Gay bullying has claimed another victim -- a Buffalo, New York teenager has killed himself after absorbing years of taunts because of his sexual orientation. It appears Jamey Rodemeyer was giving hints that he would commit suicide, but nothing was done to stop him.
The body of the 14-year-old was found dead outside his house on Sunday. It is not clear exactly how he died, but police are calling it an apparent suicide.
However there were clues Jamey was headed down this road. He had two blogs on which he wrote about being taunted at school, but this only lead to more bullying -- cyberbullying this time. People responded to his posts with such comments as:
JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!
And
I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!
On September 9 Jamey wrote:
I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. What do I have to do so people will listen to me?
He also reminded people that it was National Suicide Prevention Week:
No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you're the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down.
On Saturday night he posted a lyric from a Lady Gaga song on his Facebook page:
Don't forget me when I come crying to heaven's door.
Early Sunday morning he left two final messages on one of his blogs -- saying he was looking forward to seeing his recently deceased great-grandmother, and thanking Lady Gaga in a tribute to her.
And then he was gone.
His mother he had been dealing with bullying since the fifth grade, but he seemed better about it recently.
"He used to cry about the taunts from his peers but they didn't seem to phase him this time," Tracy Rodemeyer told the Buffalo News. "Lately, he's been blowing them off, or at least we thought he was."
In May Jamey posted one of those "It gets better" videos on Youtube:
Watching his video was hard. It's unnecessary to say things to people like this. It's terrible that people go out of their way to be pricks for no other reason but because they themselves should be removed from this planet. If they were, no one would miss them. People miss Jamey. No one would miss the bullies. Ever.
People demand freedom of speech to make up for the freedom of thought which they avoid. - Soren Aabye Kierkegaard (1813-1855)
I think the IP addresses should be copied and the people telling this little guy to commit suicide and urging him to should be charged with Murder in the 2nd Degree, Involuntary Manslaughter. I was bullied in High School and nearly committed suicide too. I overdosed on diuretics, my heart stopped, and I was rescucitated. To all the angels who couldn't be revived Rest In Peace. This is sad and tragic and this has got to end. Bullies have low self esteem and they need someone to pick on to make themselves feel better. If I were a mom of a bullied child I would enroll him/her in self defense and make them kick some ass. This is sad and unfair. This poor baby only lived 14 years and he was so smart and handsome. I'm outraged!!!