Jamey Rodemeyer, bullied teen who made ‘It Gets Better’ video, commits suicide

• Mrlucky77 wrote on 2011-09-22 16:35

  amey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old high school freshman in Buffalo, N.Y., was bullied. A lot. After years of being called gay slurs at school and being told by anonymous people online that he should die, he killed himself Monday.
  Jamey Rodemeyer. (YouTube.)
  
  Jamey’s mother, Tracy, told the Buffalo News that her son had questioned his sexuality and that his classmates began to tease and bully him. His parents were supportive of their son, and Jamey was seeing a social worker and a therapist. But that didn’t stop the bullying, and it didn’t ease Jamey’s pain, which spilled onto his Tumblr account.
  
  “No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you’re the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down,” he wrote on Sept. 8. He said the next day: “I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. ... What do I have to do so people will listen to me?”
  
  Despite their son’s numerous cries for help online, Jamey’s parents thought he was doing well. His father Tim told WGRZ that Jamey said that he was happy.
  
  Last May, Jamey told his friends that he was bisexual and created his own “It Gets Better” video. He thanked Lady Gaga for supporting the gay community and told the viewers, “Love yourself and you’re set.”
  
  Indeed, he received an outpouring of support online from Gaga’s fans, who call themselves “little monsters,” as well as from his friends.
  
  But others online did not embrace him. “JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!” an anonymous commenter said on Formspring. “I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!” said another.
  
  Columnist Dan Savage, who created the “It Gets Better” project, said on his blog that the people who bullied Jamey should be held accountable “for their actions, for their hate, for the harm they've caused.”
  
  “They should be asked if they’re “WAY more happier” now, if they’re pleased with themselves, and if they have anything to say to the mother of the child they succeeded in bullying to death,” he wrote.
  
  Teen suicide is not a new or uncommon problem. Of the more than 35,000 suicides reported in the United States in 2008, 4,513 of the cases were youths between the ages of 10 and 24, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
  
  Savage said the high number of teenagers who are gay, bisexual or transsexual who have taken their own lives prompted him to found “It Gets Better,” a platform where adults could tell bullied kids that someday their lives will be brighter. But, as he wrote on his blog, the negativity is sometimes louder than the love:
  
  “The point of the ‘It Gets Better’ project is to give kids like Jamey Rodemeyer hope for their futures. But sometimes hope isn't enough. Sometimes the damage done by hate and by haters is simply too great. Sometimes the future seems too remote. And those are the times our hearts break.”
  
  Watch Jamey’s “It Gets Better” message, and Jamey’s parents talk to WGRZ2, below.

  
  
  
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/blogpost/post/jamey-rodemeyer-bullied-teen-who-made-it-gets-better-video-commits-suicide/2011/09/21/gIQAVVzxkK_blog.html
• Cannibal wrote on 2011-09-22 16:37
  That's sad... I will never understand how someone could hate or bash someone for something they can't help or change.
• Cynic wrote on 2011-09-22 16:40
  And people wonder why I loathe most of humanity these days. Someone should hand them all knives and see what they do; or better yet, off them themselves.
  Wish I could.
• Kollin wrote on 2011-09-22 16:41

  Quote from Nexon;595326:

  That's sad... I will never understand how someone could hate or bash someone for something they can't help or change.

  
  
  thats because the human race is a very sad existence.
• Strawberry wrote on 2011-09-22 16:46
  Bashing at someone for who they are? That is just extremely low. At least their parents understood his sexuality, but assuming he was always happy? I don't think parents should be careless with their child like that. Even if they are getting older and don't like to be bugged more often, parents should still check in daily to see how they're actually doing.
  
  Seeing as their parents thought he was happy, did they know what was happening to him online? It didn't feel like they thought so, and if they did know, they would've probably been by their child's side more often when needed. He was just entering a new high school too, so it's pretty sad and harmful what people can do to influence the bullying.
  
  Bullies are not new or anything, but to the point that it gets out of control, it doesn't help much if he doesn't ask for help if bullies come along. It's not even the point that they are even "chicken" or "you gonna cry to your mommy?" thing that most people taunt their victims with.
  Letting others put you down is a terrible thing, but if you completely believe the things they say, then it's really your own fault. And if you're being bullied and don't ask anyone to help, then it is also your own fault.
  
  Lowest of the low, just pushing someone towards the brim of suicide.
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-09-22 16:47
  People need to man up. :|
• Bride wrote on 2011-09-22 16:48
  poor boy :( i wasn't bullied to such a far extent so i can't relate to what he went through, but the fact kids can be so cruel is repulsive
  i hope eventually they realize what they've done, and hold that guilt/regret with them the rest of their lives. i think they deserve it
• cupid wrote on 2011-09-22 16:58
  It Get's Better is kind of hard to accept. In the sense that: you have to toughen up now and bear through it because it's not great now, but it'll get better in the future. Meaning that you can't do anything now to make the pain go away except wait. :(
• Chockeh wrote on 2011-09-22 16:59
  I hope that those kids live their life in regret.
• Claudia wrote on 2011-09-22 17:01
  People are so despicable.
• MareneCorp wrote on 2011-09-22 17:03
  People are really stupid. Just because someone is bisexual or gay doesn't make them any different -_- I really hope this species can learn, and if not, go extinct like all the other animals we have been careless with. People that think it's unnatural? Well, I think we have a whole bunch of weapons to fight against that.
• Kollin wrote on 2011-09-22 17:05

  Quote from MareneCorp;595443:

  People are really stupid. Just because someone is bisexual or gay doesn't make them any different -_- [UB]I really hope this species can learn,[/UB] and if not, go extinct like all the other animals we have been careless with. People that think it's unnatural? Well, I think we have a whole bunch of weapons to fight against that.

  
  
  chances are humans wont, at least not anytime soon. we have existed how long on this earth? we have made little to no improvement. (im not speaking technological advancement).
• Cynic wrote on 2011-09-22 17:08

  Quote from MareneCorp;595443:

  People are really stupid. Just because someone is bisexual or gay doesn't make them any different -_- I really hope this species can learn, and if not, go extinct like all the other animals we have been careless with. People that think it's unnatural? Well, I think we have a whole bunch of weapons to fight against that.

  
  
  +1 to you my good sir.
  
  We have made various advances in technology, science and health.. and yet, the vast majority of us are still Neanderthals who think they're all that and a bag of chips. Even animals discriminate less than us, yet we still seem to assume we're better 'cause we can walk, talk and eat with a fork.
  
  Really. I don't know how some people live with their disgusting selves.
• Hiccup wrote on 2011-09-22 21:59
  Humans learn from their mistakes but it takes way to long. Vast majority are way to ignorant and follow mob mentality rather then lead with their own thoughts.
  
  >Woman Rights
  >African American Rights
  > LBGT Rights
  
  Just another stage in social reform. While a majority of adults actually do not care what kind of lifestyle LGBT people live, the religious, the old farts who won't change their ways of thinking, and the incredibly homophobic are the only ones left fighting a losing battle; against LGBT lifestyles. Kids are mean. Everybody knows this, the tiniest "flaw" or slightest "imperfection" can lead to immense bullying. Once it starts it takes a whole ****ing lot to stop it.
  
  I lived through it. I know what it's like. Experiencing the "It Get's Better" part everyday.
• Chillax wrote on 2011-09-22 22:06
  It's a pity he didn't even believe the own video he made.