It is a sad reality that gay youth have been and continue to be the victims of homophobic bulling. In 2011, after a gay teen committed suicide, Fox News "virtually ignored" this tragedy while other non "fair & balanced" network devoted attention to it. Around the same period, Fox ran many pieces that were critical of anti-bullying and diversity programs in public schools - programs that the religious right, Fox's fan base, believe foster the "gay agenda." In defending a student, whose biblically based anti-gay article in the student newspaper was criticized by the school administration as a form of bullying, alleged news host Megyn Kelly suggested that anti-bullying programs are violations of free speech. Flash forward to 2013 when a conservative high school student teabagger, the new young darling of the right wing, claims that he's being bullied by liberal Wisconsin teachers and Megyn Kelly's views on free speech seem to have changed!

Now that former right wing wunderkind, Jonathan Crohn has grown up and become a liberal Obama supporter, a development that earned him the wrath of "The Five," the right wing has a new sweet young right wing thing. Benji Backer is described as "a hot commodity" for the Tea Party and conservative politicians such as the GOP Wisconsin governor Scott Walker on whose behalf Backer "logged more that 22,000 to fight the Walker recall," an effort for which he was personally thanked by Walker who was actively supported by Fox. Like so many on Fox "news," Benji thinks that the media has a liberal bias so it was no surprise that Benji went straight to Fox News so that real America can be outraged about his treatment at the hands of those evil, librul teachers. who were actively attacked by Fox.

Yesterday, Kelly reported that Backer's case is getting "national attention" which, of course, means that the attention is primarily from Fox and other right wing websites. She described his claim that he's been the "target of harassment, name calling, and foul language, not from his classmates" (her voice went up a notch) "but from his teachers" who disagree with his views. She cited his is other claim that his family was attacked.

After welcoming Benji, sporting the requisite big flag pin so beloved by real Fox men like Eric Bolling, Kelly gushed that his account is "unbelievable." (Ya think!?) She praised how he "chronicled" all the alleged incidents involving criticism of his support for Romney and Walker. Backer, who has changed schools, recounted a tale about how his English teacher dissed Backer's small business man father while complaining about his low teacher's salary which according to Backer was over $105,000 a year - a claim that is highly dubious considering that the median salary for a teacher in Benji's district is $53,307 with only a very few teachers making over $71,000.  Kelly encouraged Benji to talk about what else this teacher supposedly told him.

Poor Benji whined about how other students have to listen to teachers say bad things about Scott Walker and Mitt Romney. He added that "it's scary to stand up to a teacher" because "they're in charge of your grades." After he said it was a "national issue," Kelly asked him where he got "the courage" to take a stand. A photo of Benji with Scott Walker was shown in the background. He said that other students encouraged him to post his article, about the supposed bullying, on Freedom Works - a Tea Party organization, founded by the Koch brothers, which has spent mucho bucks supporting Scott Walker. Benji said that he might face "negative repercussions" and bravely asserted that "it isn't about me" but "other students across the country who are dealing with these same problems who need this to stop in the public school system."

Kelly promised him that if there are negative repercussions, he can come back to Fox News to talk about it and she will "name names and these people will be shamed because they can't be doing this" to students"with impunity." (Oh, goody, more death threats thanks to  Fox News) Benji finished with a call for politics to be left out of the classroom except for government classes and in "a fair & balanced" way. Awwww....

So despite the Fox's claim that Kelly's program is "fair & balanced," there was absolutely no attempt to get the school's side of the issue. Rather, Benji was allowed to make allegations that Kelly, who has never shown this level of support for victims of anti-gay bulling, validated. As Jon Stewart has wisely said, "conservative victimization is the true genius of what Fox News has accomplished."