On Saturday, the lifeless body of 16-year-old Brandon Elizares of El Paso, Texas, was discovered by his mother, Zachalyn. He had faced bullies at school since he first came out as gay two years ago.
“He got bullied simply for being gay,” [Mrs.] Elizares told El Paso’s KFOX14. “He’s been threatened to be stabbed. He’s been threatened to be set on fire.”
Elizares said the El Paso Independent school district did everything it could to help solve the problem.
“They’ve reprimanded several kids and they did everything that they could,” Elizares said.
Mrs. Elizares said that her son’s friends told her someone had insulted Brandon on school on Friday and threatened to beat him up on Monday.
Aric
No longer have any words for this. Devastating that the school district did their job but the ignorance ran just too damn deep.
This is why we need laws to pin criminal chargers on these people after they don’t stop.
Carl 1
And this is why bullying that leads directly to an individuals death should be treated as murder – its as deadly and as premeditated as any poison.
Scribe37
I pray for this kid and his family. I tried to kill myself when I was 14. I am so happy I failed. I am sorry he will never have the chance to find the love of his life and have a family. I am sorry he will never find a place to belong.
Danny
Kids need to be told it is better to drop out of school and get a GED than to die and give the bullies satisfaction. Earn a GED and then relocate to a friendlier part of the USA. Some parts of the USA are no better than third world Islamic nations while other parts of the USA are advanced and more accepting.
Cam
I’m sure that the GOP politicians will somehow claim that the bullies are the true victims here.
Baba Booey
@Carl 1: I agree.
RLS
Anyone who deals with youth suicide knows that one of the prime motivators is thinking that they will “show” their bullies or whoever by killing themselves.
I’m starting to question the publicity we’re giving to these teen suicides for that reason alone.
Callum
May young Brandon R.I.P.
tom
so so so sad. i wish his family well and may he rest in peace.
jofletcher
Kids are dying! How much more evidence do we need that something is badly wrong?
We must all come together and have the courage to reimagine the school system – which was designed 300 years ago specifically to boost obedience and conformity and stamp out individuality.
Let us have the courage to begin again with the end in mind.
http://www.helium.com/items/1680408-how-to-end-school-bullying
EvonCook
Help! No school district has done all they could if this sort of thing continues and drives youth to commit suicide. Parents have to be MORE than loving and supportive, they have to be outraged and demanding. I hope Lambda Legal Defense, if not the American Civil Liberties, can look into these cases to see if some legal action would help, even in the aftermath. Where is Dan Savage and his “It Gets Better” project? It should be part of the mandated school curriculum! We live in an era when gays and lesbians have high visibility (in the arts and mostly urban areas) but are still legally discriminated against. We may not be able to make them love us, but we sure as hell should be able to make them give us our rights and keep their hands off the vulnerable. I blame the Pope and most rabbis and muslim leaders. These religions are sick, sicker, and sickest. And hateful too.
Hyhybt
@Carl 1: Trouble with that approach is, suicide is more complex than that. Another person treated precisely the same way might well have reacted differently, and many of those who are bullied and then kill themselves might well have done it anyway. Depression is a nasty thing. And convicting someone of murder rightly requires proving, among other things, that the death in question was in fact a result of the accused’s actions.
EvonCook
Sorry for the rant, but I had a difficult time in a long gay youth (actually started with boys at five, by seven was very busy like a little horny animal), by nine was just getting notorious as the “go to guy.”. Boys who I had sex with would beat me up so they could feel better (well, that didn’t actually make them FEEL better, they just salved their guilt– and often came back for more). Between 12 and 14 I began to find the public venues. At sixteen my step father found out and after all the expensive doctors told him I was a well adjusted homo he got rid of me to a glorious all boys school! That was really fabulously hot, except the cretin headmaster’s jock boys liked to bloody me, but I fought back in every way I could. Had wonderful older boy lovers and suffered through a lot of confused and closeted, scared and thus messed up bf. In the big city university I again went a little wild and pursued lots of sexual excess, wow, the scenes could be unbelievable! Met a wonderful man, don’t we all?, And over decades we tried to expand our home and affection to others, but so few people can get their heads together beyond all the victorian romantic hogwash that only one person must fulfill your life. Wish gays could have taught the world the more love the better instead of validating themselves and the marriage thing. Boys need love, support, reassurance, validation, roll models and community.
TJ
@EvonCook: That sounds like a gay Danielle Steele or Jackie Collins trashy book. The lifetime movie could have Phoebe Cates in it too.
Soakman
@EvonCook:
I have no problem with the way you live your life, and don’t want to come off that way, but in the same breath that you condemn these beastly homocidal bullies, you condemn anyone who feels even remotely monogomous about their relationships as “brainwashed.” Just because I don’t want my body mashed up (and into) every other person I “love”‘s body, doesn’t mean that I am full of romantic Victorian hogwash.
Love does not equal sex. And I can very easily love multiple people without feeling like I have to screw them to prove it. Some of us just don’t WANT to be that intimate with everyone we care about.
There’s no brainwashing to it. I actually enjoy my privacy. And my singular bond with my partner. You don’t have to be polygomous/polyandrous to have a valid perspective on personal relationships.
And bringing up this personal bias of yours, in the same spiel as these uncaring and relentless bullies is very personally offensive.
EvonCook
@Soakman: DEar Soakman, No one “condemned anyone…” how completely exaggerated and stupid of you! No one is telling you how to live your life, BUT it is high time that you stop telling others that the heterosexual model is the only way. Or that there is something intrinsically better or “higher” about monogamy. Your reaction to just my pointing out the heavy dominance of this false attitude foisted on our whole community is proof of why it needs to be said. Not at all a personal bias of mine but an unrelenting fairy tale that causes far more pain than good. Glad if you are happy, but stop making others feel incomplete if they do not find all the answers to their love, needs and life in only one person. There is a damn lot of brainwashing about it, even heterosexuals and religionists need to dredge up the victorian romances to reinforce it. We as a gay community could give the world a much bigger and brighter goal. And sorry, but I think in this case love and sex can be very entwined. Screw whomever you want, sorry it doesn’t seem to mean you love them and try turning on the lights once in a while.
Soakman
You just reinforce everything about your attitude that I addressed. I never once put my values on a higher standard than yours. Which you have done repeatedly. Talk about hypocritical.
And without knowing me you have no idea how I make other people feel about their relationships. So… no soapbox please.
Adam
Rest in peace.
Drew
EvonCook-Cool story bro.
Seattlequeer
Evon-Dan Savage doesn’t give a shit about LGBT youth and his whole “It gets better” project was just done out of self promotion since he’s a media whore, money, and to get a reality TV show on MTV. Dan Savage is no friend to the LGBT community and he’s the last person who should be running an anti-bullying campaign since he’s highly biphobic, transphobic, and ra_cist. Those of us who are from Seattle have known for decades that Savage is nothing but a bully and if you don’t agree with his Log Cabin lite politics he’ll be the first to throw you under the bus.
ish
Evon congrats you’re the type of gay man who gives ALL LGBT people a bad name. You’re probably also a walking petri dish of STDs and the chickenhawk shit was nasty.
Randall Reynolds
My heart goes out to the family. I look forward to a society where ALL of our kids feel safe and accepted.
Angela Smith
There is nothing wrong being a gay. All of us have our own right to choose whatever we want to be. Discrimination is part of our life and I think all of us suffers from that but it doesn’t valid reason to end our precious lives. Instead lets protect ourselves. I would like to share this safety application I found out from safetrec called the panic button. This application is a life saving tool that works on mobile phones. It can easily get help in times of real emergency. For further information about this application, just visit their website at: http://safetrec.com.
nitejonboy
I feel so sorry for his mom, I only wish he could have realized it gets better. Though sometimes I feel like it doesn’t. I have PTSD from all the years of bullying, I have nightmares and panic attacks,etc. I take medication but it doesn’t help. If I could go back in time, I would beat the holy fuck out of all of them, but at the time I was too afraid.