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Teacher testifies in gay student murder trial
Atlanta Journa-Constitution ^ | August 4, 2011 | AP

Posted on 08/04/2011 1:38:41 PM PDT by madprof98

LOS ANGELES — The English teacher of a gay student who was shot by a classmate at a junior high school testified Wednesday that she told him to stop wearing eyeliner and mascara, but that he refused and the classroom disruption escalated.

***

She said King told her the school's assistant vice-principal, Joy Epstein, said he could. She said she went and spoke to Epstein, and was told King had constitutional rights to do so. Later, an email message was issued telling teachers that King's attire was allowed and that they should try to teach students tolerance.

Ekman said she incorporated the message of tolerance into her lessons, but that the problem continued. She said boys complained to her that King was chasing them into the bathroom.

"I explained to him that what he was doing was inappropriate and he laughed and said that he could go into the boys' bathroom and he liked to see them squirm," she said.

Ekman said she went to Epstein to complain about King's behavior again, but the administrator told her there was nothing that could be done. Four days later, King was shot in the head in the computer classroom at E.O Green School in Oxnard.

(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: homosexualagenda
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21 posted on 08/04/2011 2:32:47 PM PDT by TheOldLady (FReepmail me to get ON or OFF the ZOT LIGHTNING ping list.)
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To: napscoordinator

You are assuming the kid who killed him was a mini-adult rather than (like his victim) a child—and a disturbed one. As the AP article notes, further testimony indicated that the killer had himself been sexually molested, no doubt by another male. There is plenty of additional evidence that he was disturbed and prone to violence. There is no earthly reason he should have been subjected in a PUBLIC SCHOOL to the kind of abusive behavior that would set off his trigger.


22 posted on 08/04/2011 2:35:44 PM PDT by madprof98 ("moritur et ridet" - salvianus)
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To: napscoordinator

The “system” set this 14 year old boy up.

At 14, I don’t think for one minute he had a reasonable grasp as to all of the consequences, like the ones you laid out. Could he have transferred schools? Possibly. But then what of the others left behind to be taunted by the girly boy? In this case, the “system” gave preference to one vs. looking out for the many.

He tried to work within the “system”. A “system” designed to endorse, recognize and encourage the behavior of the girly boy. A “system” designed to re-educate the straight to accept the girly boy’s behavior and to then “tolerate” its actions that the boy felt threatened by.

There is nothing indicating what took place in the restroom, but I don’t believe it was completely harmless if the boy felt threatened by it enough to resort to shooting the other kid.

20/20 hindsight or even foresight by an adult is one thing, but I think that expecting a 14 year old to to envision things the same as an adult would be a tad ambitious.

The “system” failed both of these kids and will walk away scott free by making a promise to do more “tolerance and inclusion” education classes for the students and faculty.


23 posted on 08/04/2011 2:39:10 PM PDT by SZonian (July 27, 2010. Life begins anew.)
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To: napscoordinator

The defense attorney is smart in going for what is essentially a PTSD defense.

“There is no reason for killing no matter who” is only true if you are dealing with mentally sound children. It can be broken down like this.

Temporary insanity. Say a boy is intensely claustrophobic, and despite resisting, another boy forces him into a small, dark box. In a state of terror, the claustrophobic boy grabs a pencil and stabs the other boy in the neck, killing him.

In this case, the trauma from being molested by one or two people is such that temporary insanity negates the “cooling off” period that usually distinguishes manslaughter from murder. Mentally, the boy can be described as like being a wild animal trapped in a cage.

That, and the statement by the deceased that he wanted to watch the other boys “squirm”, makes it much easier to argue in behalf of a lesser punishment, likely combined with extended psychological counseling.


24 posted on 08/04/2011 2:42:36 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy
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To: madprof98
I suppose that sounds good in theory, but it is neither reasonable nor possible to provide "continuous supervision" of a child who is determined to harass others, especially when that child is obviously not responding to normal motivational techniques.

I know of several cases in which that has been done. It can't be done in a feral school in which there are just too many discipline problems, but it can and should be done in any reasonably functional school with a limited number of predators. An assistant principal may require the bully to stay in the cafeteria during lunch and keep the brat in sight or even stay close for the little pest's entire lunch period, or they may have an instructional assistant walk him from one class to the next and then accompany him during lunch, but they can make the school safe from a limited number of kids with useless parents.

25 posted on 08/04/2011 3:09:42 PM PDT by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: yefragetuwrabrumuy

I hope you’re right and that it succeeds to at least some extent. The prosecution is trying this 14 y/o child as an adult! I missed that the first time through, but it is shockingly far out of line for the crime. Trial as an adult is reasonable for a career child criminal that age who kills someone in a robbery or commits forcible rape, but not for a disturbed bullying victim.


26 posted on 08/04/2011 3:15:59 PM PDT by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: SZonian

I blame the socialist frauds running our schools into the ground for this. The 14 year old boy wearing girl make-up was unnecessarily disturbing the class. He should have been expelled until he wised up. After he graduates he can run up and down the street in full drag singing opera and no one would much care.


27 posted on 08/04/2011 3:49:26 PM PDT by spawn44
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To: madprof98
People are free to wear a 'Kick Me!' (Pick on me.) sign on their back. But should children be encouraged to wear such a sign? Suicide or murder often results from this behavior.

Ray Charles could have seen this coming, even while blind and deceased.

28 posted on 08/04/2011 3:56:45 PM PDT by Daaave ("I can see for miles and miles")
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To: All

Fox also asked her if she thought Epstein, who was openly lesbian, empowered King. Crowley said yes.

Teacher testifies at McInerney trial that King lacked social skills
By Zeke Barlow
Updated Monday, August 1, 2011

CHATSWORTH — Larry King was a sweet, caring kid who endeared himself to certain teachers at E.O. Green School but had trouble making that same connection with students his own age, according to court testimony Monday.

“He desperately wanted to be liked but didn’t have the social skills to get along with his peers,” Susan Crowley, King’s seventh-grade special education teacher, testified at the trial of Brandon McInerney. “He often said things that were one note off the mark.”

When he came to her class wearing a pink scarf, she told him to take it off, said Crowley, who testified that she probably knew King better than anyone at the school. Then there was the jewelry and makeup that followed.

“I was concerned they were designed to draw negative attention to himself and would make him unhappy and victimized,” she said. “He couldn’t distinguish between positive and negative attention. He just wanted people to pay attention to him.”

The last time she spoke with him, she told him to take off the pink nail polish he was wearing.

King, 15, was killed a few weeks later — shot twice in the back of the head at the Oxnard school. McInerney, 17, is charged with murder and a hate crime. Crowley testified Monday on the 18th day of McInerney’s trial.

King was extremely immature for his age and didn’t have a firm grasp of his sexuality, she said. A year before he was wearing women’s high-heeled boots and telling friends he was gay, he had complained that another boy was sexually harassing him at school. King told Crowley back then that he wasn’t gay, she said.

“I think Larry was probably gay, but I don’t think he knew that,” she said. “He had a lot of years before he could figure it out.”

Crowley said she did not think former assistant principal Joy Epstein was being truthful when she testified that King’s behavior was being adequately addressed by school administrators and that very few people had complained about King’s clothing.

“It is impossible for any sentient being not to know,” Crowley said. “Every conversation I had with an adult leading up to his death was about Larry’s behavior.”

Senior Deputy District Attorney Maeve Fox asked Crowley if she thought the school staff was to blame for King’s death.

“Is blame the same as responsibility?” Crowley said.

Fox also asked her if she thought Epstein, who was openly lesbian, empowered King. Crowley said yes.

Epstein’s sexuality was an issue earlier in the day. It was the first time the jury had heard about it, although testifying teachers had danced around the subject for weeks.

Debi Goldstein, an eighth-grade math teacher who had McInerney in a class in 2008, said the problems King’s attire was causing at school were well-known among teachers and administrators, including Epstein.

“She said there were problems going on at the school at the time but it didn’t bother anybody and none of the teachers had come to complain — and that is not true,” Goldstein testified. “The teachers were upset because it was disruptive to the environment and upsetting the students.”

Under cross-examination, Goldstein said she never personally saw any of the problems King was allegedly causing. Goldstein said she didn’t know of specific complaints but heard other teachers talking about it in the lunchroom.

“I knew teachers were upset,” Goldstein said. “She (Epstein) was not doing her job as an administrator if she did not know things were bothering the staff.”

Shirley Brown, a seventh-grade teacher at E.O. Green, also testified that she didn’t think Epstein was adequately addressing the issue of King’s behavior and its impact on students.

Brown said when King came to school with thick pancake and eye makeup, she told him to take it off.

“He looked like a clown, and if a girl came into my class like that, I would tell her to go to the bathroom and wash it off,” Brown testified. “I would talk to any student who was doing anything that was making themselves a target.”

She said she complained to the head principal about King’s safety.

“My comment was that if something wasn’t done soon, Larry would be taken behind the back shed of the P.E. area and be beaten to death,” Brown said.

Fox asked Brown what she said to the administration when she complained about King’s attire.

“I said something to the effect of, ‘Gay rights? What about the rights of the sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders who come here and are not ready for this information?’ “ Brown testified.

Fox also brought up a union grievance Epstein brought against Brown for making what Epstein thought were offensive homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks. Brown said the comments were grossly misunderstood and the grievance was dismissed the next day.

Brown said she once saw a group of boys chasing King, which she described as a potentially unpleasant situation. Fox asked her if she stepped in to stop the chasing.

“No,” Brown said.

The trial continues Tuesday. It is being held in Chatsworth because of pretrial publicity in Ventura County.


29 posted on 08/04/2011 4:15:44 PM PDT by troy McClure
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To: spawn44

Those “socialist frauds” of which you speak are the “system” that I’m referring to.

That and PC.


30 posted on 08/04/2011 4:35:10 PM PDT by SZonian (July 27, 2010. Life begins anew.)
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To: LouAvul

But fly a Confederate flag tee shirt, wear a Heterosexual Pride tee shirt or get mad when the school flies the Mexican flag and you have NO rights.


31 posted on 08/04/2011 4:40:40 PM PDT by BunnySlippers (I love BULL MARKETS . . .)
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To: napscoordinator

It almost goes without saying: the kid will commit suicide because he had no help and now has no hope.


32 posted on 08/04/2011 4:54:49 PM PDT by WVNan
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To: madprof98
She said she went and spoke to Epstein, and was told King had constitutional rights to do so. Later, an email message was issued telling teachers that King's attire was allowed and that they should try to teach students tolerance.

Iatrogenic - a supposed cure whose treatment only aggravates the alleged disease.

Some political movements need dead kids to use as political props. They just got another one.

33 posted on 08/04/2011 5:17:25 PM PDT by Dumb_Ox
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To: BunnySlippers

Is it too late to go back to the 50s?


34 posted on 08/04/2011 6:28:17 PM PDT by LouAvul
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To: napscoordinator
"But to kill a person over wearing mascara is ridiculous."

That is not what happened in this case. The shooter was a 14-year-old who was tormented incessantly by sexual bullying. Instead of helping the victim of bullying, the school (especially lesbian principal Joy Epstein) actively encouraged the bully's behavior.

The shooter should just have beaten the bully severely, since that probably would be sufficient. However, the bully was older and possibly bigger than the shooter, so that might not have been an option in the mind of the shooter. So what option does that leave in the mind of a tormented 14-year-old?

35 posted on 08/04/2011 8:01:01 PM PDT by UnwashedPeasant (Don't nuke me, bro)
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To: madprof98; AFA-Michigan; Abathar; Albion Wilde; AliVeritas; Antoninus; BabaOreally; ...
Homosexual Agenda Ping

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Be sure to click the FreeRepublic homosexual agenda keyword search link for a list of all related articles. We don't ping you to all related articles so be sure to click the previous link to see the latest articles.

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This is a very disturbing article. One mentally ill teenage boy was allowed, with the administration's stamp of approval, not only to dress as a girl but to harass and torment the other boys. The insane perverts and their enablers are running the asylum. If anyone still harbors the thought that public schools aren't that bad, please read this article. Of course not every school is the same, but those pushing the homosexual agenda have their sights on public schools and they will not stop until they are stopped. Young kids are prey, and homosexuals and their enablers on the left are predators.

36 posted on 08/04/2011 9:23:57 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: Tennessee Nana
I am so glad I home school. I think this gay agenda ought to be kept out of the schools not encouraged. School used to be for learning. I can't count the times I was told I was there to learn not socialize. This gay stuff needs to be kept separate from school IMHO. It offends many people & ends up many times with bullying or now a killing. It is very sad but I don't think the killer should be tried as an adult. He is a victim himself. This principal ought to have some responsibility in this case. She didn't do her job.
37 posted on 08/04/2011 9:38:26 PM PDT by pandoraou812 ((You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.))
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To: pandoraou812

Since the principle is a homosexual herself, there is no remedy. The only remedy is what you are doing - more and more parents need to pull their kids from school and do homeschooling.


38 posted on 08/04/2011 10:19:18 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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To: little jeremiah

I think so too. I save money because we don’t have to keep up with the current fashions or have coach bags at 11 yrs old. No fights over make up. No $25 a week for lunches or having to donate money for teacher gift cards. We spend quality time together & I am learning new things also. After school we go play with the horses. My daughter was born to me at 41 yrs of age so she is truly a blessing & spending time with her is extra special to me. I am less stressed then I was with her older siblings. We have lots of fun & while I do use an online school we do have books & workbooks too. NJ is a great state to home school in so far.


39 posted on 08/04/2011 10:34:09 PM PDT by pandoraou812 ((You can discover what your enemy fears most by observing the means he uses to frighten you.))
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To: pandoraou812

Good news!!

I am sure your daughter will remember her “school days” with great pleasure.


40 posted on 08/04/2011 10:44:38 PM PDT by little jeremiah (Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. CSLewis)
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