Gay teen suicides: The bullying epidemic

There is no specific cure for bullying.

There is no prescription for bigotry, and there is no pill for intolerance. There is no all-encompassing first aid kit to console those who suffer quietly. However, something that we can offer, in short, is our voice.

In response to the recent suicides of teenagers who were harassed and bullied in their schools due to sexual orientation, outpourings from people have risen to the occasion to make sure that the devastation of these deaths are not unheard.

A billboard was put up to create awareness in Greensburg, Ind. The parents of Seth Walsh are working for an anti-bullying campaign in Tehachapi, Calif.  Dan Savage has initiated a YouTube channel in which hundreds are uploading videos just to offer comfort to those who struggle, boldly saying, “it gets better.”

It is fair to say that in response to a crisis, only a small portion of people will have the mentality to take such public action. To ask everyone to make a poster or start an organization would simply be irrational, but there is a tendency for people to tell themselves that someone else will fix it. But the time for excuses has long passed.

We can make a difference by simply caring. Remarkably, this is more difficult for people to do than it should be. Caring, to some extent, has become unpopular. Open-mindedness is more cumbersome a task than it has ever been, and acceptance is undervalued.

It is easier for us to shake off someone’s right to be in a relationship with whomever they want. Rather than reaching a hand out, we shrug away sexual fluidity or even mock it. Whether this is preaching to the choir or right-on-target, we ask: In a world of so much hatred and conflict, fighting and loss, what sense is there in rejecting something that is, when it comes down to it, simply love?

What we ask is that you exercise your basic human emotions. To care about others is to care about yourself, and going out of your way to be more sensitive will give aid in ways you probably won’t even see.

Tyler Clementi jumped off a bridge just a day after he was humiliated on the internet. If he had someone to share his pain with, or if someone could have talked to him for just five minutes, he may have changed his mind.

It is our job, as humans, to fulfill that role for another person. Being there for someone who is in pain can have a greater effect than any poster or support group. The ability to hold someone when they feel sad or alone is an ability we are blessed with. We cannot decline this ability because of pride or nonchalance.

By being aware of everyone’s right to be as open with themselves as they can be, a silver lining can come out of these tragedies. Through courage and voice in protecting those who might be undergoing hardship, a movement can be made for future generations to be less afraid. Harvey Milk, politician and firm believer in standing for truth, once said something to that effect.

“Hope will never be silent.”  


E-mail: ftirado@indiana.edu