Marion Pellicano Ambrose
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Once again, bullying takes a life! 14 year old Jamey Rodemeyer committed suicide on September 18th. Jamey had been bullied for years because of his sexuality, but family and friends felt he was handling it extremely well. Jamey had posted his own “It Gets Better” video on YouTube quoting Lady Gaga and trying to encourage other bullied kids that they can get past the cruelty of others. Jamey started high school three weeks ago in Williamsville, NY, and apparently the bullying grew to the point where even this positive, forward looking teen could no longer stand the cruelty and indifference to his suffering. Look at just one of the many posts this young man was subjected to every day:
"JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND [sic] UGLY. HE MUST DIE!" one post said, according to local reports. Another read, "I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!"
Jamey, who was an avid Lady Gaga fan, had a collage of himself at different ages with Lady Gaga in the background. He quoted her on his “It Gets Better” video and even wrote the lyrics to one of her songs on his Facebook page the weekend he committed suicide. “Don’t forget me when I come crying to heaven’s door”.
Lady Gaga posted on Twitter and called for everyone to rally and bring an end to bullying . She wrote:
“The past days I’ve spent reflecting, crying, and yelling. I have so much anger, It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someone’s life. Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 yrs old, took his life because of bullying. Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime."
Lady Gaga announced that she will be meeting with President Obama to discuss the problem stating that she will not stop fighting and that this generation has the power to end bullying. Lady Gaga herself had been a victim of bullying as a child and has been a strong advocate for the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender community.
"It didn't sink in with me how bullying affected me until later in my life. I knew that it affected me deeply but it wasn't until a little bit later that I realized how much it affect me and how much it was still very present," she said.
According to Tracy Rodemeyer, Jamey’s mom, Jamey will be buried Saturday in a Lady Gaga t-shirt which says: “Born This Way”.
Oddly enough, Jamey’s death coincides with a national summit this week sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education in Washington, D.C., an effort to stem the toll of bullying school children. Let’s hope and pray that the politicians, teachers, psychologists, and families present will work to end this practice and MAKE BULLYING A CRIME!
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it gets me so angry that this happens. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!!!
ReplyDeleteOMG!!!! We have issues up here too.. parents need to wake up and start looking at how their kids act and nip it in the bud before another life is gone.. so sad :(
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