Just thought I'd share this ....02:11 Oct 02 2010
Times Read: 741
Seth Walsh died Monday afternoon after eight days on life support. The 13-year-old from Tehachapi in Kern County, California, hung himself from a tree in his family’s back yard on Sept. 19 in a suicide attempt.
"He was different. He knew he was different," Seth's mother, Judy Walsh, told the Tehachapi News. "He was a very loving boy, very kind. He had a beautiful smile. He liked fashion, his friends, talking on the phone. He was artistic and very bright."
At Jacobsen Middle School, however, Seth was cruelly treated by students who taunted and bullied him over the perception that he might be gay. Some told him that he was worthless, that he should go kill himself and get it over with.
On the East Coast, a freshman at Rutgers University in New Jersey jumped off the George Washington Bridge last week after his dorm roommate and another student hid a webcam in his room and broadcast a live video of him having sex with another man.
Tyler Clementi, 18, of Ridgewood, N.J., was apparently outed as a result of the illegal broadcast, according to various media sources.
Two 18-year-old college students were charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy.
"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician. The family is heartbroken beyond words. They respectfully request that they be given time to grieve their great loss and that their privacy at this painful time be respected by all," Clementi’s family said in a statement.
"The family and their representatives are cooperating fully with the ongoing criminal investigations of two Rutgers University students."
Down in the Houston area, Asher Brown killed himself with his stepfather’s handgun last week after enduring relentless bullying and taunting at school.
A small boy for his age, the 13-year-old was picked on by bigger kids, humiliated over the way he dressed, and scorned for his religious beliefs and sexual orientation.
Asher told his family that he was gay on the day he committed suicide, and they told a local newspaper that they told him that they were OK with that. "We didn't condemn," David Truong, Asher’s stepfather, told the Houston Chronicle.
Amy Truong, Asher’s mother, had a bitter message to the bullies: "I hope you're happy with what you've done. I hope you got what you wanted and you're just real satisfied with yourself."
In the Midwest, two more teens killed themselves after gay taunts and bullying.
On Sept. 9 in Indiana, Billy Lucas hanged himself from the rafters of his family’s barn. The 15-year-old had been suspended from school earlier that day for swearing at a group of girls who were bullying him in class.
Friends told the local TV station that Billy was constantly called gay and other slurs, and like in the case of Seth, was told to kill himself.
In July, Justin Aaberg of Anoka, Minn., killed himself. He was 15.
During an an earlier attempt at suicide in January, Justin had stabbed himself in the stomach with a pocketknife and survived. Justin had come out to his parents and had begun dating boys.
"We loved and supported our son very much," Tammy Aaberg told the St. Paul Pioneer-Press. But students at Anoka High School were vicious, verbally torturing him and harassing him.
The common thread in these heart-wrenching stories? The schools failed their most vulnerable students.
These tragedies are just the tip of the iceberg.
Discrimination, ignorance, intolerance, hate, homophobia, harassment and bullying greet young people when they come out. Many feel alone and helpless – and have few resources to reach out for help.
LGBT students are FOUR TIMES more likely to kill themselves than the rest of the population, statistics show.
That horrific figure grows to NINE TIMES the rest of the population when LGBT students are rejected or disowned by their families and/or kicked out of their homes.
Meanwhile, Congress is considering the Safe Schools Improvement Act of 2010, which would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act to include bullying and harassment prevention programs.
The bill, S.3739, was introduced in the Senate on Aug. 5.
As usual, politics are at play during an election year. Right-wing conservatives claim the bill is part of the gay agenda and are relentlessly fighting against its passage.
Something must be done. How many LGBT kids have to die before Congress takes action?
Call, write or e-mail your U.S. senators and congress members and urge passage of the bill in Congress.
In California, the Mental Health Services for At-Risk Youth Act (SB 543) would expand access to essential mental health services, especially prevention and early intervention programs, for youths ages 12-17 by allowing them to obtain counseling without parental consent. The bill is currently on the governor’s desk. SB 543 was introduced by Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, and is co-sponsored by Equality California, the National Association of Social Workers California Chapter, Mental Health America of Northern California, and the GSA network.
Call, write or e-mail Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and demand that he sign the bill. [Editor's note: The governor signed the bill late Thursday.]
Capitol Office
Phone: (916) 445.2841
Fresno Office
Phone: (559) 477-1804
Los Angeles Office
Phone: (213) 897-0322
Riverside Office
Phone: (951) 680-6860
San Diego Office
Phone: (619) 525-4641
San Francisco Office
Phone: (415) 703-2218
If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, please attend the rally against youth suicide on Friday, Oct. 8. More details are available at the GSA network.
Also, consider making a donation to The Trevor Lifeline -- (866) 488-7386 – that provides valuable services to suicidal teens. Visit www.thetrevorproject.org.
COMMENTS
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jesse
02:46 Oct 02 2010
it a sad day when a child want to be dead so strongly he will take his own life, why peoples so cold an harsh just because somebody be different then they? who the real losers? the ones that be different or the ones that hurt an punish somebody for bein different? how awsome it would be if all the "different" people only knew how special they really be....proud to be "different" :( RIP, may angels be holdin u close
KarminaTheDarkAngel
03:48 Oct 02 2010
Too bad they didnt have the angels here to hold them ... I am thankful everyday for mine ...
hannahrose
18:43 Dec 23 2010
YOU SAY ANYTHING CRUEL OR NEGATIVE TO SOMEONE..ONCE YOU SAY IT YOU CANT TAKE IT BACK AND THERE IS ENOUGH CRUELTY IN THIS WORLD ALREADY...WORDS ARE SO POWERFUL...PLUS ALL OF US DEEP DOWN WANT TO BE ACCEPTED AND LOVED IF WE ARE TRULY HONEST WITH OURSELVES....