My friend's kid is being gay-bashed.

[Smarmie Doofus]

He's in the third grade. ( That's Grade 3).

After-school tears are involved. Questions from kid. Parental consternation. Uncertainty about what, if anything, to do .

Not that it should make a difference, BUT.... he's probably NOT gay. He's smart; smallish; kinda... I don't know... "spontaneous". Effusive.

Part of the bashing involves other kids shoving him so that he crashes into a third party; then they yell "homo".

( Friend tells me all this right after I get off the treadmill at the gym where I'm watching a video-follies type show on Comedy Central wherein the host is making "That's so gay" comments ... without any apparent irony.... so numerous that I found myself semi-consciously trying to count them.)

OK; "You can't blame this one on the media, Ellen." Well... yes and no, I'm thinking.

So: what to do. Insights? Ideas?

That's *THIRD* fucking grade.