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A Gay Teen's "Bad Blood"

On February 12 a gay eighth-grade student in Oxnard, Calif. lay in a pool of his own blood in his school's computer lab as his attacker, a classmate, ran out of the room and off campus. John Ireland explores the undeniable feeling that Lawrence King took the bullet for every gay teenager.
An Advocate.com exclusive posted February 14, 2008
A Gay Teen's

On Tuesday morning of this week, an eighth-grade student in Oxnard, Calif., sat in front of a monitor in the school computer lab. Within a few minutes, he would lie dying on the floor in a pool of his own blood as his attacker, a classmate, ran out of the room and off campus.

Unlike most boys his age, Lawrence King did not seek to blend in. Many of us remember junior high as our most harrowing years of peer pressure and social uncertainty, no matter what crowd we fit into -- nerd, jock, pep squad, orchestra, or somewhere in between. At 15 years old, King dressed effeminately, wore makeup and fingernail polish, and told people he was gay.

School officials knew that King had been bullied. They had attempted, unsuccessfully, to contain and prevent the tension on campus that followed him around. A police spokesman said there had been, between these two students, some “bad blood…”

Puberty is a time when boys learn about the young men they will become. Junior high is a crucible of adult forces. It's a microcosm of society with built-in artificial boundaries designed to give a taste of responsibility but governed by adults who can step in when the preadolescent brain is overwhelmed -- when it is overruled by more base instincts.

While teachers and texts introduce the lessons of free speech and individual freedoms, the children experiment with behavior, identity, and appearance in a thousand different ways. They sense and feel out the edges between comfort and discomfort, eventually finding the bounds that will define their character. Enforcement comes in the form of strict rules, visits to the vice principal’s office, and after-school detention.

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John Ireland is an elementary school administrator in Los Angeles.
Keywords:  Larry King 
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