Sadly, for Jamey, it didn't get better.
Jamey Rodemeyer took his life this past Sunday, his parents discovering his body after returning from a weekend camping trip.
Tracy Rodemeyer, Jamey's mother, says he was always taunted and teased and bullied because of his sexuality: "So he hung around with the girls a lot, so then the teasing started happening like 'Oh you're such a girl or you're gay or whatever and that bothered him for many years."
Jamey’s father Tim Rodemeyer said, "To the kids who are bullying they have to realize that words are very powerful and what you think is just fun and games isn't to some people, and you are destroying a lot of lives."
It isn't just a game. it isn't just kids being kids, because kids being kids doesn't usually end up with one of the kids taking his or her own life.
It has to stop. The kids who are being bullied need to stand up and speak up to their parents and teachers about what's being done to them "all in good fun." And parents need to take this seriously; your kids are literally being bullied to death. this is not a joke, or a rite of passage. Bullying = Death.
And the schools, all schools everywhere, need to adopt, and enforce, a Zero Tolerance Policy on bullying. You bully a student, you're suspense. Do it again, you're out.
This has to stop. How do we let a young man like this take his own life? Why do we let it happen?
If you know of someone who is being bullied, or if you are the victim of bullying, there are plenty of places to seek help:
USA National Suicide Prevention Hotline 24/7, Free & Confidential
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-273-Talk
1-800-SUICIDE
1-800-273-Talk
Stories like this are tragic. Laws like Seth's Law in California (http://wp.me/p1se8R-1oF) will help, but I think a large part of the blame lies with the parents of the bullies! Parents that are closely involved in their children's lives and supervise their studies and other activities know when their kids are being mean or not. Too many children today are parenting themselves and don't understand that their actions have consequences ... others are being raised by bullies! Children that are bullied must also be taught that there is help available ... and they MUST get it when they ask for it. This poor boy seemed to really have his act together - right up until the moment that he couldn't stand it any more. So sad.
ReplyDeleteI'm a firm believer that kids that bully learn it from their parents. By getting bullied themselves or learning that "might is right", they pick it up and pass it along to their generation and the ones after them. It's a never ending cycle.
ReplyDeletethis breaks my heart....
ReplyDeleteThis is. Heartbreaking. I would like to put this on my blog so many of my family members can read it, especially the idiots.
ReplyDeleteThis shouldn't be happening.
Tug
I'd rather live in a world were this wasn't happening at all, but we certainly don't live in that world. We live in a world full of hate. I'm rather glad we live in the digital age Bob. When we were younger just as many of us took our lives, but those events were kept secret and just not publicized. At least now people know. At least now millions of people see their faces, their photos, their profiles, their websites, their videos, and know their stories. At least we can acknowledge them, honor them, feel sorrow for the loss, and try to use that loss as energy to stop this all together.
ReplyDeleteThe schools in our area have had teachers workshops and student assemblies about bullying. But as many have pointed out here, I believe it starts with the parents, and I'm not sure there is much the schools can accomplish. I don't know what the solution is. It's heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteLove is the solution...all you need is love...the Beatles said it best....easier said than done:/
ReplyDelete