Monday, February 06, 2012

Another One: Rafael Morelos

Rafael Morelos hanged himself. Friends say he did so because he was being bullied for being gay. Not a lot of people knew that, perhaps because he was afraid to talk about it. His own mother didn't know what was happening to him until after he had died.


“He told me he got shoved and punched in the face in PE in the locker room at Cashmere.”
Lexi Mullin, a friend of Rafael Morelos.

“He was tired of people saying that his little brothers would follow in his footsteps and be gay too.”
Maranda Blankenship, another friend.


Rob Cline, principal at Cashmere Middle School, admitted that Rafael had complained, one time, of being bullied at school, but said that there was no ongoing investigation. Cline said, "[W]e took care of that. We investigated and took appropriate action.” 
However, he declined to say what action the district took, or when during the school year Rafael complained to the school about being bullied, saying “Student discipline is not something I am at liberty to share.”
It should be. The bullies should not be protected and harbored. They need to be disciplined and/or removed from the school. Before another one dies.
Malinda Morelos, Rafael's mother, who did not hear that her son was bullied until a candlelight vigil Tuesday night, said, Rafael “sometimes acted strong but, inside, he was dying little by little.”
Apparently just for being gay.


source

6 comments:

  1. School in WA as sued for not stopping bullying. A step in the right direction.

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  2. Anonymous1:15 PM

    Too terrible.

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  3. Yet another tragic ending to another promising young life. Thank you for continuing make the public aware of the injustice that continues in this continue. What was the saying? "Evil continues when good men do nothing." (or something like that)

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  4. How can these school administrators live with themselves?
    It's time to start blaming the priciples, the school board, the superintendents, the teachers and the special interests that the powers that be in a school seem more than willing to lay down for. If for every bullied to death child's school was held responsible things would change and fast. Hit em with jail time and with money fines. Drag the special interests groups into the court case as well. If they lobbied for a change in policy that caused minority deaths by bullying and suicide, then they are as libel as the school is.

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