Pleasant Surprises

The Media Are Actually Paying Attention to a Dead Feminine Black Boy

Bless the news media for paying mind to the suicide of Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, the 11-year-old who hung himself from an extension cord after students endlessly bullied him in school for acting feminine, though he never identified as gay. Of course, that doesn’t keep kids from calling anyone a “faggot.”

Not only are outlets like ABC News recognizing the terror gay (or gay-suspected) youth must endure, but they are using a BLACK BOY as the newspeg. Normally, heartwrenching tales of woe are the territory of white girls. This is significant.

Even family member Anderson Cooper dedicated a segment to Walker-Hoover, pointing out racial harassment would never be tolerated in a school, but sexual identity harassment is.

And it’s about time the mainstream media gave it some thought. School bullying leading to kids killing themselves is not a new phenomenon — but at the very least, attention to the issue is beginning.

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