenagers who were isolated only metaphorically — by the abuse they suffered — demonstrate the flaw in that theory. Their tragic deaths have cast a light on the abuse and bullying suffered by many young gay students on a regular basis right here in the midst of society; a 2009 report from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that nine out of 10 lesbian, gay, transgender or bisexual students say they are harassed during a given year.
Horrendous as that is, it is important to remember that gays are not the only young people being "bullied to death." The phenomenon is part of a broader problem.