“Why do we have to talk about gay people in school? I don’t want my kids to know about homosexuality. Why are you bringing this up.

If these kids weren’t gay, they wouldn’t have committed suicide. It’s part of the homosexual agenda, and on and on and on.”

As “The Inclusionist,” and as someone who values the diversity in our country, and the lives of our children, I see these comments as more than just ignorance. I see these comments has hateful, bigoted, and against the values of empathy, and love for our children.

These are the kind of comments that are used by people who excuse bullying, harassment, and discrimination against kids in school who are “different,” than their kids.

I’m glad to see that some school districts and individuals are creating their own solutions.

1-Fifth grader Dalton Rennolds in Orange Park Florida started an anti-bullying club in school because she didn’t like to see other kids get bullied. Breana De Grove in Jacksonville Florida started a chapter of bully busters, because she had been the victim of vicious bullying.

In one part of the playground at her school, students signed a pledge promising never to bully other children or stay silent. In another part, they walked in groups holding signs.

“I’m helping kids go through what I went through with bullies, and I want to help them with it,” Breeanna said.

These kids are my heroes today.

But, not all school districts are supportive of these efforts. Since much of bullying is directed at kids who are perceived to be LGBT, whether they are or not, and any time one kid wants to torment another they affix the LGBT label, certain schools and school districts where homophobia, fear and bigotry is in power refuse to deal with it.

Seven children in the Anoka Hennipin school district In Minnesota have committed suicide. Four of the kids were perceived to be gay or were questioning their sexuality.

Seven suicides in a year and a half, seven deaths of precious children and at least seven families destroyed.

But the Anoka Hennipin district says there was no evidence that the kids were bullied. ( no, just their parents and friends words that these kids were) I would say seven suicides of kids in one school district is a crisis, I would say that someone in some role of authority would want to take action, would want to prevent suicides and bullying, but in the Anoka Hennipin district, teachers are not allowed to talk about it, because there is a law forbidding them to take sides on homosexuality.

They might as well say, “let’s pretend that kids are not bullied to death, injured and harassed because of their sexual orientation, or perceived sexual orientation. Let’s just let these kids die and pretend these are just random acts, and let’s put our fingers in our ears so we hear nothing.”

The school district says it’s the best way to deal with conflicts of thinking on homosexuality.

They are being investigated for peer on peer harassment based on not conforming to gender stereotypes, and they are being sued by the Southern Poverty Law Project.

OTOH in the same state, the Minneapolis school board has their administrators track bullying incidents related to the harassment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. The staff are trained in LGBT issues, and they will eventually add on elective on LGBT history.

It is important that it’s not just one kid or just the kid who was bullied who fights back, like it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a village to stop bullying. It takes a community, school, county, country, and culture change. It takes a nation that values it’s diversity and wants to ensure that everyone is included.