Wednesday was a bad day. In addition to the 12-year-old in West Virginia who ended his life due to bullying, Lennon Baldwin, 15, of New Jersey ended his young life as well. Police in Morristown are investigating the suicide for the possibility of bullying.
By all accounts, Lennon was a very well-liked, happy young man with an infectious smile. I've witnessed, as well, that he was a very gifted, blooming artist. A friend of Lennon's posted this video as a tribute to his fallen friend. A rising star now dimmed by suicide.
Unlike some other jurisdictions, the authorities in Morristown are on record as saying they are doing a "full investigation" into the suicide. At this point, it is unclear whether bullying was the cause or not.
Teen suicide, whatever the reason, regardless of their sexual orientation, is an issue that absolutely has to be addressed with the same urgency as a recently reported "epidemic" of teen smoking. If not moreso. After all, we can get teens to stop smoking. No one has figured out how to stop anyone from being dead. Once the suicide attempt is successful, that's it. A young life is senselessly and needlessly snuffed out. Dreams are extinguished. Families and friends are left with hearts ripped as they try to make sense of it all.
What is the solution? I wish I could answer that. Right now, no one can. However, there are things we can do to put a serious dent in what's going on.
For starters, we can work as one in convincing the people who lead that teen suicide is a very serious issue in our culture, not only in our country but worldwide. It is a plague that deserves the full-attention of every politician, every religious leader, every school administrator across the board.
The scourge of bullying, which is at the root of far too many teen suicides needs to be met head-on and dealt with. In some ways, that's easier said than done. Why? Because on one level, it's very easy for us all, including myself, to call for the heads of those who bully another human being to the point where they feel the only way to make it stop is to end their own life. And, indeed, I do feel that those who continually and willfully bully a person should be held accountable if that person commits suicide because of their actions. It's no different than the bully holding a gun to that same person's head and pulling the trigger. They are just as dead either way. The difference is, in this case, the one who pulled the trigger is obviously charged with murder. So, why should bullying someone to the point where he or she feels the only way out is commit suicide be any different. Why? Because it's more complex than that. See, on another level is the reality that we, as humans, are not born to hate. We are not born intolerant. The exact opposite it true. That means that they are taught these emotions and behaviors. And, unfortunately in this case, a young person's brain is a sponge. They learn well. So, to get at the root of bullying, it is imperative to start with the adults. If Johnny constantly hears his dad, his religious leader, or political leaders constantly express their disdain, their intolerance and hatred of certain groups of people, whether it's different races or people of a different sexual orientation, he's learning from them that it's ok to treat these people like they don't belong. It's ok to call them the most degrading names. It's ok to bring physical harm to them. No!! It's NOT ok!!! And, everyone, from the adults to the young ones, needs to understand that. Every single life is precious.
Another big contributor to teen suicides is mental health issues. Leading the way in this area is depression. Knowing the symptoms of depression is a crucial first-step. Knowing how to deal with teen depression can be life-saving.
We can only hope for a speedy solution, one that will lead to a reduction and eventual end to the bullying/teen suicide epidemic.
Unfortunately, all of our efforts will be too late for the family and friends of Lennon Baldwin. All we can do for them now is wrap our arms around them and support them as they struggle mightily to make sense of this. We can go to the facebook page set up in Lennon's honor and leave our condolences. And, we can pray that he now finds the peace he was denied while he was here with us.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS BEING BULLIED, SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY!! DON'T STOP SEEKING HELP UNTIL YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL LISTEN AND TAKE ACTION.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW ARE SUICIDAL, PLEASE SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY!! THERE ARE MANY, MANY RESOURCES AROUND FOR YOU.
Suicide Support
STOP Teenage Suicide
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
UPDATE:
I erroneously stated earlier in this that Lennon was an artist "as seen in this video". The artist in the video is his friend, Andrew, who drew the picture of Lennon as a tribute. Sorry for the confusion.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Dalton Lee Walker, 12, Bullying Victim
On the day the movie "Bully" is released for the public to view comes the sad news out of Princeton, West Virginia of 12-year-old Dalton Lee Walker. Dalton ended his life Wednesday, March 28th, because of being bullied.
Dalton's mother says that she had met with school officials on several occasions to discuss the problem of bullying as it pertained to her son. According to his half-sister, Dalton had been teased regularly at school, and it just became too much for him to handle.
The issue of bullying has caught national, and even international, attention. That's a good thing. However, the problem isn't going away. It's not as if I'm foolish enough to think that it will disappear overnight. Of course it won't. At the same time, I still don't see where it's being taken seriously enough by the people who can really make a difference for it to truly start making a difference.
In a day and age where children have instant access to the world 24/7, via Internet, bullying has become a 'round-the-clock phenomena. Potentially, at least. And, here's the most important part of that: these young people are NOT just witnessing bullying on a personal level, from their attackers. They're also seeing it from adults. That's devastating on two levels:
Hatred, meanness, intolerance: these are not things we're born with. Our innate emotion is love...and, acceptance. Beyond that, those who hate, those who are intolerant, are taught those emotions, either directly or indirectly. And, most of the time, the "teacher" is an adult.
Dalton's bullies were not adults: they were his peers. Kids at Princeton Middle School who thought is was okay to tease and bully Dalton until he couldn't take it anymore.
I will note here that there was no reason given for Dalton's bullying; therefore, we cannot speculate. It doesn't matter what he was bullied for. What matters it that he was bullied, and now he's gone. May you now find peace, Dalton. And, to the family and friends of Dalton, we send our heartfelt condolences and love.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS BEING BULLIED, SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY!! DON'T STOP SEEKING HELP UNTIL YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL LISTEN AND TAKE ACTION.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW ARE SUICIDAL, PLEASE SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY!! THERE ARE MANY, MANY RESOURCES AROUND FOR YOU.
Suicide Support
STOP Teenage Suicide
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Dalton's mother says that she had met with school officials on several occasions to discuss the problem of bullying as it pertained to her son. According to his half-sister, Dalton had been teased regularly at school, and it just became too much for him to handle.
The issue of bullying has caught national, and even international, attention. That's a good thing. However, the problem isn't going away. It's not as if I'm foolish enough to think that it will disappear overnight. Of course it won't. At the same time, I still don't see where it's being taken seriously enough by the people who can really make a difference for it to truly start making a difference.
In a day and age where children have instant access to the world 24/7, via Internet, bullying has become a 'round-the-clock phenomena. Potentially, at least. And, here's the most important part of that: these young people are NOT just witnessing bullying on a personal level, from their attackers. They're also seeing it from adults. That's devastating on two levels:
- the kids who bully see the politicians, religious leaders, and other heralded adults doing it, and doing it in a public forum. It's like handing a 16-year-old his Driver's License. He's now allowed to drive; they are, by virtue of what they are witnessing on a daily basis, allowed to bully.
- when at-risk youngsters see these public figures essentially sanctioning bullying through their own actions, it sends them the message that no one is going to give a rat's ass about them being bullied. Jacob Rogers voiced such concerns before ending his life in December.
Hatred, meanness, intolerance: these are not things we're born with. Our innate emotion is love...and, acceptance. Beyond that, those who hate, those who are intolerant, are taught those emotions, either directly or indirectly. And, most of the time, the "teacher" is an adult.
Dalton's bullies were not adults: they were his peers. Kids at Princeton Middle School who thought is was okay to tease and bully Dalton until he couldn't take it anymore.
I will note here that there was no reason given for Dalton's bullying; therefore, we cannot speculate. It doesn't matter what he was bullied for. What matters it that he was bullied, and now he's gone. May you now find peace, Dalton. And, to the family and friends of Dalton, we send our heartfelt condolences and love.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW IS BEING BULLIED, SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY!! DON'T STOP SEEKING HELP UNTIL YOU FIND SOMEONE WHO WILL LISTEN AND TAKE ACTION.
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW ARE SUICIDAL, PLEASE SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY!! THERE ARE MANY, MANY RESOURCES AROUND FOR YOU.
Suicide Support
STOP Teenage Suicide
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
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