Carl Walker-Hoover's Mom Speaks on Suicide and the School Yard Bully

The Advocate shared an exclusive interview with Sirdeaner Walker, the mother of Carl Walker-Hoover, the 11-year-old student who killed himself last week following relentless bullying at school:

On April 6, Sirdeaner Walker came home, walked up the stairs to the second floor of her home, and saw her son suspended from a support beam in the stairwell, swaying slightly in the air, an extension cord wrapped around his neck, according to police. He apologized in a suicide note, told his mother that he loved her, and left his video games to his brother.

Walker said her son had been the victim of bullying since the beginning of the school year, and that she had been calling the school since September, complaining that her son was mercilessly teased. He played football, baseball, and was a boy scout, but a group of classmates called him gay and teased him about the way he dressed. They ridiculed him for going to church with his mother and for volunteering locally.

"It's not just a gay issue," Walker said. "It’s bigger. He was 11 years old, and he wasn't aware of his sexuality. These homophobic people attach derogatory terms to a child who’s 11 years old, who goes to church, school, and the library, and he becomes confused. He thinks, Maybe I'm like this. Maybe I'm not. What do I do?"

Days prior to Carl Walker-Hoover's suicide, he confronted a female bully who verbally accosted him... serving as a catalyst to his suicide. The school’s response was to have the two students sit beside one another during lunch for the next week to encourage conversation.

Carl's mom is demanding action from the school. Perhaps it is time for each of us to look at our own situation to ensure that there aren't any young 'uns experiencing this inner turmoil in our own neighborhoods.

What say u?