Marley Cardona, Guest Column

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

Whoever came up with that phrase clearly had no idea how horribly painful words really are.

Over the past few months, six kids have committed suicide. Partly because of words. They were called, “fag,” “homo,” and “queer,” among others. Why? Simply put, because they were (or were perceived to be) gay.

An 11-year-old Ohio boy was beaten so badly that his arm was broken because he was a cheerleader. His tormentors thought being a cheerleader was a “gay thing to do.”

A freshman at the University of Rutgers had his sexual encounter with another male broadcast by his roommate over the Internet, and he later jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge.

A Texas boy was constantly picked on by bullies, but his parents’ pleas to the school to step in and stop the bullying were ignored. The day before his death, he was tripped down a flight of stairs in school. The next day, he found his stepfather’s 9mm Berretta and shot himself in the head. He was 13 years old.

More recently, an Arkansas School Board member took to Facebook on Oct. 20 with this message about wearing purple for the six kids who killed themselves:

“Seriously? They want me to wear purple because five queers killed themselves. The only way I’m wearing it is if they all commit suicide.”

A school board member. Read that again. A school board member — someone who is elected to have the best interests of parents and students at heart, goes to Facebook and encourages all GLBT kids to commit suicide, and loves that “[gay people] get AIDS and die.”

With every case of bullying, except the Rutgers incident, the bullying was reported to school officials, but nothing was done about it. How in the world was this allowed to happen? Schools have preached to us since kindergarten that bullying of any kind is not tolerated. Why are these situations any different? I won’t make assumptions or put words in their mouths, but do the school officials believe that, since they are/seem to be gay, they deserve the treatment they’re getting?

That is intolerance and bigotry multiplied to the 10th power. There needs to be a change in the world and in school, which is what I have set my heart on doing. Bullying is a prevalent issue at Albert Lea High School. I’m sure that’s no different than any other time, but it’s ridiculous how much scarier things are. There is literally no escape from bullies anymore. (By the way, the word “bully” doesn’t effectively describe what they really are and what they do. It’s more of a tormentor mixed with stalker.)

Bullies can find you on any social networking site and harass you with as much or as little secrecy as they want, they can get your cell phone number or your address.

There is no escape from them anymore. These kids killed themselves because they couldn’t get away from the constant torment and horrifying hatred they received day in and day out. Why? It seems all that’s been happening lately is more and more anti-gay sentiment every single day in the media, wither it’s another suicide due to anti-gay bullying or it’s the (former) assistant attorney general of Michigan waging a personal war against an openly gay college student body president, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell being repealed, or Proposition 8, in or out of the closet students and adults are feeling as if there is no hope for them, as if there’s no hope for the future, that suicide is the only answer.

It’s time we took a stand against all types of bullying and eliminate the feeling of an uncertain future in our schools. As a parent, as a teacher, even just as a citizen, or better yet, a community, we need to stand together, put our political or religious ideologies aside and cohesively become a major force against not just anti-gay bullying, but every type of bullying. It’s unfortunately too late for those kids who have committed suicide, but with help from the community of Albert Lea, we can set an example for other cities around the nation and the world and show those kids who are considering suicide, there is always a great future for them and they will find acceptance in the world.

Marley Cardona is a senior at Albert Lea High School.