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Dan Savage: Parents Of Trans Teen Leelah Alcorn ‘Threw Her In Front Of That Truck’

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Dan Savage has extremely strong words for the parents and therapists of Leelah Alcorn, the trans teen who died by suicide after leaving a note on Tumblr.

The suicide of Leelah Alcorn this week actually made headlines – something, sadly, that the mainstream news media too frequently ignores. Alcorn is the transgender teen who committed suicide by walking in front of a truck early Sunday morning. On her Tumblr page, she had scheduled a suicide note to post, which it did when she was no longer alive to unschedule – or postpone – it.

Alcorn also scheduled an apology post, which was published sometime after her suicide note. It was an apology to some, but not to her parents, who apparently had caused her great misery. 

“Mom and Dad: Fuck you. You can’t just control other people like that. That’s messed up,” were her final words to her parents in the apology note.

Dan Savage on Twitter went on a bit of a rant, posting tweets saying Leelah’s parents should be prosecuted for her death.

He explains why:

And he wants the therapists who tried to “counsel” her with religion to be prosecuted too.

But that’s not the extent of his warning. 

Even in death, Leelah Alcorn’s parents refused to acknowledge their daughter, her mother posting this to Facebook before making the post private:

“My sweet 16 year old son, Joshua Ryan Alcorn went home to heaven this morning. He was out for an early morning walk and was hit by a truck. Thank you for the messages and kindness and concern you have sent our way. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.”

Among Leelah’s last words were these:

“My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say ‘that’s fucked up’ and fix it. Fix society. Please.”

As Savage says, no one should ever commit suicide to try to “take revenge on hateful parents.” Nor should anyone commit suicide to try to make a point or to make a difference. There are other ways. Better ways.

That said, Leelah Alcorn’s final words are being heard. It’s tragic they weren’t when, and by whom, they needed to be the most.

UPDATE: 
Leelah Alcorn’s Mother: ‘We Loved Him Unconditionally’ But ‘Don’t Support That, Religiously’

UPDATE – 1.2.15:
New And Disturbing Details Emerge About Leelah Alcorn’s Life From Posts She Made To Reddit

 

 

Image via Tumblr
Hat tip: Holy Bullies

 

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BREAKING NEWS

Watch Live: Biden to Address Nation on Counterterrorism Operation Killing Top al-Qaeda Leader

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August 1, 2022

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President Joe Biden will address the nation Monday evening at 7:30 PM ET to officially announce the United States has successfully completed a counterterrorism operation killing the top al-Qaeda leader who succeeded Osama bin-Laden.

“The United States has killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of al-Qaeda and one of the world’s most-wanted terrorists, who oversaw the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, alongside the group’s founder, Osama bin Laden, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter,” The Washington Post reports. “The Central Intelligence Agency carried out a drone strike over the weekend in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to officials familiar with the matter.”

“Both men escaped U.S. forces in Afghanistan in late 2001, and Zawahiri’s whereabouts had long been a mystery. Bin Laden was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in Pakistan in 2011.”

It is being described as a “significant moment in his presidency,” by MSNBC’s Kristen Welker.

MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace called al-Zawahiri the”most pursued terrorist the world over,” noting that Biden is the fourth U.S. president to go after him.

President Biden is still recovering from COVID and will make the announcement from the Blue Room balcony.

Watch live below at 7:30 PM ET:

This is a breaking news and developing story. 

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COMMENTARY

TikTok Influencer Ignites Backlash After Posting Homophobic and Racist Rant Attacking Home Depot Workers

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August 1, 2022

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Amanda Marie, an influencer with around 14,000 followers on TikTok, is getting some backlash after she posting a video describing how she harassed a Home Depot employee while using homophobic language and telling him to “go back to your country,” Boing Boing reports.

The video shows Marie telling a Black employee that she’s going to get him fired. She then goes to her car and recounts the incident from her perspective, saying, “I said, ‘I’m not leaving.’ … I then turned around and said, ‘If you’re going to be rude, go back to your country. Go back to your country!’ ‘Cause he wasn’t from here.”

“So I turn around, and I say, ‘Go back to your motherf***ing country and learn some f***ing manners before you come here,'” she said.

IN OTHER NEWS: ‘Collateral damages to freedom’: Alex Jones skips trial for segment downplaying Sandy Hook deaths

She also tried to claim the homophobic slur “fag,” which she allegedly used against one of the employees, is not seen as an offensive term back in New York.

As Boing Boing points out, she deleted the video from her various platforms after the backlash.

Watch the video below.

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News

Watch: West Virginia Senator Says Child Rape Victims ‘Romanticize’ Their Rapists and See Them as a ‘Boyfriend’

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August 1, 2022

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A West Virginia Republican state senator is under fire after arguing on the Senate floor that children who have been raped “romanticize” their sexual abusers, saying the children are involved in “relationships” with their abusers, and see them as a “boyfriend.”

State Senator Robert Karnes made his remarks during debate on a highly controversial abortion bill that passed 21-10, but failed to be reconciled with a House version, and does not currently appear to be moving forward.

“You know the dynamic in these relationships quite often is that the child has a very romanticized view of what’s happening,” Sen. Karnes said Friday, in the video below. “They think that this is their boyfriend.”

He then asks Democratic state Senator Stephen Baldwin, the Minority Leader, “Would you agree with that?”

RELATED: Watch: Head of Anti-Abortion Group Stuns Lawmakers by Declaring Raped 10 Year Old Girl’s Abortion Is ‘Not a Abortion’

“I don’t know what you’re talking about sir,” the Minority Leader, appearing to be disgusted, replied.

While West Virginia news outlets failed to report Sen. Karnes’ remarks, video of his comments was circulated on social media by Democratic state Senator Joey Garcia. Sen. Karnes lashed out at Sen. Garcia, tweeting on Saturday, “I would expect better from little joey, but not a lot better. He does represent the party that protects groomers and pedophiles.”

On Sunday Karnes again baselessly used the “groomer” attack:

“Like everything else about @TheDemocrats, even the outrage is fake. The amendment will make it easier for groomers to convince their victims to abort a child & hide the evidence. They will continue sexually abusing that child & likely others because dems protect them from justice.”

RELATED: Senator Who Says 13 Year Olds Can Consent to Sex Now Under Fire for Blocking Bill GOP Claims Promotes ‘Abortion Tourism’

The ACLU of West Virginia posted video of a protest and tweeted, “Senate President Craig Blair cleared the galleries as attendees expressed outrage over Sen. Robert Karnes insisting child sex abuse survivors view their abusers like a boyfriend. People aren’t going anywhere.”

Watch Sen. Karnes’ remarks below or at this link:

 

 

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