Bullying, its place in politics

Jamey Rodemeyer’s tragic passing has reverberated through the nation as swiftly as the suicides from last fall, which left a mark on the nation’s awareness about bullying of kids and adolescents.

With Rodemeyer, who committed suicide a week ago Sunday, the nation is reminded that despite movements such as It Gets Better or the Trevor Project, bullying still persists in schools, whether we’re fighting against it or not.

Rodemeyer himself actually posted to the It Gets Better video project at a point before his suicide, and despite his confidence and contribution to a rising cause, he is not with us today.

This story has left me conflicted. It is not particularly profound for myself or anyone else to say, “Oh, this is tragic,” or “Bullying is wrong and must be stopped.”

It was, of all people, Lady Gaga’s reaction to the case that left me contemplating furthering our actions against bullying in any form.

“Jamey Rodemeyer, 14 yrs old, took his life because of bullying,” she tweeted. “Bullying must become be illegal. It is a hate crime.”  

While Gaga is neither the epitome of political genius nor the surmounting emancipator for GLBT youth in today’s bustling queer movement, I’m going to go ahead and say more governmental commitment to the task needs to happen.

Too long have we sat on this epidemic and said, “OK, we’re really, actually going to stop bullying this time,” and then the most we do are non-profit projects and endless support from celebrities.

In response to last year’s gay suicides, the site stopbullying.gov was launched to help aid students and educators on the topic. The site has five tabs and some facts and advice, and it is riddled with far-reaching aphorisms such as “Bullying is a serious problem” and “You have the power to prevent and stop bullying.”

Sites like that have their place here and there, but if this is the most the White House can do to put an end to this cultural killer, then this site is as good as an insult.

Laws need to be made against bullying. Support needs to draw against gossip sites, Formspring.me and harmful Facebook confrontations that make cowards of us all. Extremities must be taken. Bullies should be traced so they can receive more than a slap on the wrist.

This is not just for Jamey. We make a mistake in attempting to create support based on individual families’ experiences and publicized cases. We must do this for those who suffer quietly, for those who feel as if they’re not being heard and for those who know that bullying is a killer, and killers receive legal action.

­— ftirado@indiana.edu