Scott Thompson Of ‘Kids In The Hall’ Tells Bullied Kids To “Grow A Pair”
Filed under: Celeb Gossip & News, Patrick, Politics & Issues, Totally GAY!
Author: Patrick
Date: Nov 3, 2011
While many celebrities have posted “It Gets Better” videos to help address the teen bullying and suicides that keep happening, comedian Scott Thompson (whom you know best from the gay sketch show Kids In The Hall) has taken a different approach. He doesn’t necessarily agree with having gay people cast as “eternal victims” is the best approach. In an interview with PrideSource, Thompson thinks people should just “grow a pair”.
“Grow a pair. Here’s the thing: The world is not kind to us; it never really will be. The gay male is always going to be at the bottom. I believe the things that happened to me as a child scarred me terribly, and I wish somebody would have helped me with some of the things that happened. But you have to fight back. So much of these bullying campaigns are part of the trend that we were just talking about – the recasting of gay men as eternal victims and it’s like, fight back! Fathers should start teaching the boys how to punch. He does that to you, here’s what you do: You fucking punch him in the face.”
In another recent interview, Thompson explained to OutTakeOnline, “What you really need is people like The Rock to say [that bullying is wrong]. Those kids need to hear The Rock and rappers and 50 Cent, they’re the ones that those boys need to hear.” That’s an interesting point. Maybe the bullies need to feel fear for a change?
Perhaps a combination of “It Gets Better” and a bit of “fighting back” like Thompson suggests would be a good approach. I don’t think think there is a magic solution to dealing with this, but the more people that get involved, the better.
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- 48 Hours Mystery Investigates Middle School Bullying
- Tags: bullying, kids in the hall, scott thompson
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Zee
November 3rd, 2011 at 8:12 pm
Easier said than done for a lot of the kids bullied, especially when they’re targeted by not one classmate but many and in some cases the teachers, and other adults in the school as well as the bully families.
Josh
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:03 pm
It’s true. Kids today live their lives having mommy and daddy fight every battle for them. I was bullied in jr high and high school and I didn’t commit suicide. Kids need to toughen up a bit.
Darren
November 3rd, 2011 at 11:08 pm
i agree with both approaches. the It Gets Better campaign is very important because it spreads the awareness of gay bullying and its affects, especially with all the gay bashing and burning that’s been happening lately. And it gives a kid a lot of hope. But it’s because gay bashing is escalating that maybe Thompson is right. we need to fight back. I’m not saying that every battle has to be fought, but gay men can’t continue to be the world’s door mats. When i was a kid my dad taught me how to defend myself. He didn’t teach me to be some bully or hot head, but when the time came in which a conflict couldn’t be resolved by simply talking and i felt threatened then i would know what to do. So i have to agree with Thompson.
Clayton
November 4th, 2011 at 5:03 am
He should start his own campaign called “Make it Better.”
BigWoody
November 4th, 2011 at 6:23 am
I remember that the kid who was visibly different and weak in school was bullied by stronger bigger kids. Should we teach the little kid to sneak up behind the big bully and crack his head with a bat? That would be the only way to win that fight. Scott Thompson’s scarring experience has made him cruel and uncaring. Around 15 years ago I saw him perform at a comedy show in Orlando (along with Harvey Firestein, Lily Tomlin and others). He told such rude anti-lesbian jokes in his routine that many walked out. Not the best role model to give advice to bullied gay children.
Kinda similar to when black children were integrating during segregation, they needed protection. The glaring difference is – most black children had support and love from their families, community, and churches – many gay children do not feel support.
BigWoody
November 4th, 2011 at 6:42 am
@Josh. Sorry to hear you were bullied. Was it because you were openly gay? I came out in the early 1980′s and experienced a few workplace discrimination incedents. When I was in school I was shy and was able to hide being gay, heck in the 1970′s, without gay role models I didn’t even understand what ‘gay’ was. Youth these days are coming out younger and younger because of our coming out examples and increasing visibility of GLBT people. They do not understand at that young age that they are stepping into an ongoing culture war. Their young enemies are not like our adult enemies who fight us covertly, religiously, and politically, their enemies (bullies) physically and mentally harm them because gay youth have become so open and visible. The world is changing for the better, but we must protect bullied LGBT youth for many years to come.
Aaron Matthew Arnwine
November 4th, 2011 at 9:41 am
I’ve always been an advocate for fellow gays to get a conceal-carry permit, learn how to use a gun, and then use it on the bastards with the intention of making you the next Matthew Shephard. Enough dead bigots will make people think twice before putting their hands on us.