Cathedral of Hope Spirit Day participants
Today is Spirit Day when people wear purple to show support for young LGBT victims of bullying.
“So … purple is an awesome color, but it carries added significance on Thursday because it’s the annual Spirit Day,” Cathedral of Hope’s Chris Kelley said. “A high school student started Spirit Day in 2010 as a way to show support for LGBT youth and as a way to prevent bullying.”
Despite anti-bullying laws passed by states and policies passed by school districts, the stats are as bad as ever. About eight out of every 10 LGBT students experience bullying in school. As many as 63 percent feel unsafe, according to GLAAD.
“At Cathedral of Hope many of our Youth Leaders and staff members have been sporting purple all week,” Kelley said. “Our students are active in their schools to get the word out that bullying and hatred are NOT okay.”
A case of bullying in Florida that resulted in suicide has been in the news this week. Although not an LGBT student, the victim experienced much of what LGBT students go through.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd is taking this case more seriously than most have in the past. He understands bullying begins at home.
The sheriff is considering filing charges against the older of the bullies as an adult because she’s showing no remorse over the death. He’s investigating ways to arrest the parents who have gone beyond defending their daughter by denying the bullying ever happened. He’s also investigating school officials for not taking the threats seriously and doing something to stop the harassment at school.
