‘Can Someone Beat the Gay Out of Him?’ Students Message About Gay Classmate
Investigations are underway in a town right outside of Dallas, Texas, as several students from Plano East High School have been caught sending violent and threatening anti-LGBT messages directed at one of their gay classmates.
A screenshot was taken of the group chat, which happened on Snapchat. In the screenshot, three different students are seen conversing. The first student’s message read, “Can someone beat the gay out of him? Can we pull some hate crimes” A second student responded with two laughing emoji followed by “let’s do it.” The last student sent a raised hand emoji, signifying volunteering.
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WFAA reported that the screenshot of the hateful conversation was posted by senior McKenna Moran on Twitter. “She said that the students were talking about her best friend and fellow senior Marwan Henderson, who is gay.”
Moran was quoted saying she was horrified by the situation. Marwan Henderson, the student these messages were directed at, told WPAA, “I felt pretty heartbroken. Just the fact that so much ignorance exists in society.”
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Henderson stated that the conversation happened after a video of him dancing made its way around the school.
The Plano East High School Student Council posted a response on Twitter saying, “Plano East prides itself on being an extremely diverse and accepting school with students from all walks of life. The administration and student body cannot and will not tolerate this sort of treatment to other peers. We will ensure punishment is served.”
Following these events, NBC DFW reported that a series of flyers were found around the school which read, “Faggots will not have the last word, God Bless America, Yee Yee.”
The Plano ISD School Board is set to meet this Tuesday to revisit the district’s bullying and cyberbullying policies.
Feature image via iStock, mrohana