Sirdeaner Walker found her 11-year-old son Carl Joseph in his room, dead, hanging from an electrical cord. Driven to suicide, it’s believed, because he was being “bullied relentless” in school. He was being pushed around, told he acted “gay,” and branded a “faggot.” And when she told the school, administrators told her “it would work itself out,” she says. Ms. Walker has relived this nightmare a number of times publicly, for which we thank her, since she has to relive it everyday for the rest of her life. Here, she tells Congress about the reality of bullying: It doesn’t have to be this way for our kids. “This has got to stop. School bullying is a national crisis. … I know that bullying is not a gay issue, or a straight issue. It’s a safety issue.”
bullying
WATCH: Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover’s Mom Revisits Harrowing Suicide for Congress
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MackMike
Wow! The tears just won’t stop. Each child, weather straight to gay, who endures such bullying is, by experience, one of our own. Please write to your state representatives today!
InExile
This video of this mother testifying on Capitol Hill also brought tears to my eyes. No mother and no child should have to go through what this mother and child experienced.
Some people who post on this blog have said global warming, health care, the economy, the wars are all more important than our own civil rights. Well, this video really begs the question, are they?
By making excuses for our President why he is not moving forward on LGBT issues makes you part of the problem, not the solution. No issue is more important than out civil rights. Tell this mother global warming is more important. The fact that in our culture fagot is the worst name a child can be called just highlights how important our civil rights are.
koalaboy
Everyone should see this video. Sirdeaner is unbelievably strong. Luckily for me, I never experienced much bullying. The mindset of an eleven year-old.. I was 11 in ’92 and remember watching the election.. I don’t remember thinking about suicide, but I didn’t live in fear. So terribly sad.
Dave
I’m from the south. I remember walking to school and being at school and being called a faggot and didnt even know what it meant at the time. There was a group of guys who all the way until high school, constantly bullied me. This is a decades old problem and with social sites and ability to spread hate so easily it’s no wonder the violence and suicide among young gay or perceived gay children has gone up. It has to stop. The grown ups have to grow up and realize their ignorance and bigotry is killing children. Hate is learned.
BrianZ
What a strong woman for continuing to tell her story. So much hate in our adults, no wonder it’s flowing from our children as well. Sad shit.
I’m forever thankful I didn’t have to deal with that bullshit growing up.
schlukitz
I was not able to watch this video without becoming unglued either.
Hatred. Alive and well in America…and all of it, protected by “free speech”.
The Fundies and Magical Undies Crowd must be so proud!
RG
CNN’s report on this poor woman’s testimony seemed to go out of its way to de-gay the story. They even had some goofus talking head blaming family breakdown, single-parent families.