Learning to respect our LGBT peers
On Oct. 20, people around the world wore the color purple in an attempt to “erase the hate.” The main objective of this day was to show support for people of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender sexualities and honor the memories of several teenagers who committed suicide recently after being bullied for their sexual orientation.
Sept. 9: Billy Lucas, 15, hanged himself in his family’s barn.
Sept 19: Seth Walsh, 13, hanged himself on a tree in his backyard. He was rushed to the hospital after he was discovered and died nine days later, having survived that long only on life support.
Sept. 22: Tyler Clementi, 18, a student at Rutgers University, jumped off a bridge after what was reported as a secretly filmed “sexual encounter” in his dorm room was posted on the Internet. He posted his goodbye message to family and friends on his Facebook page. It read “Jumping off the gw bridge sorry.”
Sept. 23: Asher Brown, 13, shot himself in his stepfather’s closet after being bullied for two years.
Sept. 29: Raymond Chase, 19, an openly gay student at Johnson & Wales University in Providence, R.I., hanged himself.
Oct. 5: Zach Harrington, 19, killed himself a week after a town hall meeting. The committee members refused to recognize October as LGBT History Month in the city and participated in alleged “hateful” discussion.
Six teenagers, aged 13-19, killed themselves within a month’s time because they had been bullied for their sexual orientation. This is a serious, sickening issue that needs to be stopped now.
Bullying has consistently been an issue in the United States. Growing up, children are taught about bullies—how to recognize them and how to react. We were taught to report it to a teacher, principal or parent if we were ever bullied. We were not taught, however, what to do when those authorities, given the responsibility to protect us, do not take action.
That is one of the problems parents of the deceased teens stressed about the bullying. The people within the school system knew about the bullying, yet no one did anything to stop it.
These parents blamed the school systems for not taking action, yet there is another important issue at hand. Not once in my research did I find a case where the bullies themselves were blamed.
Why not? These bullies abused their peers. They call their victims nasty, derogatory names. The victims are taunted every single day.
Some bullies physically abuse their victims. This was the case with Brown, who was pushed down a flight of stairs on more than one occasion.
Bullies are one of the main reasons that these teenagers have grown to hate their lives so much. Bullies inflict so much emotional and physical pain that their victims feel there is no other way to escape the pain than to end their own lives. These cruel bullies are, essentially, the reason these teens killed themselves.
Something is seriously wrong with this world if people are actually driven to kill themselves because their peers consistently taunt and harass them. Why are we so closed-minded? One of the most disturbing things about this is the number of Christians who are not accepting to these people. Gays are people, just as heterosexuals are. There are no statistics or characteristics that make one better than another. We are all human, therefore all equals.
Christians may argue that God intended marriage to be for a man and woman together, but He also commanded we love our neighbors. He commanded we should not judge, but accept everyone as they are, that He was to be the judge. God loves all His children equally.But just because Christians may believe God meant marriage to be between a man and woman does not mean it should be so in the U.S., where people practice many different religions.
It is surprising there are still laws against gay marriage in the U.S. Our country operates on the principle of “separation of church and state.” How is it, then, that the state dictates who the church can or cannot marry? It should be the decision of the church whether or not it decides to marry a gay couple.
If I can say these things wholeheartedly as a heterosexual Catholic-Christian then it should be possible for anyone to feel this way.
Open your hearts. Learn to accept everyone for who they really are. There are some really great people out there to meet, just as long as they are given a chance.
Don’t let it take another teen suicide to change your mind.
