Yet Another Gay Teen Suicide

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com
December 20, 2010

Since I posted this originally on October 2, there have been three more gay teen suicides, in Oklahoma, Michigan and Pennsylvania. In addition I have found out about other earlier deaths. So I'm re-posting this blog entry with the names and stories:

Recent 2010 gay suicides and others from preceding years are tragic and shameful wounds on our culture where public homophobia is still legal with no national legislation to outlaw such hate speech and action--including school bullying and harassment. Public homophobia (in religions, politics, schools, corporations, sports, military, boy scouts, etc.) has a strong influence on vulnerable gay (LGBT) youth who get the message that gay is bad which leads some to reject and harm themselves (homophobia turned inward) The results are seen here in these in these profoundly sad stories:

Recently deceased gay youth:
17-year-old Eric Mohat of Ohio, March 29, 2007
11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover of Massachusetts, April 7, 2009
11-year-old Jaheem Herrera from Georgia, April 16, 2009
17-year-old Tyler Long from Georgia, October 17, 2009
15-year-0ld Phoebe Prince of Massachusetts, March 28, 2010 (not gay)
15-year-old Justin Aaberg from Minnesota, July 9, 2010
15-year-old Billy Lucas from Indiana, September 9, 2010
13-year-old Seth Walsh from California, September 19, 2010
18-year-old Tyler Clementi of New Jersey, September 22, 2010
13-year-old Texas teen Asher Brown, September 23, 2010
19-year-old Raymond Chase of New York, September 29, 2010
19-year-old Zach Harrington from Norman. Oklahoma, October 9, 2010
19-year-old Corey Jackson of Michigan, October 19, 2010
14-year-0ld Brandon Bitner of Pennsylvania, November 2010
...and others:
18-year-old Bill Clayton of Pennsylvania, May 8, 1995
19-year-old Jimmy Wheeler of Pennsylvania, November 1997

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17-year-old Eric Mohat of Ohio, March 29, 2007:
Parents blame school bullying for teen Eric Mohat's suicide: "The lawsuit -- filed March 27, alleges that the quiet but likable boy, who was involved in theater and music, was called 'gay,' 'fag,' 'queer' and 'homo' and often in front of his teachers. Most of the harassment took place in math class and the teacher -- an athletic coach -- was accused of failing to protect the boy." The Mohats also claim that bullying was a "significant factor" in the deaths of three other students in Eric Mohat's class in 2007. Mentor high school officials confirmed that a girl and two other boys in Eric's class had killed themselves in 2007 due to bullying.
http://health.blogs.foxnews.com/tag/eric-mohat/
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=7228335

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11-year-old Carl Walker-Hoover of Massachusetts, April 7, 2009:
An 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hanged himself Monday after enduring bullying at school, including daily taunts of being gay, despite his mother's weekly pleas to the school to address the problem. This is at least the fourth suicide of a middle-school aged child linked to bullying this year.Carl, a junior at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield who did not identify as gay, would have turned 12 on April 17, the same day hundreds of thousands of students will participate in the 13th annual National Day of Silence. by taking some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying and harassment at school.
Other three known cases of suicide among middle-school students took place in Chatham, Evanston and Chicago, Ill., in the month of February, 2009.
http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2400.html
http://jeffwinbush.com/2010/04/06/carl-joseph-walker-hoover-bullied-to-death-by-accusations-he-was-gay/

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11-year-old Jaheem Herrera from Georgia, April 16, 2009:
The recent 'bullycide' deaths of Eric Mohat and Carl Walker-Hoover certainly weren't the first, and won't likely be the last, but I didn't expect to read this story about Jaheem Herrera, which is similar in almost every aspect to Walker-Hoover's, just one week later. And like Walker-Hoover's, it includes a school tone-deaf to a mother's concerns, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports: "On Thursday afternoon, after returning home from Dunaire Elementary School, Jaheem quietly went into his room and hanged himself…" Jaheem was bullied relentlessly, his family said. They knew the boy was a target, but until his death they didn’t understand the scope.
http://www.towleroad.com/2009/04/another-11yearold-commits-suicide-over-antigay-bullying.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-psychological-solution-bullying/200908/who-really-killed-11-year-old-jaheem-herrera

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17-year-old Tyler Long from Georgia, October 17, 2009
A family wants answers after they say bullying lead to their son's death. Seventeen year old Tyler Long committed suicide last month.
"He was my best friend, my role model, I looked to him for advice," Troy Long, Tyler's fourteen-year-old brother, says. He says his older brother meant the world to his family. In sixth grade Tyler was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome - a form of autism that creates social disorder, but Tyler still managed to enjoy sports, video games, and his family.
"When Tyler smiled he just had that look like he was the best man around," Teryn Long, Tyler's sister, says. But that smile died on October 17.
"I felt shocked, disbelief, it was like a part of me had vanished," Troy says.
"I got out of bed and I went in Tyler's room where David was and I saw him hanging there and I knew he had had enough," Tina Long, Troy's mother, says.
http://www.newschannel9.com/articles/tyler-986458-says-family.html
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/TheLaw/school-bullying-epidemic-turning-deadly/story?id=11880841

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15-year-0ld Phoebe Prince of Massachusetts, March 28, 2010 (bullying not gay related)
Nine Massachusetts teens were indicted Monday for driving a pretty 15-year-old "new girl" from Ireland to suicide in a case that has become a symbol of high school bullying.The sweeping charges - which come after months of complaints that the bullies weren't being punished - include statutory rape, violation of civil rights with bodily injury, criminal harassment and stalking. Phoebe Prince, a new arrival at South Hadley High School from a tiny seaside hamlet in County Clare, was mercilessly tormented by a cadre of classmates later dubbed the "Mean Girls" by Massachusetts newspapers."The investigation revealed relentless activity directed toward Phoebe designed to humiliate her and to make it impossible for her to remain at school," District Attorney Elizabeth Scheibel said."The bullying, for her, became intolerable."
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/03/29/2010-03-29_phoebe_prince_south_hadley_high_schools_new_girl_driven_to_suicide_by_teenage_cy.html

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"Justin Aaberg came out as gay when he was 13 and, as his mom found out only after he hanged himself, suffered tremendously inside. 'I actually thought he had the perfect life. I thought out of anybody I knew that he had the perfect life,' said Justin Aaberg's mother, Tammy Aaberg. 'But I guess he didn't think so.' In the weeks since she found her son dead in his room on July 9, Tammy Aaberg has heard from many of her son's friends at Anoka High School. They told her Justin Aaberg had been bullied and had recently broken up with his boyfriend. Those same students also opened up about their own experiences, telling her they feel harassed and unsafe as gay and lesbian students. 'These kids, they just hate themselves. They literally feel like they want to die. So many kids are telling me this,' said Tammy Aaberg, fighting tears."
http://minnesotaindependent.com/64978/wcco-mother-justin-aaberg-lgbt-bullying-anoka-hennepin
http://minnesotaindependent.com/64047/anti-gay-group-organizes-in-anoka-schools-as-community-deals-with-gay-suicides

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15-year-old Billy Lucas from Indiana, September 9, 2010:
Billy Lucas, a 15-year-old freshman at Greensburg High School in Indiana, hung himself on Thursday after enduring bullying torment from his peers — just a few weeks into the school year. His mother found her son, hanging, in their barn. On Billy's Facebook web memorial, he's remembered with comments like, "Everyone made fun of him." At least one former student says he made administrators aware of his own LGBT bullying, and they did nothing.
http://www.towleroad.com/2010/09/indiana-teen-commits-suicide-after-anti-gay-bullying-at-school.html
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Billy-Lucas-Memorial/125181990865723

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13-year-old Seth Walsh from California, September 19, 2010:
There was standing room only at the Tehachapi (California) First Baptist Church Friday afternoon, as the community gathered to remember 13-year-old Seth Walsh, who took his own life last week after being bullied for being gay. Seth, a student at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi was found unconscious and not breathing on Sept. 19 after he apparently tried to hang himself from a tree in his backyard, according to a police report. Friends said that Seth had been picked on for years because he was gay.
http://www.turnto23.com/news/25249735/detail.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-lehr/for-asher-brown-seth-wals_b_746307.html

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18-year-old Tyler Clementi of New Jersey, September 22, 2010:
The suicide of a first-year university student in the United States has shocked observers and raised more questions about cyber-bullying.
Students at Rutgers University in New Jersey have been mourning Tyler Clementi's death, which happened September 22 but only became public this week. It is alleged the 18-year-old's roommate Dharun Ravi secretly filmed him kissing another boy and then broadcast the video on the internet... Just as the murder of Matthew Shepard galvanized the gay community around hate-crime legislation more than a decade ago, the suicide of a Rutgers University student whose sex life was splashed on the Internet has activists rallying around their latest cause: telling tormented gay teens they just need to hang on for a while, that they'll live through it. Bullying and harassment of young gays and lesbians, and the suicides they have caused, have long been a major topic in gay publications and among activists. But celebrities and others have seized on Tyler Clementi's shocking suicide to call attention to the issue.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/rutgers-campus-mourns-loss-18-year-tyler-tyler/story?id=11782324
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/blog-post/2010/10/gay_suicide_dan_savage_ellen_d.html

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13-year-old Texas teen Asher Brown, September 23, 2010:
Eighth-grader Asher Brown, 13, killed himself last week. He shot himself in the head after enduring what his mother and stepfather say was constant harassment from four other students at Hamilton Middle School in the Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District.
Brown, his family said, was "bullied to death" — picked on for his small size, his religion and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes. Kids also accused him of being gay, some of them performing mock gay acts on him in his physical education class, his mother and stepfather said. Asher's parents said they had complained about the bullying to Hamilton Middle School officials during the past 18 months, but claimed their concerns fell on deaf ears.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/7220896.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-lehr/for-asher-brown-seth-wals_b_746307.html

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19-year-old Raymond Chase of New York, September 29, 2010:
Raymond Chase has committed suicide. Chase, a student of culinary arts at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island, hung himself. The gay group Campus Pride sent out a statement about Chase's death: "The loss of Raymond this week is the second college LGBT-related suicide in a week and the fifth teenage LGBT suicide in three weeks. The suicide of this openly gay young man is for reasons currently unknown; however, the recent pattern of LGBT youth suicides is cause for grave concern,” remarked the group's executive director, Shane Windmeyer.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/01/raymond-chase-suicide_n_746989.html
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/tonight-national-moment-of-silence-for-the-5-youth-who-recently-died-by-suicide-104163098.html

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19-year-old Zach Harrington from Norman. Oklahoma, October 9, 2010:
A 19-year-old gay man from Oklahoma has taken his own life, and his parents say a hate-filled recent City Council meeting he attended may have driven him over the edge. Zach Harrington was a talented musician who’d endured years of struggles due to his sexual orientation in high school in conservative Norman, Okla. On Sept. 28, Harrington attended a three-hour public hearing on a proposal to declare October gay history month in the city. Although the council ultimately approved the proposal, Harrington’s parents described the meeting as potentially “toxic” for their son, a private person who internalized his feelings.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=12&articleid=20101010_12_0_NORMAN920113
http://www.towleroad.com/2010/10/gay-teen-in-oklahoma-takes-his-own-life.html

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19-year-old Corey Jackson of Michigan, October 19, 2010
An Oakland University (Michigan) sophomore took his own life Tuesday, October 19, a few months after telling his family and friends he was gay. Family members of Corey Jackson say they believe the Rochester Hills, Mich., college student had been bullied over his sexual orientation, and it ultimately led him to commit suicide. "I believe [it happened] because he recently realized he was a homosexual and he was getting pressured at school by his peers because he told his family and nothing changed here," his grandmother Carolyn Evans told Click On Detroit. "Corey was the most loving, giving, funny person. He had the most wonderful personality. He had cousins from ages 14 down to 2 and he never said a bad word about anybody. When he went to school and he realized his sexual preference had changed, he changed completely. He withdrew."

Oakland University president Gary Russi said in an e-mail to students that Jackson’s death "diminishes us all... In our mourning, I am hopeful that we will not focus on the manner of Corey's death, but rather celebrate the life he lived and the people he touched," Russi wrote.
Students organized a candlelight vigil Wednesday night to honor Jackson. The president Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, of which Jackson was a member, wore a purple shirt Wednesday in remembrance of Jackson and in support of ending bullying of LGBT teens.
http://www.autostraddle.com/gay-teen-kills-himself-63384/
http://www.shewired.com/Article.cfm?ID=25974

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14-year-0ld Brandon Bitner of Pennsylvania, November 2010
Brandon Bitner was buried on Wednesday, November 10. The 14-year-old high school freshman from rural Middleburg, Pennsylvania committed suicide by running into the path of a tractor trailer. He left a note that he wanted to draw attention to bullying. Brandon was a talented musician, who aspired to be a classical violinist. According to the note, he was tired of being called "faggot" and "sissy."
http://www.equalityforum.com/news_item.cfm?id=64
http://www.lgbtqnation.com/2010/11/brandon-bitner-anti-gay-bullying-leads-to-another-tragic-teen-suicide/

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Young Lesbian Couple, 21 and 17, Commit Suicide; Drugs Suspected, September 27, 2010
http://www.autostraddle.com/lesbian-double-suicide-4567/
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Columnist and adviser Dan Savage and his husband, Terry, sat down before a camera and talked about their experience with bullying and how good their life became once they left school. "We wanted to show them that happiness was possible in the future," Savage said in a phone interview. He asked people to submit similar videos to a YouTube channel, It Gets Better. More than 200 videos have been uploaded to the site. "It's not a solution; it's not a magic curative," Savage said, but it is a small step to counteract the bullying, to give the teenagers an idea that they are not going through this alone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IcVyvg2Qlo&feature=player_embedded#!

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Equality Forum produced the documentary film "JIM IN BOLD" (www.jiminbold.com) about the impact of homophobia on gay youth. The film centers on James Wheeler, a 19-year-old talented youth who committed suicide. Jim was surrounded in his high school's locker room and urinated on. There was no disciplinary action. The award-winning film has been screened at over 50 film festivals and at the annual meetings of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association.
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Support and other resources for gay young people:
The Trevor Project Hotline: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/ 866-488-7386

Campus Pride. Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network. Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays. Read more.

If you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call these Helplines:
(USA) 1-888–843-4564 (4pm to mid-night Mon-Fri, 12-5pm Saturday) (Gay and Lesbian)
(USA) 1-800-784-2433 (National Helpline, Los Angeles, California; 24 hours, 7 days week)
(UK) 1-800 18 45 27

A Remarkable Week for Gay Dignity

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com

It doesn't happen often in today's contentious culture wars, but our LGBT worldwide community has achieved--along with our allies--a double win this month against blatant homophobic forces that refuse to recognize our equality and dignity.

First, highly symbolic and very real is the restoration of "sexual orientation" to a UN resolution against extrajudicial executions of minorities. Read the full story in the Washington Post:
Gay advocates win victory at UN
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/21/AR2010122104517_pf.html
"Gay rights advocates scored a hard-fought victory at the U.N. on Tuesday when member states restored a reference to sexual orientation, dropped last month from a resolution opposing the unjustified killing of minority groups. The removal of the reference, at the urging of African and Arab countries last month, alarmed human rights advocates who said gay people are among minority groups that need special protection from extrajudicial and other unjustified slayings. U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice at the time said she was "incensed" by the change and announced she would sponsor the measure to restore the language..."

Second is the voting down of the egregious and blatantly discriminatory 'Don't Ask-Don't Tell' prohibition against gays in the U.S. military. Read the full story in the New York Times:
With Obama’s Signature, ‘Don’t Ask’ Is Repealed
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/23/us/politics/23military.html?_r=2&hp
"The military’s longstanding ban on service by gays and lesbians came to a historic and symbolic end on Wednesday, as President Obama signed legislation repealing “don’t ask, don’t tell,” the contentious 17-year old Clinton-era law that sought to allow gays to serve under the terms of an uneasy compromise that required them to keep their sexuality a secret..."

Thus do civilizations move forward, slowly, to recognize the humanity and equality of all people on this planet. As much as there is celebration this week, there is an ever-present shadow that moves to deny, repress and harm person against person, individually and socially. How joyful and poignant is the struggle of light and right against darkness and danger. It is sadly the way of the world, the way of humanity, that people can be so in love with family and hateful to strangers who are 'other' races, beliefs, wealths or sexualities.

How did this happen? Tribe against tribe? We no longer see (if ever we did) the 'divine' in one another. A few resilient charitable folks make great efforts to spread love and care but often it's conditioned on being straight (non-gay). The human spirit should be the guiding force, not religion, politics, economics, race, age, gender or sexuality.

I can only hope we see the wisdom of compassion before 'civilized chaos' overtakes us. This week is a hopeful sign that light will outshine darkness.

Opposing DODT Repeal is a Moral Evil

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com

Don't ask don't tell has finally gone down, another act of stupidity repealed by Congress today. After 17 years of blatant prejudice and discrimination the motion to remove the military rule was approved by 65 senators with 31 opposing.

What's remarkable and unnerving is that 31 of the nation's elected leaders voted against the repeal, openly continuing to agree to egregious discrimination against homosexual military personnel in particular and LGBT people in general. Such a bigoted position is essentially an insupportable abhorrent position.

That any modern legislator could hold this unjust, unconstitutional, hateful and narrow-minded view of human nature is immoral and frightening. Yet there they are, in our capitol making speeches and decisions that effect America's social welfare (medical care, taxation, banking/finance, education, criminal justice…) while holding distinct prejudicial views that not all citizens are equal.

Given these crucial and essential matters that effect the daily lives of 350 million people, how is it right that a full third of the US Senate can hold office with such odious prejudices against any minority group of Americans?

It is now well beyond simple science that human sexual orientation is a deeply inherent trait that forms in the psyche virtually from birth and inevitably becomes manifest in the second decade of a person's life. In countless research studies homosexuality has been shown to have biological, genetic and social components that lift it far beyond simplistic religious, political or cultural opinions and personal points of view. Way beyond 'choice'.

But with a dismissive wave of a hand toward such studied research, a politician can ignore all these in-depth analyses and all the personal testimonies of LGBT people who felt they were gay at a very young age. Such a callous attitude is a moral evil, a violation of oath to defend the constitution, a spiritually violent act, a step into ignorance and blindness. Nothing less than a social evil.

This prejudice is commonly sourced in the religious background of each senator who claws his way into Congress. Manipulating money, people and media to get elected into a position of power, a successful member is revealed for what he is when it comes to voting on the core issue of human rights.

"Human rights are international norms that help to protect all people everywhere from severe political, legal, and social abuses." Are those 31 Senators listening to this? Obviously not, and they should be fired from their jobs.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" repeal has just cleared its last congressional hurdle.

December 18, 2010

Breaking news from Human Rights Campaign (HRC):

This discriminatory law will be relegated to the dustbin of history. This stain on our nation will be lifted forever. And you made it happen.

Today, America lived up to its highest ideals of freedom and equality. Today, our federal government recognized that ALL men and women have the right to openly serve the country they believe in. That it doesn't matter who you are, or who you love – you are not a second-class citizen.

Think of the kids out there tonight, watching this on the news – kids who are bullied for being different, who live in fear daily that their parents will hate them if they find out the truth... Think of the relief, the empowerment, the sense of possibility they'll feel, knowing that the U.S. military has said: if you're lesbian or gay, you are worthy. We want you to join us, side by side, as equals.

Think of the people across the globe – some in countries where it is literally a life-or-death decision to come out as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender – who will hear this news and know we're one step closer toward a world where no one needs to live in fear because of who they are.

And take a moment to truly comprehend the lives ruined over the last 17 years because of this discriminatory law. The soldiers, sailors, airmen, translators, doctors and more, whose military careers were ended, whose livelihoods were threatened, whose friendships were cut off, all because the forces of bigotry and fear held out for so long.

They can never get those years back. But I hope they know that their sacrifice meant something. Their courage and integrity helped a nation understand what it means to serve. And that, more than anything else, helped bring about this historic change.

With your help, we've spent 17 years fighting for this moment. I cannot thank you enough for the dedication you've shown to get us here. Here's a brief snapshot of what you helped HRC do to win this.

Senators Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins have been our steadfast champions in this fight. Here's what Senator Lieberman said today that shows how your energy, your drive, your commitment and your focus have been behind every single step: "This historic day has been seventeen years in the making and would not have happened without the leadership of Joe Solmonese and the Human Rights Campaign."

We did it. Together. Thank you.

Onward,
Joe Solmonese
President

P.S. A quick note on what happens next: the vote we won today – a critical vote to repealing this law – was to overcome a filibuster by John McCain and Republican leaders in the Senate. There may be one final vote on Sunday night or Monday and which only requires a simple majority instead of 60 votes. The bill will then go to President Obama's desk, and he has promised to sign it. In the following months ahead, the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will be responsible for acting expeditiously to implement a repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law. HRC advises service members that repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is not effective immediately and service members are still at risk of being discharged on the basis of their sexual orientation until the repeal is completely implemented.

Absurdity at the Highest Levels: The UN

By Richard Ammon GlobalGayz.com

Take note of this absurdity:
On Monday, December 20th, the United Nations General Assembly will vote on whether to include protection for LGBT people in a crucial resolution on extrajudicial executions and other unlawful killings. This resolution urges States to thoroughly and promptly investigate all killings committed for any discriminatory reason, even on the basis of sexual orientation.

It is the only UN resolution ever to include explicit reference to sexual orientation.

The resolution passed successfully for the past ten years. However in a UN committee just last month, a number of States proposed to remove the reference to sexual orientation.

Shockingly, this proposal to delete passed: 79 States (mostly Muslim and African) voted to remove the reference to sexual orientation, 70 supported its retention, and 43 States abstained or did not vote. This amounted to a serious defeat for LGBT rights at the UN.

Do these opponents of integrity and human rights think they lack a sexual orientation?

Will homophobes never learn!? Their ignorance and blind bigotry, in government and in the streets, is killing countless people--due to AIDS as well as bigotry--from Asia to Africa and beyond.

This insane prejudice against sexual diversity goes beyond all human reason and 'common good'--despite religious pretensions of most faiths toward neighborly love and compassion toward those who are afflicted.

Pray to some higher power that the opponents of the UN resolution will see some light, dim as it might be.

No Gay Pride in Bangkok 2010

By Richard Ammon
GlobalGayz.com
December 7, 2010

Bangkok
For the third year in a row there is no BKK Pride festival. Ask different people and get different answers: disinterest from local Thai activists; lack of police cooperation; no money; homophobia; frustration and withdrawal of foreign leadership. "There are just too many obstacles, resistance and petty infighting to overcome to get the festival and parade going," said former Pride leader Douglas Thompson, a longtime American expat who runs Purple Dragon Tours in Bangkok.

There is no cohesive LGBT community organization that represents gay life in Bangkok. Perhaps because of the immense size of Bangkok's 12 million people--including more than a million LGBT people, foreign and native--spread over an area of a hundred square kilometers in which there are numerous separate gay-preferred areas speaking different languages, not to mention the distinct class separation between upper class and lower class gays who avoid mingling let alone close cooperation.

Add to this the silent resistance of smiling Thais who don't like foreigners bringing in western-style ways of being out and proud with flags, balloons, go-go boys, drag queens and big noise.

The higher the class in Thailand the less overt gays tend to be, preferring discretion over visibility. In previous Pride parades the most obvious shows were floats from go-go bars and saunas, kathoeys and feathered fems in flamboyant costumes and outside groups from Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia along with human rights groups (foreign)--but no Thai professional organizations and no politicians.

In short, the parades represented only a small portion of the (westernized) homosexual life of Thailand, the slick and sexy night scene which most farangs (foreigners) are familiar with. It's no wonder the inertia of local indifference and resistance eventually outweighed the stress and chaos of producing a rowdy festival in Bangkok.

Add to this drama the volatile political tensions in Bangkok, which in 2010 erupted twice with street demonstrations and protests against the government as tens of thousands of anti-government red-shirt demonstrators occupied the central city causing serious damage to buildings, businesses and tourism.

Earlier in the year another huge cadre of protesters succeeded in shutting down Bangkok's international airports; this mob was dressed in yellow shirts. It's not coincidental that recent political chaos has flared up when the sitting prime minister Taksin was overthrown by a royally approved military coup about three years ago, the same year that gay pride fell apart.

Some say it was part of the fallout from the coup and the subsequent instability that gay leaders nervous about the safety of participants who might have been caught in the crossfire between agitated homophobic populists, political extremists and the government military that has become impatience toward any demonstration, including an unwelcome queer fest.

All of which the typical gay tourist is unaware of as he prowls the pubs, go-go bars, saunas, massage parlors and gay 'avenues' looking for one or several hook-ups during his visit.

Yet, the money-go-go-boy-sauna scene is only a small tip of a much larger LGBT 'non-scene', mostly native, where gays ignore the neon lights and bikinis and focus more on friendships, careers, family honor, social status, shopping, investment portfolios and trips abroad.

There is no gay cheer in the streets this year but LGBT life goes on as usual in the typical quiet Thai style.

But Phuket is another story, as is Pattaya. Far smaller cities with strong native and foreign presence, they have a different motivation to hold Pride events as they are holiday destinations that depend more on tourism than big-business. A visit to Phuket reveals a city on the sea with long stretches of warm white sand edged with palm trees. Beachfront restaurants and bars and many low and high-rise hotels and condo towers line the water. Gay venues--the usual bars, disco, saunas, hotels, massage parlors and beach--are present but not in your face. The 2011 Phuket festival is now scheduled and can be seen at their website.

Pattaya, despite its unfair taint of sex, gay and straight, is renown as a family vacation destination as well as a popular surfing spot. The gay pride scene extends over months and is managed by few cooperating business owners, activists and health organizations so agreement and coordinated are more easily achieved. See their website.