Sunday, February 26, 2012

Is There Such Thing as TOO MUCH Emphasis on Teen Suicide?

Incredible question, right?  Yet, I was recently told just that.  Actually, on one of the social networking pages that I was running, I was booted by the original owner of the page because I was putting too much emphasis on LGBT teen suicides.  TOO MUCH EMPHASIS!? 

Research shows, clearly, that LGBT youth attempt suicide up to 4 times as often as their hetero counterparts.  We witness all-too-often another LGBT teen suicide in the news.  That says that there isn't ENOUGH emphasis being put on the matter.

(as a side note, I was told by the owner of the page that "I'm all for gay-related issues...I have lots of gay friends."  That's akin, in my mind, to the old catch phrase "hey, I'm not racist.  I've got a black friend.")

Just in the past month, we've seen in the news how certain politicians are attempting to pass bills that would make life even more difficult for LGBT students.  Stacey Campfield, (R) Tennessee, is determined to get his "Don't Say Gay" bill passed in a district that already has an anti-bullying law in place that excludes discrimination because of sexual orientation.  The teen, and primarily LGBT teen suicide rate in Michele Bachmann's district got so bad, a national publication thankfully ran a must-read article about it.  There are jurisdictions in this country that are still attempting to pass bills that would sanction the bullying of LGBT teens by adding the language that would permit the bullying if it's done for "religious, philosophical, or political beliefs."  That's amazing in this day and age.  And, I can't put enough emphasis on the issue of LGBT teen bullying and suicides.

To be fair and see things through her eyes, the owner of the page I was running points out that there's many different forms of bullying:  bullying in the workplace and domestic violence.  That's very true.  There IS an issue of bullying in the workplace.  And, domestic violence is very much a serious issue.  Bullying on all levels needs to be addressed.  We have a tendency to be a very mean-spirited people.  My only point, which I stand by, was that mixing all of them together in one place would be awkward, at best.  A community for ending domestic violence?  I'm on board.  Bullying in the workplace?  Sign me up.  Teen, and especially LGBT teen bullying and suicide.  I will die on the front line of that battle.  What rattled me, and rattles me still, was being told that I was putting too much emphasis on the issue.  There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny; there's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy; there's no such thing as too much emphasis on LGBT bullying and suicides.

6 comments:

  1. just read your bullying article (and thank goodness for you, i have a gay and black friend!) and i thought all of your points were right. as far as bullying at work, etc, teens are generally not to that point yet and are far more vulnerable, and in a completely captivated situation that they cannot get away from, in school. plus, they are just learning to deal with these adult issues, making it a far more dicey situation. just thoughts i wanted to share w/you...

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  2. I feel the same way, which is why I started this petition:http://www.change.org/petitions/clear-channel-communications1021-the-x-richmond-va-clear-channel-call-out-mason-on-1021-the-x-richmond-for-transphobic-rant

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  3. i just read this and me im a bisexual teen... and i had to learn to get use to the constant threats and bullying before it would end... it took about a year and a half of me being use to it for it to end... and before i had gotten use to it i became severely depressed started cutting myself and have a few suicide attempts on record... so i dont see how you can emphasize this to much... im glad that there are people liek you trying to make people aware of teens like me.

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  4. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!! I will never stop posting about teen suicides and bullying, there will never be enough emphasis until the bullying has stopped and our children feel safe in school!

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  5. So many good people died, it makes me want to do bad things to these bullies. But then I'm no better than they are. What's to do?

    Fight the Problem at the Source. Freedom of religion ends where the GLBTQ noses begin.

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  6. You are completely right! There can never be too much emphasis on things such as this! Maybe they should have been matching your emphasis on LGBT with their own on other bullying if they felt it needed to also be brought forward more. But there can't be too much emphasis on anything; people need the reality, the help and the common sense, and they need it now. Behind you 100%, and good on you! xx

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