Video Of Gay Teen Punching Classmate After Being Bullied Goes Viral
A video of a gay teenager who punches a classmate who had been bullying him has gone viral.
Some experts are calling this video a “systematic failure” to address the prevalence of anti-LGBT+ bullying at school.
‘NBC News’ reports that the video shows a gay teenager, Jordan Steffy, yelling at a classmate asking him to stop calling him “faggot”. His classmate’s response was to use the slur repeatedly. Then Steffy starts to punch him.
Steffy’s mother has said that was is depicted in the video and the bullying her son received was not an isolated incident but something that has been going on for some time.
“I was tired of him being bullied, and he was tired of being bullied," Fillmore said. While she added that she does "not agree with violence," she said she's happy her son "stuck up for himself.”
Many twitter users have praised the student for “sticking up for himself”.
“I don't hold with violence but I do hold with self-defense and I think you did a very very good thing,” one Twitter user wrote. “Maybe this youngster will think twice before trying to build himself up by being an idiot. Good for you!”
“Jordan, I am so proud of you. I wish I had your courage when I was in school. You probably don’t even realize that you just spoke for so many kids that get bullied,” another user wrote. “You will see how many other kids you inspire to be themselves and stand up for themselves.”
Nearly 60 percent of LGBT+ youth feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, according to GLSEN’s most recent annual National School Climate Survey. More than 70 percent of LGBT+ students report being verbally harassed, while nearly 30 percent report facing physical harassment.
Read related myGwork articles here:
A Quarter Of LGBT+ People Are Bullied At Work, New Research Finds
Footballer Jessica Fishlock Opens Up About Homophobic Bullying in School
New Study Finds Gay Men and Lesbians Continue to be Bullied at Work
Programme Fighting Homophobia in Schools to Receive £1 Million
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