Speaking of awesome kids like Michiganās Graeme Taylor, letās meet Sabrina Schlichting. Sheās a fellow 14-year-old from Minnesota, and rather than let anti-gay bullying at Lincoln High School go unnoticed by administrators, sheās organizing āBlue Daysā where she and classmates wear blue (not purple?) tees in support of bullied kids. The 4-foot-11 freshman had her first one on Wednesday. This girl rocks.
āBruises and bangs, those may heal but sometimes peopleās hearts donāt heal,ā says Sabrina, whoās been bullied herself growing up in Lake City. āSometimes when they hear hurtful things, they canāt find the strength inside to say, āOh thatās not true.'ā Sabrina says she isnāt the popular girl at
But unlike administrators at the Pennsylvania high school who were completely unaware any bullying was taking place (let alone the kind that would drive Brandon Bitner to kill himself), Sabrinaās principal appears well aware of the bullying environment ā and is applauding her efforts. āI think back to when we were freshmen and I was her age, and I honestly donāt think I would have the courage to do this,ā says Principal Greg Berge. (The school had to agree to let the local news cameras film in the school, which shows additional support for Sabrinaās efforts.)
A round of applause for brave chicks like Sabrina, who care little about climbing high schoolās painful social ladder. She just wants to see her classmates be able to walk to class without getting picked on. How ā¦ novel.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
kernelt
the power of today youth for tolerant and equality earn itself a standing ovation…
alan brickman
Gays aren’t the only ones getting bullied..and my four bullies were all gays in the closet….press fail now…
alan brickman
not one of them played sports by the way….
alan brickman
what happened to purple day???
the crustybastard
One young woman’s grasp of the Equal Protection Clause and the central tenets of Christianity surpasses 99.9% of all American politicians and clergy.
Very impressive, Ms Schlichting.
Stefan
I have great comfort knowing people like her are the latest coming of age voters.
Joe
I feel like purple was a poor color choice to begin with. Blue is definitely a color that people are more likely to have and are more willing to wear.
alan brickman
but then with blue…maybe people wouldn’t know you were supporting this action…purple is the color of passion and a definate statement color…but she’s on the right track too…
Howard Simonsen
Sabrina is magnificent, but this post is further proof that Queerty is run by a bunch of illiterates. Neither the article or the video clip says a word about wearing blue to support “LGBT” kids, nor is there any indication that she is lesbian or was bullied because she was perceived to be a lesbian. She is a bullied girl who is speaking out against bullying. Period.
It is still a great story, but you have to wonder why Queerty, which does no original journalism or reportage of any kind, can’t even accurately recap the work of real journalists.
Andy B
When I organised a anti-discrimination week at my school (in New Zealand) earlier this year we chose the colour blue because it is an anti-bullying colour against all bullying – not just homophobia as purple tends to be (as it is derived from the rainbow flag). Whilst really the whole impetus behind the event was homophobia (which I have been lucky to never really face too seriously – they’re too scared cause I’ll fuck them up through the school system), I was sick of seeing people bullied because of their sexuality, but we couched it in the terms of other types of bullying as well because it actually enhances the message in my opinion and it is also not as divisive within a community (of course, the vast majority of NZers are highly accepting… but teenage boys… not so much….).
I think you’d be surprised at how positive young people are towards gay people – we can’t necessarily view all these cases as an epidemic of bullying that the majority of teenagers participate in. There actually is an element of growing up involved – except for when it gets to really serious bullying. I know some of you don’t believe that it is about growing up, but there is a level of homophobia that straight teenage boys feel when they’re about 13-15 and it GOES AWAY(!) by the time they’re about 17 or 18. Trust me, I’ve watched it happen over the past five years and am a lot closer to this than many of you guys. This sort of homophobia is an indiscriminant sort of homophobia that isn’t really serious, so like people calling an LGBT person a ‘fag’ once in a while, but there is actually no real hate there.
But then there’s serious bullying (like physical violence and intense targeted bullying) and that’s another story. But that often isn’t directed at LGBT people exclusively (in NZ), but is directed at anyone…. gay, straight, trans, fa’afafine, takaatapui (whose heard of those sexualities before? Mmm?) and often just normal people who say that wrong thing.
In my experience, fighting against homophobia requires that all bullying be fought against. Success is improbable until the consciousness of everyone has been raised towards bullying… cause half the time people don’t even realise what they say is hurtful.
Anyway, that’s just my highschool experience.
hotone2me
YOU GO Girl!!!
Theo
Awesome kid. I wish I have a kid like her.
Michael
It would be nice for some of the boys to follow her foot steps.
crazy
“gays arent the only ones that get bullied”
when it comes to sexual orientation, gays and bis get bullied for it
straight people dont get bullied for being Straight
straight people get bullied for everything else..which also gay people get bullied for too (race, weight, apperance, etc)
but were talking about sexual orientation here
Franco
I wish I had this courage when I was in school. Bravo to these young girls and boys who are making a difference and spreading compassion.
alan brickman
Most gays do the bullying….
alan brickman
My bad…Blue is more inclusive ….Go Sabrina!!!
Sabrina Schlichting
@kernelt: Hey!! This is Sabrina thank you soo much!! š
Sabrina Schlichting
Hey Everyone!!! This is Sabrina! I can’t believe my story is circulating the web! š I made blue day to stop bullying but this article focuses on gay bullying only but blue day is to stand up against all bullying š If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me š [email protected] I just made this email account because i find your view points very interesting and would like to hear from you š Please respect me and just if you have a different opinion than me you can email me but please dont swear or call me names I love to hear everyones opinion. The 2nd blue day is on December 14th š Contact me at [email protected]
declanto
@Sabrina Schlichting: I love that you’re being all-inclusive. Bullying hurts permanently. It’s never forgotten, seldom forgiven. Bless you, young person, our hope for a brighter future.
Shake-n-Bake
@Joe: Purple was chosen because of what it represents in the Rainbow flag: Spirit.
Sabrina Schlichting
@declanto: Thank you so much!! š I know how badly bullying can and has impacted so many peoples lives including myself. I just thought it was time to take a stand and I am. Please wear blue on December 14th to support the second blue day to take a stand against ALLLL bullying. Any questions or comments feel free to email me. [email protected]. Have a great day š
mikey
@Sabrina Schlichting: even people thrice your age would never have the courage to stand up for what you believe in. Your a very mature young lady, indeed š
Sabrina Schlichting
@mikey: Thank you!!! š