"In the sixth grade, a girl started a "Burn Book" - an allusion to a book in the movie "Mean Girls," where bullies scribble nasty rumors about the people they hate - about Larry. The Larry book talked about how he was gay and falsely asserted that he dressed in Goth and drag. And it ended with a threat: I hate Larry King. I wish he were dead," according to one parent's memory of the book." - Newsweek, July 28, 2008 pg. 42. "Murder in the 8th Grade: A Tale of Bullying, Sexual Identity and the Limits of Tolerance".
This article in Newsweek immediately caught my attention because of the title right smack on the cover page. Some people still don't think being Goth is a legitimate minority group that's discriminated against. Yet - in this article we have another unfortunate reminder that, at least for children in the 6th grade accusing someone of dressing Goth is in the same vein as saying they dress in drag and are gay. It's still meant to be a negative. That 'Goth' is "bad". Dressing in drag is "bad" and so is being gay.
One thing the article fails to mention is what, if any punishment or discipline was given to these student who were bulling and harassing this young, gay identified young man before Brandon McInerney, 14 year old, shot him twice in the head at school.
