Asher Brown was an intelligent thirteen year old eighth grader. He attended Hamilton Middle School in Houston, Texas, always brought home school progress reports that consisted of As, and was actively involved with tennis. Both of Asher’s parents loved him and were accepting when he disclosed that he was gay. Life seems perfect for the eight grader, right? Not exactly. Asher was a victim of bullying and according to Asher’s family he was “bullied to death.” He was picked on because of his religion, his small size, and because he did not wear designer clothes. Students also accused him of being gay and harshly mocked him in his physical education class. The day before his suicide was Asher’s most recent humiliation and torment. As Asher was walking down a flight of stairs, a student tripped him and he fell down and hit the stairway landing. David and Amy Truong, Asher’s parents, said, “Asher went to retrieve his bookbag, when another student kicked his books everywhere and then kicked him down the remaining flights of stairs” (O’Hare 1).
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| Asher Brown's memorial service |
Asher Brown was found dead on the floor of his stepfather’s closet in the family’s house on Thursday, September 23, 2010 at about 4:30 p.m. He used his stepfather’s 9 mm Beretta and left behind no note. Both of his parents visited the school several times to complain about the bullying and made numerous phone calls that were never answered. When Kelli Durham, the school district spokeswoman, said, “No students, school employees, or the boy’s parents ever reported that he was being bullied,” Amy and David Truong were furious and claimed they want justice. “The people here need to be held responsible and be stopped. It did happen. There are witnesses everywhere” (O’Hare 1).
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