I expect simple behaviours here. Friendship, and love. Any advice should be from the perspective of the person asking, not the person giving! We have had to make new membership moderated to combat the huge number of spammers who register
Location: US/Canada
Registered: September 2009
Messages: 733
From the Buffalo News.com's Sandra Tan:
Jamey Rodemeyer needed help. At 14, he was grappling with adolescent demons that could torment grown men. And when he was online, he wrote about it. "I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens," he wrote Sept. 9. "What do I have to do so people will listen to me?" Just over one week later, Jamey was found dead outside his home of an apparent suicide. In the months prior, he routinely blogged about school bullying and thoughts of suicide in between upbeat posts about his pop star idol Lady Gaga and the ordinary types of teen rants typical for kids his age. On Sept. 8, he wrote: "No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you're the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down."
Joe Jervis, (Joe.My.God blogspot) writes:
Heartbroken Buffalo parents Tracy and Tim Rodemeyer say they found their 14 year-old son Jamey dead yesterday morning in a presumed suicide. Jamey had long complained of vicious homophobic bullying at the hands of his classmates.
Much of Jamey's tormenting came via cyber-bullying. His parents, who say they discussed and supported Jamey's questioning of his sexuality, intend to carry on his campaign against bullies.
VIDEO: Jamey actually recorded an "It Get Better" clip back in May.
The things that were said to Jamey are contemptable and qualify as hate speech. But I was further disturbed by the commentary following the article, you know the type: Gays are to blame for these suicides because we are all athiests who shun salvation.
What sick little minds come to such conclusions? I'm all for freedom of speech, but people under the age of 18 don't seem to understand how to use it. They don't vote, let's kick them off the internet social sites. Or at least let us tag all commentary with a code to identify the user and prosecute them when they use hate speech.
That would be a wake up call. Instead of reading sad headlines about gay teen suicide we would be reading about young haters being locked up for contributing to the deaths. How far should we go to preserve a life? I don't think we can go far enough.
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
Location: New Zealand
Registered: August 2009
Messages: 317
Thanks Chris. Once again you express it better than i could.'How sad...how senseless. How sorry I feel for Jamey's parents.' It'd be just horrific for them & the poor kid!
Just one thing i'd add, about the under 18's not understanding how to use freedom of speech - they certainly don't, especially on the internet. Pity they can't be kicked off the social sites, they can be vicious on there. I see young teens on Facebook all the time hating on each other and these are their "friends"!
The victim doesn't have to be gay, any difference will do and they're into him, or her, like chooks ripping into the one at the bottom of the pecking order. Probably makes them feel better about themselves or something.
I know a local 14yo who was being bullied on Facebook, they even set up a 'Hate C***' page. It was not because he's gay, (though he probably is), but just because they decided that he's an internet-addict and on-line all the time.
He came home from school crying and his mum found him in his room with a handful of pills - probably not enough to kill him but the intention was there. Everything is all so dramatic at that age.
I've promised him a good arse-kicking if he does that again. He thinks i'm kidding - i'm not!
cheers
Commas matter - 'Party on Dudes' is not the same as 'Party on, Dudes'
Location: the burning former USofA
Registered: July 2010
Messages: 399
I've thought before that I'm glad that there was no internet when I was a teen. It was bad enough dealing with that crap at school, if I had to do it at home too . . .
Then again, there's help on the net, too. Makes me wish I could start a place where EVERY tormented gay/lesbian could get real support and help, and we could prevent this kind of thing.
Location: U.S.
Registered: November 2009
Messages: 630
I am too old to appreciate what Lady GaGa has to offer the music world, but she has millions of fans and one of them was Jamey Rodemeyer.
After seeing this I think his idol is one classy lady. Perhaps with her vast resources she can reach the minds of the young generation responsible for the hatred aimed at young LBGT kids.
I won't buy her albums, but I will pay more attention to her class act!
Age appears to be best in four things; old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. (Sir Francis Bacon 1561-1626)
I just hope it doesn't backfire and inspire some other tortured kid to seek 15 minutes of fame too. That happens - a coroner here, against normal policy, released details of a teen boy's suicide (other issues - he was not gay). The thinking was that it might deter others from doing the same. Within 24 hours another 16yo boy in very similar circumstances disappeared and still hasn't been found 4 days later.
Commas matter - 'Party on Dudes' is not the same as 'Party on, Dudes'
Location: U.S.
Registered: August 2003
Messages: 565
"Even after a teen-ager tragically committed suicide in suburban Buffalo this month in the wake of constant harassment, the bullying allegedly did not stop with his death.
The parents of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, who was found dead at their home on Sept. 18, indicated in an exclusive interview with TODAY’s Ann Curry on Tuesday that their daughter endured further taunts at a school function immediately after Jamey’s wake. At a homecoming dance she attended shortly after her brother’s death, a potentially poignant moment turned ugly after a song by Lady Gaga, Jamey’s favorite artist, who recently dedicated a song at a concert in his memory.
“She was having a great time, and all of a sudden a Lady Gaga song came on, and they all started chanting for Jamey, all of his friends,’’ Jamey’s mother, Tracy, told Curry. “Then the bullies that put him into this situation started chanting, ‘You’re better off dead!’ and ‘We’re glad you’re dead!’ and things like that."
] 
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Buffalo Teen Kills Himself After Years Of Anti-Gay Bullying 
