Asher Brown was a 13-year-old boy from Texas. Billy Lucas was a 15-year-old boy from Indiana. Seth Walsh, also a 13-year-old boy, was from Minnesota. Tyler Clementi was an 18-year-old boy from New Jersey. All of these young men are now dead. Why did this happen? They were all so young. These lives were ended early due to suicide, suicide that was brought upon by the endless teasing and bullying they received because these young men were gay.
On Oct. 20, individuals took promoting awareness of this issue to the next level. According to an Oct. 18 www.gayrights.change.org article, Canadian teenager Brittany McMillan asked individuals to wear purple in memory of those lost to suicide after being bullied for being gay. This idea was spread through Facebook groups and other social networking Web sites.
Southeastern liberal arts junior Mark Bryan took this issue into his own hands that very same day when he protested in the War Memorial Student Union in honor of all the gay individuals whose lives have been lost due to suicide. He carried signs saying “I’m gay, I wanted to die at age 13” and “Things got better.”
“I know a lot of gay people on campus, but not many of them would stand up and do this,” said Bryan. “These people deserve to have their voices heard, and that’s why I did this. To give them the respect they deserve.”
In September 2010, Dan Savage founded the “It Gets Better Project.” This is a program where lesbian, gays, transgender and bisexual (LGTB) youth can tell their stories and get support from those who love and support them.
The program’s pledge states, “Many LGBT youth can’t picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can’t imagine a future for themselves. So let’s show them what our lives are like. Let’s show them what the future may hold in store for them.”
This program is not only providing support and encouragement for the youth who are being bullied, but also providing the general public with information. Some of this information includes that these teens are two to three times more likely to be bullied than straight teens; nine out of 10 LGBT students have experienced bullying at school. One-third of LGBT youths have attempted suicide and are four times as likely to commit suicide than their straight friends.
It’s not only students and parents taking note of this problem. The United States’ very own president has made a video, available on the White House Web site, encouraging gay teens who are being bullied to stay strong in the face of hate.
“As a parent of two daughters, it breaks my heart,” said President Barack Obama. “It’s something that just shouldn’t happen in this country. It’s time for Americans to dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage, some inevitable part of growing up.”
During this video, the president also gave a heartfelt message to the youth who are being bullied.
“You are not alone,” said Obama. “You didn’t do anything wrong. You didn’t do anything to deserve being bullied. And there is a whole world waiting for you filled with possibilities. There are people out there who love and care about you just the way you are… and you need to know that things will get better.”
Variances in sexuality and in gender identification have existed for as long as humans have been around, and people have always had mixed opinions on it. Some believe it’s against what God intended, that man should be with woman, not another man. Others are perfectly fine with it and support the different lifestyle 100 percent. And then there’s the group that has no opinion whatsoever: “As long as you don’t hit on me, then I’m fine with it.” If only all individuals had the same mentality as the last example, maybe then these young people wouldn’t feel the need to end their life early.
In order to stop the bullying, actions need to take place. Programs need to be implemented not only into the schools, but in society as well. Some states have taken some kind of initiative to do this, but the nation needs to jump onboard as a whole. The nation’s youth needs to be educated on the fact that no matter what a person’s sexual preference may be, everyone deserves the same amount of love and respect. Hopefully then bullying will cease to exist and young lives will no longer be lost to suicide.