There have been at least four nationally acknowledged suicides since September, each one of them a result of anti-gay, peer-to-peer bullying. Billy Lucas, 15, hanged himself from the rafters of his family's barn on Sept. 9. After being outed on the internet, Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22. Thirteen-year-old Asher Brown fatally shot himself in his father's closet on Sept. 23. Seth Walsh, also 13 years old, hanged himself and spent nine days in a coma before he died on Sept. 28.
Contemplating suicide is painful enough. When you're to the point that you're purposefully veering off the road or making a last goodbye cocktail from the contents of your family medicine cabinet, you know you've gone to a dark place. It hurts. I might live in the heart of the Bible Belt, but at least I know I have an extensive, compassionate support network of both family and friends to pull me out of such desperate thinking. These four boys might have lived longer, happier lives if their peers hadn't carelessly thrown around insults every day, pushing them deeper into despair. Many people who look down on suicide have posted hateful comments in response to these tragedies: They were selfish, How pathetic, They should have gotten over it. Do you want to know what's really pathetic to me? People who try to validate themselves by out-casting others are pathetic. The school administrations that stood by and did nothing while these children were being bullied are pathetic. The people who blame the victims are pathetic.
In response to the death of Billy Lucas, a YouTube channel was created to spread awareness of anti-gay bullying and give hope to those who have also found themselves at a similar low in life. The "It Gets Better Project" was started by Dan Savage and features video testimonials by gays from all walks of life. There are over 600 uploaded videos (possibly more) and the channel has been viewed over 1 million times.
Contemplating suicide is painful enough. When you're to the point that you're purposefully veering off the road or making a last goodbye cocktail from the contents of your family medicine cabinet, you know you've gone to a dark place. It hurts. I might live in the heart of the Bible Belt, but at least I know I have an extensive, compassionate support network of both family and friends to pull me out of such desperate thinking. These four boys might have lived longer, happier lives if their peers hadn't carelessly thrown around insults every day, pushing them deeper into despair. Many people who look down on suicide have posted hateful comments in response to these tragedies: They were selfish, How pathetic, They should have gotten over it. Do you want to know what's really pathetic to me? People who try to validate themselves by out-casting others are pathetic. The school administrations that stood by and did nothing while these children were being bullied are pathetic. The people who blame the victims are pathetic.
In response to the death of Billy Lucas, a YouTube channel was created to spread awareness of anti-gay bullying and give hope to those who have also found themselves at a similar low in life. The "It Gets Better Project" was started by Dan Savage and features video testimonials by gays from all walks of life. There are over 600 uploaded videos (possibly more) and the channel has been viewed over 1 million times.
"Billy Lucas was just 15 when he hanged himself in a barn on his grandmother's property. He reportedly endured intense bullying at the hands of his classmates—classmates who called him a fag and told him to kill himself. His mother found his body.... I wish I could have talked to this kid for five minutes. I wish I could have told Billy that it gets better. I wish I could have told him that, however bad things were, however isolated and alone he was, it gets better." -- Dan Savage
Talk-show host and comedian Ellen Degeneres is also joining the cause, along with many other celebrities - some of them gay, some of them not. She posted this video several days ago:
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Excellent topic. Thanks for video post.
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