The Real Story of the Autistic Teen who Fled Burbank Airport

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http://www.wehoconfidential.com/2011/10 ... up-at.html

Cameron James Smith made it on every news affiliate yesterday afternoon when he ran away from Burbank airport only to be found ordering a vodka orange juice at the Abbey.

The wait staff recognized the runaway boy from the news & asked for ID before serving him a regular orange juice. When asked for his name Cameron told the Abbey Manager, Nick Lambert, that his name was George. Nick showed Cameron his photo on the news and Cameron bolted. He kicked off his freshly acquired Casual Cool boat shoes in the park & ran into Pizza Rustica where he asked to use the restroom. He locked himself in & eventually surrendered to Lambert when he sat a table in the pizza shop.

The story the media portrays is that of "an autistic child is safe today after running away from the Burbank airport when his mother failed to ensure his safe departure". The media won't tell you that Cameron is gay, that he's being shipped away for his homosexual tendencies (again) or that he'll be bullied into a closet for the next four years no thanks to his parents.

Cameron didn't run away from school. He simply fled to the only gay sanctuary he'd ever heard of, hoping that someone there could save him. It was almost as if he was told "It gets Better" by a president who believes that marriage equality should be left up to the state & when he tried to seek sanctuary the universe said "not today kid!" Without realizing it Cameron's only hope was to land on safe soil but unfortunately this young man didn't flee Cuba & the Abbey is not Miami beach aka freedom.

So as important as it is to recognize the boys who committed suicide this month it's more important to recognize the one who reached out for help but was never heard. Cameron is already being sent packing, back to some bleak second rate version of a life away from his family.

When asked for comment Abbey founder David Cooley had this to say:

This brave young man was in the process of being returned to the state of Utah where being gay is not tolerated. Cameron obviously fled to the Abbey because it's renowned for being a safe haven for members of the gay community & my heart pours out to him during this difficult time in his life. I hope Cameron knows he has a family here & that he touched our lives in a very powerful way today.


We hope that someone reaches out to this boy, while he's still alive before it's too late. The boy who had the balls to follow a path that didn't end in suicide. Maybe GLADD, EQCA or HRC could reach out to Cameron... or are they too busy worrying about your checkbooks?

If you dare, take a look at what Cameron's life may now look like by clicking this link about the "School" they were sending him to http://www.wehoconfidential.com/2011/10 ... -utah.html

Mormons =

Bunch of lunatics. My family converted in the 60s, and I was raised in the cult until I quit at 13. Most of the family is either dead or out. The worst are the hard core pioneer descended 6th generation Mormon families. They simply do NOT tolerate stuff like being gay. The cult recommended at one point that families store 7 years worth of food because the Tribulation was coming soon, and God would render the earth infertile. (Mormons do not believe in a Rapture.) There are still huge silos of grain around the Utah Valley for just such an event. Mormons are also fascinated with guns. Many of the real crazy survivalists who can't wait for the collapse so they can shoot gays and blacks are Mormon. The really far out ones still practice polygamy, although the main church now condemns it.

Articles on teen boot camps, including WWASP (the boot camp in the autistic teen runaway case):

http://www.rickross.com/groups/teenboot.html

Dear Ravenclawgurl, Thank you from everyone at WrongPlanet who thought this was a scary story about a sensitive, scared Autistic boy. I had no idea this was about a sensitive, scared gay boy. Maybe the publicity will help him? Sylkat

Who cares if he's gay, sounds like his parents ignored signs of trauma and trepidation regardless of the reason. And just dumping him off on a plane is pretty insensitive. Anyone would feel upset about that I think, I'd order a drink too.

Dear Ravenclawgurl, I did not correctly write what I had intended, and Raisedbyignorance called it to my attention; instead of editing my post, may I change the last line? "...a scary story about a sensitive, scared GAY autistic boy.". That is what I was really trying to say....Sylkat

My heart goes out to the kid, it's a shame that there is so little that can be done for people stuck in oppressive households without invoking thoughts of totalitarian government intrusion into parenting styles. I hope that he can find what he's looking for.

Well most states wont search for a runaway after the age of 17 1/2.....if he can just hold it together for 3 more years...if not, there is an option to legally disown your parrents in some states and live in foster care which is not great but better than that.

He can also tell his parrents of the abuse at the school and if they dont do anything, he can contact DFACS which could remove him from the home as well.
If he gets desperate, he can make up a false abuse story then contact DFACS. They are too lazy to cross check the evidence or lack therof. There are ways to work the system without a totaltarian government regarding parenting styles.

Jojo

I thought he was also gay when I heard he had gone to a gay bar. I hope to Hell he doesn't commit suicide after all this. This is horrible.

The reality of this story makes me feel sick inside. My heart goes out to Cameron...I hope people in the LGBT community see the reality of this story and reach out to him, and I hope his parents see the tremendous error of their prejudiced ways.

This is absolutely appalling. My thoughts are with this kid and I hope that is situation improves. No-one deserves a situation like that because of their sexual orientation.

I thought there must be more to this story than it seemed. How awful. I hope he can get away from these evil creeps.

_________________
I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

And this is why we need an LGBT forum on this board. Even if Cameron's parents and captors will prevent him from reaching out, others will not be so unfortunate.

This type of story has no easy answers, but the discussion must, nonetheless, take place in public.