One gay teenager has received online applauds because he stood up to homophobic bullies in his class.

Being a teenager is never easy.

These years are challenging on their own, but imagine the difficulties a boy can face at school if surrounded by bullies!

Bullying is a grave problem in numerous schools, and its consequences can often be tragic.

Yet, one gay teenager decided to raise his voice and fight for his rights.

In a video, Jordan Steffy is seen attacking and yelling at one of his classmates who had been bullying him and posted a homophobic message on Snapchat using a photo of him.

One teacher quickly broke up the brawl, but the clip soon went viral on Twitter, with more than 2.1 million people watching it.

In the video, the two students yell before Steffy shoves and hits the boy he says created the anti-gay post.

The junior at LaPorte High School in Indiana said that he had suffered homophobic bullying since he came out in seventh grade. 

Jordan Steffy described the incident as follows:

“He made an anti-gay post with a picture of me on it saying how he hated gays and a bunch of throwing up emojis all over it. I walked up to him and said ‘Why did you post this?’ He said ‘It was just a post.’ And I said ‘Well, it’s not just a post. It’s a post about me, saying how you dislike who I am, and I don’t appreciate that.’ He went on to say ‘Okay, but what are you going to do about it?’ I said ‘I’m not going to deal with this, this is the last time I’m called anything.’ And then he said ‘What are you going to do about it, faggot?’ And that’s when I was like ‘No, I’m not doing this.'”

Steffy explains that the bullying and homophobic insults had been happening for a long time and that he cracked in the end.

In the clip, the boy calls Steffy a ‘f*ggot’ and gets in Steffy’s face before Steffy hits him. The boy did not seem to be significantly hurt.

Both of them were suspended after the incident, even though many maintained that Steffy should not have been disciplined for finally standing his ground after such long-term bullying.

Steffy’s mother, Angelina, has said she will for the time being home-school the teen. She added that school authorities had done completely nothing to prevent or stop the bullying. She stated:

“I was tired of him being bullied, and he was tired of being bullied. It seemed like I was getting in more trouble for reporting it than I was if I didn’t say anything at all. It was doing me more harm than it was good.”

Melanie Willingham-Jaggers, deputy executive director of GLSEN, an LGBTQ rights organization, said that even though they don’t accept violence, no one should be punished for defending themselves.

She stated:

“While we don’t condone violence, it reflects the trauma that LGBTQ youth have endured and the fact that they feel they need to fend for themselves in school. Jordan deserves better. All students deserve better.”

Source:

https://www.insider.com/teen-fights-back-against-bullying-homophobia-2019-11