Houston Chronicle Blogger Mom Says Gay Teens Should Stay in Closet to Avoid Suicide

A November 3rd  article from the Houston Chronicle Blogger, Kathleen McKinley, has incensed a lot of people, including me as a bullied, gay person. This rant goes way beyond rational thinking and blames the victim, instead of the bully, for being bullied and ending their own life as a result of it.

To think that someone could even think this way is beyond comprehension, logic, whatever you want to call it. Possibly the best way is the rantings of a bully (using Jesus as their namesake?)

Here is a little of her "Christian" thinking:

"...Am I mad at the hateful mean kids who bully and tease these teens? You bet I am. But I am just as mad at the idiotic adults who force our adult views on kids, and pull them into our adult world long before they are mature enough to handle it. The 13 year old that killed himself told his Mom he was gay. She said she already knew and hugged him. She said she just assumed that everyone else would be as accepting as she was.

Really? Have you been around teenagers? They are cruel and mean. They constantly tear each other down. It was bad when I was a teenager, I can only imagine what it's like now. No, I don't have to imagine how it is now. This is how it is now. Why in the world would you give teenagers a REASON to tease you? Oh, yes, because the adults tell you to embrace who you are, the only problem? Kids that age are just discovering who they are. They really have no idea yet. The adults tell you to "come out," when what we should be telling them is that sex is for adults, and there is plenty of time for figuring out that later. Figure out yourself first. Focus on the kind of person you want to be, not the kind of person you want to sleep with. A 13 year old should not be building his life around his sexual orientation. He should be being A KID ... We have sexualized our kids with movies, music, and culture, and now we have viruses like HPV running rampant before they even go to college. We should all be ashamed of ourselves. [...]

Let's let kids be kids, for God's sake. Remember the gay young boy's last message said, "How do you know it will get better?" He was a KID! Kids can't see around the corner. They just aren't mature enough yet. They don't see it getting better no matter how many times Lady Ga Ga says it will. So, enough with our politically correct campaigns aimed at kids.

It's killing them."

Of course any sensible, educated person (who follows and ascribes to this ***holes views of right and wrong) knows that by suppressing these feelings, especially those of making the choice to be gay, everything will be better and all will be happy.

I'm not sure what planet Ms. Kathleen comes from, possibly the same one as our Republican slate of gay-haters, but her thinking is dangerous to everyone who is being bullied for any reason and also dangerous advice to parents who don't open conversation with their children about these issues. As parents we are responsible for preparing our children to face the "real" world, one filled with hate, discrimination and violence against those who, whether by choice or not, are different.

Please read the full story for all the comments to follow her thinking as it becomes more idiotic and illogical, ending in a total mess of bullying crap. Where are those laws outlawing cyberbullying?

Following is an excellent reply from the long comment thread to this bully  :

Spoken like a woman who has never in her life met or had more than a twenty second conversation with a gay person. Sexuality is all about sex? Really? Kids aren't "sexual" at 13? Well, I guess all that psychology and a little hormonal shift called "puberty" must all be wrong.

You should be ashamed of accepting your kid for who they are? What the fuck kind of bullshit are you on, woman? Look, many people who were gay knew they were different even before they can clarify why. My best friend watched Elvira at age seven and knew she was attracted to her (she still is). She literally knew she liked girls before she knew what sex even was. She wasn't confused, she wasn't "mislead" or "coached"--it was something she knew, deep down. So what are we supposed to do, you idiot, when your kid tells you they are gay? Tell them they're wrong? Tell them they're "too young to know"? Yeah, that'll learn them, and not make them suicidal at all.

What are we supposed to say when they come home at eight years old and say, "Daddy, what does 'gay' mean?" Are we supposed to say "gay is a bad word" (Ooh, psychological damage when they get older--either self-hatred or scorn for others). Are we supposed to change the subject, so they think they can't trust us? Because we're obviously not supposed to simply state what gay is--their tender little brains couldn't handle it!



Dear Kathleen McKinley: Every single mental health expert, psychologist, child development expert and teacher with a bare minimum of education would shore me up when I say you are completely, totally, and dangerously wrong in absolutely everything you said. See attached video.

Edited by senselocke: superinsomniac at 11/03/11 11:48 PM

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