Below is a list of young teenagers who died recently in America, because they were gay. My sincere condolences to each family for their sad lost.
On September 29, 2010. Raymond Chase of Rhode Island, NY, age 19, was openly gay and hanged himself.
On September 23, 2010. Asher Brown, age 13, of Houston, TX, came home from school and shot himself in the head after enduring what his mother and stepfather say was constant harassment from four other students at his middle school. Asher told his parents he was gay that morning.
On September 22, 2010. Tyler Clementi, age 18, of Ridgewood, NJ, jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge.
On September 19, 2010. Seth Walsh of Tehachapi, CA, was found unconscious and not breathing after attempting to hang himself. He died on September 28.
On September 13, 2010. Cody J. Barker, of Shiocton, Wisconsin, age 17, was openly gay and took his own life.
On September 9, 2010. Billy (William) Lucas, of Greensburg, IN, age 15, was found dead in a barn at his grandmother’s home.
How many gay teenagers deaths will it take, before effective action is taken to outlaw anti-gay bullying. 6 young gay teenagers in September gave up their lifes because of the daily torment and harassment by others. Everyone has the right of protection against harm by law, in each case we have failed to honour that basic right of humanity. Time for action is now, there is no excuse for the people and Federal agenices to ignore the failure of duty to protect young people against this criminal act.
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And these are just the cases that we know about. How many more young men and women take their lives without reaching out to someone or revealing what they were subjected to? School districts (where the authority really lays) are slow to respond to this crisis, but it's going to take them, parents and their communities to get involved in making bullying unacceptable.
I went to the same school district as Asher Brown (in suburban Houston) and I don't think that the people in charge are heartless or uncaring, but I do think that too many have been tone deaf to this situation. Its been going on for years, but it seems that in the past 4 or 5 years our culture has become crueler and coarser. Insults are traded more freely not just on the school campus but in the society at large. This meaness needs to be tamped down because the kids are paying attention and thinking that tormenting is somehow ok (or even desirable).
I am glad to see so many people in this country speaking out, including the Secretary of Education, but its going to take more than words or celebrities making videos (those are appreciated but it's not enough). We nned to retool how we teach kids about respecting others and set better examples.
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Anybody else wonder why its ok to physically/mentally attack someone in school, and just recive minimal punishment, but doing it anywhere else is a criminal offence?:confused:
I mean SURE between the ages of 5 and 10 a child might still be learning right from wrong. But any bullying done after that I beleave should be a criminal offence.
Sure the punishment could be reduced due to age, I just want something done to get it into these idiots heads that its NOT ok to treat people in such a manner, as it's obviously it seems the schools themselves do not have enough power to do such.
.......Sorry. That was a bit of a rant, and a bit harsh i guess.:redface:
Silly Sarcastic So-and-so
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Bullying is never right. Sadly, in many places, people tolerate it and accept it as a tradition. When the line between right and wrong is not clear, people mistake their behavior of bullying as justice. I know straight kids who bully queer kid because they want to make thing right. They have learned that from their parents, from TV, from their churches. Hence, as long as there are still discrimination and hatred, there are still bullier and suicidal kids.
Sadly, in my school A&M, some forms of bullying behaviors are accepted as tradition. When I know about the Corps of Cadets and the fish drill, I feel really sad for the freshman who are the victims of bullying. But no one speaks out about that because people seem it as a value tradition in my school. For me, I seem it as criminal.
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This makes me so unspeakable sad and angry.... I can`t say....
And if I read the list of death penaltys given only für being gay. Viewable on the Amnesty International Homepage... there are kids on ... from 12 years on... such a shame....
All this are and will ever be crimes against us.... the community of gay people
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I can’t even form the words needed to post on this so I’ll just steal a quote from Ellen DeGeneres.
“ One life loss in this senseless way is tragic six lives loss is a crisis ”
Bullying is a epidemic, there has to be away to help prevent bullying and the loss of life. I personally don’t an answer to that question but there are better men an women out there that need to find the answer because we need one badly.
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My condolences to those bereaved families who now have to pick up the pieces after these entirely avoidable deaths.
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I blame religion ultimately and I am greatly saddened for these and all the other young men and women who feel that killing themself is their only option.
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In some - not in all - cases I blame the parents... Their Job is to protect their children... and so often they are the hell for their own children.
Here - when someone talk about gay marriages - they talk about protecting the Familys... the right of protecting Families..... Families must stand higher then gay-partnerships.. whatever.... they fight.... talking about their rights.... but they forget : there is no right without duty. And the Duty of parents is to protect their Children....and how many children must be protected from their own parents. And if they can´t protect them from their own - what reason ever- maybe religions - ..they have to leave them and make sure that they are on a place where this Children are loved... and needed and protected.
And if they don´t do that ... it should be a crime of neglect and omission....
and they can be very happy that it is forbidden to me to judge
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Of course you are right, fenris, that parents are responsible for the safety of their children, but I agree with eastofeden that most of the trouble can be traced back to religion. It is religion that ultimately offers those so inclined the excuses they seek to rationalise bad parenting. Religious influence runs very deep. I have experienced this at first hand. It splits families, it makes people feel there is such a thing as a "higher law" than the law of the land and it gives politicians and other influential spokespersons ammunition for their prejudices.
When people like the Archbishop of Canterbury suggest that Sharia Law could be introduced "alongside" UK law he should be opposed at every turn. The only safe and fair laws for all are those developed in a secular context ... and this includes maintaining the freedom for people to believe in whatever deity or none that they choose.
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