I think you meant to say "don't just call the *principal*"

I don't trust the fucking police (Stranger, you've helped a lot in realizing this, thanks.) I teach my gay son how to fight and remain on the downlow, none of this Adam Lambert shit, no shitty Cris Crocker. Play it cool, like Jean Genet.

right on.
and "hicksville?" srsly?

I was encouraged as well to hear of a young man who took to the street outside his school with a large poster protesting the harassment he suffered at the hands of bullies. This is a good example of young LGBT people keeping their power!

Hail to that, Dan. I'm also with #2; sometimes the best defense is being able to kick the shit out of anybody who attacks you.

in retrospect, my arts high school looks more and more like paradise - >50% african-american, openly gay teachers, gay kids were out at 14, 15, and were among the most popular and talented, straight guys did ballet, our sports teams sucked, no football, lots of interracial dating, 2 musicals staged/year, and no one bullied anyone.

Putting these bullies in the limelight over and over and over again and letting bullies everywhere know they are not going to get away with this may very well prevent this from happening to another innocent LGBT kid. Lock em up for awhile and see how their parents and school administrators like the negative publicity. It may be the catalyst for change that's needed.

that's why you have such great comments Max. you had the education that most of us only dream of, when in reality I'm glad as hell I didn't. @2 I hate the Police, did you hear about that awful incident with the homeless woodcarver. Hate Hate those fucking pricks. I hope I choke on a salami, that's telling them Dan.

anti-gay harrassment in hicksville. who'd have guessed?

I went to school on the south shore of Long Island and it was constant fucking combat. Not just fights, mind you, but out and out assaults. Packs of kids jumping other kids, a couple of stabbings,it was CRAZY. I saw some awful shit, and got involved in some awful shit. Think the jersey shore is funny? Imagine going to school with 1400 of those dago scumbags.

Shit, if I knew then what i knew now I would have dropped out in 10th grade.

Did anyone else turn a little queasy on seeing that the assailants were black? Somehow I don't think this signals anything about our society's willingness to criminalize this behavior in white ("normal," "basically good") students.

Margaret L. @ 11, no I didn't see what color the kids were. But I don't think it matters if they are red striped or pink with purple polka dots. I think this problem is now getting the attention it deserves and no one will care what color they are as long as the bullies are punished. Public humiliation is extremely powerful and if it makes one of these kids stop and think before they react then were all better off for it.

@8: sarcasm does not become you.

The closer things get to actual legal equality the worse it will get with this crap. Remember how bad the South got the closer things got there. It will turn the tide, but...

@11, @12 -- it does matter if, under similar circumstances white attackers were NOT charged. It *should* be the case that a) no matter the orientation/color/whatever of the victim and b) no matter the color/whatever of the aggressor, the latter should be treated like the shits they are. But too often because of power & privilege in this society...a free pass is given. White attackers might have gotten the whole schpiel of "kids will be kids" *gag*

And also because the police have certainly been known to be complicit in upholding abuse of power/privilege in this country, I'm delighted to see in this case they are not.

I am *not* going to comment on the town's name. I am not. Oh, hell.

This, THIS! Way to go! http://tinyurl.com/26vvaur

@11, @12, @16 - The race of the attackers will certainly mean a lot to the cops who are called to the scene. Many cops don't need much of an excuse to jack 3 young black men. Oddly enough, a cop who would do so in a gay-bashing scene would feel like a civil rights hero for helping a gay kid, even while he's violating the rights of the accused.

The hardest part of all of this, including the It Gets Better Project, is that you are often dealing with the most irrational of all humans: teenagers. It's difficult to get teenage boys, in particular, to correct behavior defects without smacking them upside the head. But then you'd just be answering violence with violence. Reasoning with a teenage boy can be impossible at times.

@18 and even when under other circumstances the cop would happily violate the civil rights of another gay kid. It's completely crazy making.

@16: "it does matter if, under similar circumstances white attackers were NOT charged." Exactly.

And it matters if people feel good hating these attackers because they're black, and in spite of the fact that the victim is gay. Honestly, I don't think this case is going to make a dent on the American psyche. It's going to be filed under "black thugs arrested," not gay-bashers arrested."

This. When you commit assault, you should be charged with assault (or harassment or whatever the crime may be).

Although I must admit, sometimes karma can be a bitch, too, in all the best of ways. There was a kid who bullied me so mercilessly in school that I almost ended up resorting to suicide. The stress, misery, and self-hatred culminated in a 7 month long migraine and the inability to get out of bed. I ended up dropping out of school, getting home instruction, and transferring to another school the following year (at which point the migraine stopped). In a weird way, being tormented so badly that I had to transfer schools was the best thing that ever happened to me - I transferred to a school that I adored, made friends, and learned to stand up for myself (I happened to be being bullied for being in a wheelchair, so there wasn't any soulsearching about whether/when to come out... which I think is both easier and harder than things which carry more options re: disclosure).

About five years later, I was home from college on a break, driving through my hometown, when a man came stumbling out of the bushes, his face bloodied and broken. My mother was driving and stopped the car, and the man mumbled something about assault and police, and how someone had driven his car into the ravine he'd just climbed from. We called 911. As we waited for the cops to show, the guy started bitching about how they'd taken his Rolex and his designer clothing, too, and they'd ruined his Camero, etc... thing is, our town doesn't really have Rolexes or Cameros. But it did have one guy in it who was constantly bullshitting that he had those things... which I knew because said guy had been bullshitting about how he had expensive stuff since 7th grade. His face had been beaten unrecognizable, but I took a chance. "Bastard Moron?" I asked [not his real name].

"Yeah!" he said. "Course, I guess everybody knows *me*.... those guys were just jealous.... oh god.... you're.... [my name]."

Me: Yes.

Him: Oh. Well. Uh. How are you?

Me: Good. Home from college.

Him: I could have gone to college if I wanted to.

Me: Sure.

Mercifully, the cops showed.

Him: It's really good to see you.

Me:... you know what? It's good to see you, too. Bloody is definitely your color.

Whenever I find myself in one of those self hating moods, I close my eyes and remember Bastard Moron's beaten-to-a-pulp face. It's petty and small, but it's oh so fucking satisfying.

But I keep thinking that's probably not a very nice It Gets Better vid for the kiddos. ;)

What do the laws in America say about assault committed by minors? What kinds of charges do the three bullies face? Do they get a pass if it's their first time?

@24 -- It depends. There isn't a uniform federal code -- so local and state laws will apply, plus however much the local DA's and law enforcement feel like going after the kids, how much clout their families have and so on and so forth. But technically as juvenile assault and battery, they should be tried in juvenile court which typically goes for lesser sentencing and sealing of their records once they turn 18 (again with allowance for state by state variation).

There, nice and definitive :)

@2 you moron, jean genet was a bigger fag than me, dan savage, and lady gaga rolled into one. teaching your son to be on the "downlow" is pathetic and i really hope you're not serious.

@2 (and by extension, @8)

I think @10 is a pretty good reason not to "handle this yourself", because that kind of crap just escalates into a lot more vigilante crap. And gangs. And beatings. Soon enough it's "Fags vs Skinheads" brawls on a regular basis.

I'd say that if you have to press charges more than say twice, and they *still* don't get the message, you can effectively claim that violence is the only language they understand and make a firm case for self defence when you break their knees and/or shoot them. Just make sure you call 911 and turn yourself into the police when that happens.

Long Island != Hicksville.

Glad to read they were arrested for their crimes, and not just "disciplined" in their school.

Have you even noticed what great cowards these hateful thugs are. Three of them to one victim. I'm truly surprised they took this one kid on with those odds.

@23 This guy can write. Way to go seanchai! And whether fact or fiction, more power to you!

#2 and #5 are a big danger to anyone they encourage to fight back. One on one? Sure. But guess what a 14 year old, even if he were armed with a knife or club, could do to three kids, each bigger and one 18? Nothing - get killed, that's what. There's a time for fighting,a time for running, and a time to hunker down and protect the head and holler for help.