I agree with you about the school. Larry could dress as he wished outside school; in school, he should have been made to not bring attention to himself just as other students. The point of school is to learn, which adults seems to forget as much as the children sometimes.
The higher up in the school administration when told Larry was wearing make-up who said since girls wore make-up that he could made a horrible decision! Until one is 18, he is a minor. The teacher who gave him the prom dress should have been a teacher -- not a buddy. I think she meant well, but did not do the right thing for Larry. The schools must insure the safety of the students while they are in their care.
The adults at a school need to be empowered enough to enforce a simple dress code.
Heck, i'm so old that boys who didn't tuck their shirttails in their pants got in trouble. And forget about chewing gum. It seemed like we were being hassling then, but it let us know that we weren't in charge.
I disagree about Hate Crime laws; to me, they are valid -- just not in the case of a 14 year old who should not have been tried as an adult. Brandon certainly did deserve punishment, though, and it did seem to me that he was intrigued with the White Supremacy movement -- especially from what his girlfriend said about the races not mixing. Whoever said that Brandon was seen as a victim because he was white is right.
It certainly does not seem to me that Larry was bullying Brandon. He had a crush on him. Telling him this in front of his friends turned out to be a deadly decision. Who would have ever thought that would be the result, though?
During the documentary, it was said that Brandon's friends would not help him beat up
Larry. So he couldn't he have just decked little Larry by himself and get it out of his system? No, he's too much of a coward so he needs a gun? Why should a child even have access to a handgun? There was ammunition kept in his closet! That's obscene.
So, once again, society is at fault because so many people just must have their beloved handguns and minorities are looked upon as the aggressors by far too many white people. It's a tragedy.
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chas437
11 years ago
Well reasoned post. Its nice to see that someone else gets it. There was plenty of blame to go around in this incident, and to point it out doesn't make one anti-gay, pro-Brandon, etc. The issue of school officials continuing to allow Larry to violate the spirit of the dress code is central to what happened. Larry's biological parents sued the school, but are we ever told the outcome of that trial?
As for the teacher who gave Larry the dress AT SCHOOL, she was trying to be a friend to Larry rather than a responsible adult. This is the one of the worst mistakes an adult/parent can make in dealing with children.
Brandon's access to firearms and ammunition is not discussed much in this piece, probably because it was the film maker's mission to make this simply about persecution of gays.
It seems Brandon had been placed with his elderly grandfather, after his mother was in jail and his father had become overly abusive. His grandfather had guns and ammo laying around. So, this is another instance of adults screwing up.
Save me from the people who would save me from myself
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pensivewon
11 years ago
Yep. You bring up a point no one on this board mentions...Brandon 's friends declined to help Brandon jump & beat Larry. That right there speaks volumes. Brandon's friends presumably empathize with him when Larry asks him out. But they knew jumping Larry was wrong... They knew where to draw the line. You'd think Brandon would've gotten a clue. Instead of beating up Larry on his own, he shoots him. Crazy. Perhaps Brandon overreacted because he had some suppressed homosexual desires...
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