Monday, April 30, 2012

Re: [Peckers_Pics] Male/Gay Health-Discussion-PICS Iowa paper devotes front p...

 

Best of luck Vince!
Lynn S

From: G G <bcky1456@yahoo.com>
To: "Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com" <Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, April 30, 2012 6:56 PM
Subject: Re: [Peckers_Pics] Male/Gay Health-Discussion-PICS Iowa paper devotes front p...

 
Vince,
 
If it's not too personal, maybe you could share with us their reaction when you come out to them.  It might be some baromoter to how maybe things could be improving in Sioux City.
 
Thanks for running the original story. 

From: Lee Hangman <nativenapan@yahoo.com>
To: "Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com" <Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, April 23, 2012 1:03 AM
Subject: Re: [Peckers_Pics] Male/Gay Health-Discussion-PICS Iowa paper devotes front p...

 
Yeh, 
   Thanks for posting! I don't get to see the news too often and this hits home! Some of my family lives in Sioux City. Maybe it's time for me to come out to them too!
                                        Vince

From: "FanTCdude@aol.com" <FanTCdude@aol.com>
To: Peckers_Pics@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, April 22, 2012 6:51 PM
Subject: Re: [Peckers_Pics] Male/Gay Health-Discussion-PICS Iowa paper devotes front p...

 
More power to them for standing up. Thanks for posting that, Jake.
 
 
In a message dated 4/22/2012 9:34:27 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jake_west_tn@yahoo.com writes:
 
Iowa paper devotes front page to fighting bullying
By TIMBERLY ROSS / Associated Press / Apr 22, 2012
In a rare and forceful act of advocacy, an Iowa newspaper devoted the entire front page of its Sunday edition to an anti-bullying editorial after a gay teen committed suicide.
Relatives have said 14-year-old Kenneth Weishuhn Jr. suffered intense harassment, including threatening cellphone calls and nasty comments posted online, after coming out to family and friends about a month ago. He died April 15 from what the local sheriff's office described only as a "self-inflicted injury."
The Sioux City Journal's front-page opinion piece calls on the community to be pro-active in stopping bullying and urges members to learn more about the problem by seeing the acclaimed new film, "Bully," which documents the harassment of a Sioux City middle school student. It notes that while many students are targeted for being gay, "we have learned a bully needs no reason to strike."
"In Kenneth's case, the warnings were everywhere," the editorial said. "We saw it happen in other communities, now it has hit home. Undoubtedly, it wasn't the first life lost to bullying here, but we can strive to make it the last.
Editor Mitch Pugh said the newspaper has run front-page editorials before but has never devoted the entire page to one.
"A lot of newspapers shy away from putting editorials on the front page, but we feel we have to be a strong advocate for our community," he said. "And if we don't do that, we're not sure who else is."
Weishuhn's mother, Jeannie Chambers, told the Journal last week that she and the rest of the family knew he was being harassed but didn't realize the extent of the bullying. His sister told a local television station that Weishuhn, a freshman, had many friends and was popular at South O'Brien High School in Paullina until he came out. Then students turned on him.
Weishuhn's family couldn't immediately be reached Sunday by The Associated Press.
Pugh said the newspaper didn't consult the family before printing the editorial.
"This was a bigger issue than one person," he said.
Andy Marra, a spokesman for the national anti-bullying group GLSEN, said the Journal's decision makes "complete sense."
"Public education is absolutely vital to addressing bullying and harassment in schools," he said, adding that community pressure could push schools to do more.
 
 






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