by Eric Rader
Over the past few weeks, the country has been reminded that bullying can be deadly. In Texas, a 13-year old boy killed himself because of homophobic taunts by his classmates. A Rutgers University freshman took his own life after his roommate posted secretly-recorded video of the young man in a sexual encounter with another man. A 15-year old boy in Minnesota killed himself after enduring anti-gay bullying directed at him because of his sexual orientation. Nationally, there are now more and more reports of LGBT young people committing suicide following homophobic slurs and intimidation directed at them because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. In an era when our society is supposedly more tolerant, a large number of young people are finding the opposite to be the case, with fatal consequences.
The national cases of bullying have involved hateful words and actions by young people directed against other young people. Michigan, however, has been in the news recently for bullying from an unlikely source.
Over the past six months, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Shirvell has been harassing the president of the University of Michigan student body, a young man who happens to be gay. Following the election of Christopher Armstrong as UM student body president last spring, Shirvell established a blog for the sole purpose of attacking Armstrong because of his sexual orientation. His attacks on Armstrong go far beyond the normal limits of civil discourse. Shirvell has even posted a picture of Armstrong with a Nazi swastika covering a rainbow flag photoshopped over his face.
And a few months ago, he protested at Armstrong's home in the middle of the night. It defies belief that an officer of the court and public servant would subject a college student to such vile harassment.
Shirvell claims that he has a First Amendment right to express his opinions on Armstrong, and argues that he has only posted to his blog and protested during his "off" hours. While it may be true that he has a First Amendment right to say what he believes, it is also true that Shirvell draws his salary from the taxpayers of the state of Michigan.
As soon as it became clear what Shirvell was doing, his supervisor and close political associate, Attorney General Mike Cox, should have dismissed him as an employee, as Gov. Granholm said she would have done. Cox has even agreed that Shirvell has engaged in bullying against Armstrong. Yet for some reason, Mr. Cox can't bring himself to fire his subordinate for behavior that few employers would put up with for even a moment.
The Democratic candidate for attorney general, David Leyton, has called on Cox to fire Shirvell. His Republican opponent, Bill Schuette, has remained largely silent on the issue, stating only that he agrees with Cox that Shirvell's actions are protected rights.
University of Michigan president Mary Sue Coleman has banned Shirvell from the campus, and others at UM have expressed strong support for the student body president. But although Shirvell is on leave from the attorney general's office following the national blow-up of his story, he could still come back to work there.
Now it's time for the Michigan legislature to use this sorry episode to do something right for our state: pass an anti-bullying law. Unbelievably, unlike 44 other states, there is no law in Michigan to punish this sort of destructive behavior.
There is currently a bill in the Michigan legislature, "Matt's Safe School Law," that would require schools to adopt anti-bullying and harassment policies. While this legislation would not eliminate the problem, it would make it clear that our state believes our young people deserve to be protected from harm. This compromise bill passed the state House earlier this year, but is stuck in the more conservative state Senate.
In response to the attacks on Armstrong, Gov. Granholm has called on the Michigan Senate to pass the bill so she can sign it into law.
The fundamentalist community claims that some politicians are exploiting the bullying tragedies for political benefit. In fact, it is the Christian right's own disgusting statements, especially in the midst of the recent tragedies, that create the climate of intolerance and hatred our young people face. It's important that all of us stand up against hatred and for the courageous young women and men who must endure the venom of haters. Let's send a message that we love our young people and will do everything we can to protect them, now and in the future.
