Reactions from the bullied LGBT to Lieberals anti-Safe Schools message

Some reactions to the gov's insane rhetoric and investigation into the Safe Schools program. 

There's a petition here, up to 30,000 now, telling the Lieberals to leave Safe Schools the fuck alone. 

 

James:

But I honestly believe that if I had the resources available to kids with the Safe Schools program, I would have been more equipped to handle the stress of coming out during my high school years.

I wouldn’t have put my best friend in that terrible situation. I wouldn’t have stayed silent as people were bullying the gay kid in the year above me. And I wouldn’t have so many regrets about accepting myself sooner.

I find it deplorable that Malcolm Turnbull is giving Cory Bernardi the satisfaction of an inquiry into the effectiveness of the program in Australian schools.

Bernardi says: “We have got children as young as 11 being told to imagine they’re 16 and in a sexualised environment, others in a same-sex or opposite-sex attraction, to imagine themselves without genitals and being bullied.

“This is about the appropriateness of materials presented to our kids,” Bernardi said.

I had a look through the resources in question and they’re absolutely wonderful. Among the resources available are: ‘Guide to hosting inclusive school formals’, ‘Stand out against homophobia in schools’ and ‘OMG I’m queer’. They even talk about coming to terms with gender dysmorphia! A concept I had no idea even existed until well after high school.

These materials promote an important gender diversity that has nothing but positive repercussions for current disparaging statistics surrounding LGBTIQPA+ youth. Same Same

Peter:

Felt compelled to email Cowan MP Luke Simpkins, who today told Parliament he'd never met a homophobe. A bit of it: pic.twitter.com/wwspjdU9Ig

— Peter Taggart (@petertaggart) February 25, 2016

 

Shannon:

In the immediate aftermath, my state was beyond hysterical. And yet, I vividly recall every detail. I remember how badly my chest hurt from holding in a torrent of tears, so as to not give the culprit the satisfaction. I remember the feeling of betrayal that an adult would do such a thing. I remember that long, bumpy bus ride home that seemed to go on forever. I remember the smell of the dirt as I clambered up the drive, desperate to get inside. I remember thoroughly collapsing into myself in a way, thankfully, I haven’t since. 

I remember feeling like there was no reasonable alternative than to take my life. And so I broke open a disposable razor and retrieved the blade, and sat, violently shaking, on the edge of the bath. 

I don’t speak about my adolescence often. The truth is that I’m still traumatised by the unspeakably horrific things I endured as a teenager that the mere thought of them makes me ill. 

At my NRL-mad, all boys Christian school, it was painfully obvious that I was gay. I didn’t play sports. I liked to hang out in the library. I loved writing and art and theatre. I was tall, gawky, not very cool and a bit camp. 

And every single day for years, things were hell. I feared for my life. I ran, hid, kept my head down, stifled my spirit, tried to be the furtherest thing from myself — anything to avoid being a target. 

I was bashed, ridiculed, taunted endlessly, you name it. I was almost run over. At a school camp, I was tied to a tree and beaten with an oar. Teachers seemed indifferent. Some blamed my “personality”. I lived in despair, although in hindsight, it’s clear I wasn’t really living at all. 

That’s why programs like Safe Schools are important. And it’s why the lunacy of the debate about it in recent days has enraged me. The fact that an elected official could so gleefully draw comparisons between homosexuality and the “grooming” of children is incomprehensible and abhorrent. It shows just how far we have to go when it comes to reaching the ultimate goal of tolerance, let alone the even basic expectation that adults might be able to debate an issue without skirting terrifyingly close to pure evil. Herald Sun 

 Why has Turnbull even put this up for debate? How can there be any doubt that young Australians don't deserve to be treated like this?