US Representative Don Young of Alaska Blames Friends of Suicide Victim for the Suicide

Rep Don Young (R, AK), not a suicide expert.

The last time we heard from Representative Don "We Used to Have 50-60 Wetbacks" Young, he was displaying his ignorance of economics. This time our Wingnut Hero is blaming friends of a suicide victim for the suicide, comparing gay marriage to bull sex, and bossing students around for how they hold their hands while daring to confront the great and powerful Republican congressman.

I shit you not.

But then, witnesses say, Young said suicide shows a lack of support from friends and family. 

That comment stunned students and staff still mourning the loss of a student who died Thursday, staffers say. 

"When I heard 'a lack of support from family' and I heard 'a lack of support from friends,' I felt the oxygen go out of the room, but I gasped as well," Spargo said. "It just isn't true in these situations. It's just such a hurtful thing to say."  

Both Spargo and Swick say a friend of the victim, moved by emotion, shouted at Young, “He had friends. He had support.” 

“The kid said, ‘It’s depression -- you know, a mental illness,' ” Spargo recalled. As she remembers, Young replied, “ ‘Well, what, do you just go to the doctor and get diagnosed with suicide?’ ” 

At some point during the exchange, several school staffers say, the congressman also used either the words "---hole” or “smartass.”

My only regret about this story is that in a room full of high school students, apparently no one used their cell phone to record the event. Maybe they didn't expect the fireworks from a US Congressman.

The real hero of this story is Wasilla junior Zachary Grier, who, had heard that the Congressman had threatened to hurt his opponent, Democrat Forrest Dunbar, because Dunbar had touched Young's arm. Young Zach apparently has a sense for wingnut pressure building up, as he decided to ask a couple of questions that just might keep the congressman angry and talking.

Grier got up and asked Young about Ballot Measure 2 that would legalize recreational marijuana -- “he was completely against it” -- and followed up with questions about the Kodiak debate. Young twice told him to get his hands out of his pockets. Grier complied politely, several witnesses said. 

He got in one more question, this one about same-sex marriage.
“I asked why is it so bad in your eyes?” Grier said. 

As Spargo described it, Young answered, “You can’t have marriage with two men. What do you get with two bulls?” 

Witnesses say Young then said something about a lot of "bullshazzle" or some word resembling the more familiar obscenity.

Colorful language for a high school, but more telling is the tendency of these older scumbags to jump right to the animal sex when asked about homosexuals. Kind of makes one wonder what happened to the congressman during his formative years... Of course, Young didn't care much for a smart ass (and I use the word with respect and admiration) kid, so he ran and tattled to the school principal:

Spargo talked briefly with Young on his way out. He asked her about the student who shouted at him. The principal said he was a friend of the boy who died. “ ‘I’ll take care of it,’ ” she told Young. 

“He told me, ‘That boy needs to learn some respect,’ ” Spargo recalled.

Blame a kid for his friend's suicide, and then say that kid needs to learn respect. This is the GOP political philosophy in a nut shell.