Here is the problem with the media and their slanted bias. Where is the evidence of bullying? Young people get bullied all the time, and I have no doubt that this kid experienced some level of teasing, but for some reason some people have thick enough skin to move on. With the amount of online exposure this story has gotten, one would expect there to of been some kind of exposure over who was bullying this kid. Why wasn't there? Perhaps because this kid had other issues... or perhaps because it was because this kid was bullying back in other ways and just did not have the strength to stand up. The problem here is when it gets emotional and people stop looking for the truth and are just looking to push an agenda that is hostile... usually to straight men. Further... he says he didn't have any male friends. Perhaps it wasn't the men who were teasing him. Perhaps they were trying to avoid him because they didn't want to go into his sexual sphere. Perhaps the teasing came from the women in his life? But the straight men will be the ones they will blame. There is no evidence yet of anything, but people jump to conclusions. If a boy were straight think about it from his position for a second... Boys and girls have a tendency to stick to their own gender because it is stressful to deal with sexual complications and go about daily routine. If a boy were gay then the other boys would avoid him, not because they hate him, but because it is a situation that makes life a lot harder for them. So this boy was probably surrounded by girls... who did not treat him as one of their own. How can we expect people to get along if we can't say the way it really is? It is less likely that this boy was teased by the boys around him, but rather he was probably teased by girls his own age... and yet the police will probably be looking for men (can you blame the straight males for trying to avoid that?)
( Libra Bunda ) Jamey Rodemeyer became the latest in a string of suicides by young Americans who had been abused or ridiculed because of their sexuality, in several cases over the internet. In May, he recorded a video message for the "It Gets Better" campaign, through which young gay people, along with celebrities and national figures such as Barack Obama, try to encourage each other to remain hopeful through difficult experiences. "People would just keep sending me hate, telling me that gay people go to hell," he said in the recording, which was posted to YouTube. Jamey, who had just began high school, received support from his parents, Tracy and Tim Rodemeyer, and went through counselling. Recently "he was saying how great school was going, how happy he was, his grades were great," his father told local television reporters. But in retrospect, Mr Rodemeyer said, "he fooled everybody. He put on a brave face and I wish he wouldn't have." » | Jon Swaine, New York | Wednesday, September 21, 2011
( ABC )"The special victims unit is looking into the circumstances prior to his
death," Captain Michael Camilleri said. "We are not sure if there is
anything criminal or not."
No bullying laws exist in New York State, according to Camilleri, so police would have to determine whether aggravated harassment charges fit this case. Whether suspects would be tried in juvenile court would depend on whether the alleged bully was 16 or older, he said.
No bullying laws exist in New York State, according to Camilleri, so police would have to determine whether aggravated harassment charges fit this case. Whether suspects would be tried in juvenile court would depend on whether the alleged bully was 16 or older, he said.
...you just knew they needed an excuse to limit the constitution in a Blue State and take our rights to free expression away
Police said they had spoken with Williamsville School Superintendent
Scott G. Martzloff, who has pledged the district's cooperation.
"We've heard that there were some specific students, an identifiable group of students, that had specifically targeted Jamey, or had been picking on him for a period of time," Police Chief John C. Askey told the Buffalo News.
Jamey sent out many signals on social networking sites that he was struggling with his sexuality, even though he encouraged others on the It Gets Better project websiteYouTube to fight off the bullies.
He killed himself this weekend after posting an online farewell.
Lady Gaga weighed in on the situation via twitter: "Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime," she tweeted.
"I am meeting with our President. I will not stop fighting. This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey," the singer posted to twitter last night.
Students had been posting hate comments with gay references on his Formspring account, a website that allows anonymous posts.
"We've heard that there were some specific students, an identifiable group of students, that had specifically targeted Jamey, or had been picking on him for a period of time," Police Chief John C. Askey told the Buffalo News.
Jamey sent out many signals on social networking sites that he was struggling with his sexuality, even though he encouraged others on the It Gets Better project websiteYouTube to fight off the bullies.
He killed himself this weekend after posting an online farewell.
Lady Gaga weighed in on the situation via twitter: "Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime," she tweeted.
"I am meeting with our President. I will not stop fighting. This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey," the singer posted to twitter last night.
Students had been posting hate comments with gay references on his Formspring account, a website that allows anonymous posts.
"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!"
...ok... so who said it? Probably the other nerdy kid who was being bullied. start your panic now!
Friends reported the bullying to guidance counselors. But everyone, including his mother, thought he had grown stronger.
His 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.
Speaking at the second annual Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit were the parents of Justin Aaberg, a gay 15-year-old from Champlain, Minn., who hanged himself after being bullied. The parents, Tammy and Shawn Aaberg, said that one form of the bullying came from a student religious group whose members told Justin that he was going to hell because he was gay.
"Justin was a smiley, happy boy who loved to play his cello," said his parents. "School systems need to do more to protect LGBT students from bullying, and not turn their back on them because of their sexual orientation."
Rodemeyer's suicide also sets off a somber beginning to LGBT History Month in October.
"Jamey's suicide is a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of gay teens," said Malcolm Lazin, founder and executive director of the Equality Forum, which focuses on LGBT civil rights and education.
"They are bullied and marginalized," he said. "While some may say that Jamey took his life, it is unrelenting homophobia that murdered him."
Jamey's mother, Tracy Rodemeyer, who did not return calls from ABCNews.com, told the Buffalo News that her son had been questioning his sexuality and had expressed thoughts of suicide, but had also been encouraged by good friends and was a "happy" and "strong" teen.
Friends described him as caring and friendly, and he had been seeking help from a social worker and therapist.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 28 percent of students aged 12 to 18 reported that they were bullied in school during the 2008-2009 school year. Bullying also slows down as children get older from a high of 39 percent of all sixth graders to 20 percent of high school seniors.
The most overwhelming form of bullying is done through ridicule, insult and rumors, rather than physical aggression, according to the report.
The rate of victimization among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students has remained constant between 1999 and 2009, the latest date for which there are statistics, according to the National Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
Parents and educators say they face significant challenges in stemming LGBT bullying, particularly at schools where there are fewer resources and support groups such as gay-straight alliances.
"We have seen some positive signs in available resources and supportive educators and society is moving in a good direction," GLSEN spokesman Daryl Presgraves said. "But it's still very difficult to be an LGBT youth in school."
In May, after coming out to friends, Jamey posted a YouTube video on the new online site, It Gets Better Project, which provides testimony from adults and celebrities to reassure troubled and potentially suicidal LGBT youth that life improves as they get older.
He wrote: "Love yourself and you're set. ... I promise you, it will get better."
Jamey's school counselors had advised him not to go on social media sites to talk about his sexuality, according to the Buffalo News.
Some parents urge others to monitor their children's social networking accounts. And school principals such as Anthony Orsi of Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, N.J., have urged middle-school parents to outright ban the use of social networking to prevent cyberbullying.
Social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook have made it easier for bullies to target their victims, but at the same time they are sometimes the only venue for talking about their pain.
"It's a very challenging time for parents and for youth," Presgraves of GLSEN said. "You have a scenario where for a lot of youth, it's the only support to go online and seek peers to give them support and to feel connected to a community. At the same time, they expose themselves to negative cyberbullying."
It is almost like this story was pre-written before the suicide by activists with an agenda. So what happens now? They arrest by IP address and demonize some poor nerd who was trying to impress a bunch of Heathers and Jocks... it destroys his life. Then they destroy the arresting detective's life... and in the end the real bullies move on and go to the Ivy League. The former bullies in ten years will become your snarky social workers, activists, therapists and progressive journalists that push an agenda that is contrary to their own actions. All the elitist pricks get to feel a moment of guilt... that makes their meaningless life have some kind of meaning. The gay kid is still dead... and the nerdy kid who left a stupid comment has his life destroyed. The police officer who makes the arrest ends up self destructing... will it actually happen that way? I don't know... but I've seen it play out that way before. Point is that we should be encouraging people to prevent this blame game and demonization... and what we really do is continue the cycle. Meanwhile in NY our freedoms are slowly eroding because people don't know how to deal with this kind of thing. Everybody wants to catch the bad guy.
His 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.
Speaking at the second annual Federal Partners in Bullying Prevention Summit were the parents of Justin Aaberg, a gay 15-year-old from Champlain, Minn., who hanged himself after being bullied. The parents, Tammy and Shawn Aaberg, said that one form of the bullying came from a student religious group whose members told Justin that he was going to hell because he was gay.
"Justin was a smiley, happy boy who loved to play his cello," said his parents. "School systems need to do more to protect LGBT students from bullying, and not turn their back on them because of their sexual orientation."
Rodemeyer's suicide also sets off a somber beginning to LGBT History Month in October.
"Jamey's suicide is a tragic reminder of the vulnerability of gay teens," said Malcolm Lazin, founder and executive director of the Equality Forum, which focuses on LGBT civil rights and education.
"They are bullied and marginalized," he said. "While some may say that Jamey took his life, it is unrelenting homophobia that murdered him."
Jamey's mother, Tracy Rodemeyer, who did not return calls from ABCNews.com, told the Buffalo News that her son had been questioning his sexuality and had expressed thoughts of suicide, but had also been encouraged by good friends and was a "happy" and "strong" teen.
Friends described him as caring and friendly, and he had been seeking help from a social worker and therapist.
According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, 28 percent of students aged 12 to 18 reported that they were bullied in school during the 2008-2009 school year. Bullying also slows down as children get older from a high of 39 percent of all sixth graders to 20 percent of high school seniors.
The most overwhelming form of bullying is done through ridicule, insult and rumors, rather than physical aggression, according to the report.
The rate of victimization among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students has remained constant between 1999 and 2009, the latest date for which there are statistics, according to the National Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).
Parents and educators say they face significant challenges in stemming LGBT bullying, particularly at schools where there are fewer resources and support groups such as gay-straight alliances.
"We have seen some positive signs in available resources and supportive educators and society is moving in a good direction," GLSEN spokesman Daryl Presgraves said. "But it's still very difficult to be an LGBT youth in school."
In May, after coming out to friends, Jamey posted a YouTube video on the new online site, It Gets Better Project, which provides testimony from adults and celebrities to reassure troubled and potentially suicidal LGBT youth that life improves as they get older.
He wrote: "Love yourself and you're set. ... I promise you, it will get better."
Jamey's school counselors had advised him not to go on social media sites to talk about his sexuality, according to the Buffalo News.
Some parents urge others to monitor their children's social networking accounts. And school principals such as Anthony Orsi of Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, N.J., have urged middle-school parents to outright ban the use of social networking to prevent cyberbullying.
Social media sites such as YouTube and Facebook have made it easier for bullies to target their victims, but at the same time they are sometimes the only venue for talking about their pain.
"It's a very challenging time for parents and for youth," Presgraves of GLSEN said. "You have a scenario where for a lot of youth, it's the only support to go online and seek peers to give them support and to feel connected to a community. At the same time, they expose themselves to negative cyberbullying."
