New York teen bullied...and then bullied some more after commiting suicide

[jayswin]

Wow, what an awful story. Basically, this openly gay, 14 year old was bullied so bad that he commited suicide. His sister went to their school dance after attending his wake, where the school played a Lady Gaga song in his honor, to which some students chanted "better off dead!" at her. Jesus christ that's brutal.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/20.../18770731.html

In Buffalo, meanwhile, a painful reminder that little has changed came last week when a student at the school Rodemeyer attended was suspended for continued taunting of the teen even after his death.

This time the target was his 16-year-old sister at a school dance just hours after she attended a wake for her younger brother on September 22. "It sickens me," their father said of reports that some students chanted "better off dead" when dance organizers played a song in Rodemeyer's honor by his favorite singer, Lady Gaga, who has memorialized him in her anti-bullying comments.

[Cheerio]

That is one of the worst things I've ever heard. Wow.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Cheerio

That is one of the worst things I've ever heard. Wow.

Yeah, I've become desensitized to a lot of things I hear about in the world. This was the first news I've heard in years that actually made me feel queezy.

[STeeLy]

That is absolutely ridiculous.

I honestly think harsher punishment is required.

[WhiteTiger]

This is pretty sad to hear.

I wonder what sort of punishment could actually 'work' against this sort of thing. What could be done to those who were chanting that to actually sink in and make some sort of change.

[flylock shox]

Some people's kids belong in a burlap sack in a river.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

I hope that someday those kids wake up and realize what they did. Also I really wish the media would stop glamorizing these kids that do kill themselves because I really think that it is putting the idea into more kids heads to kill themselves rather than telling them to talk to someone or to get help if they need it.

Having Lady Gaga dedicate a song to him and make him a celebrity while I am sure the intention is good might do more harm in my opinion which would be very sad to say the least.

[CaptainCrunch]

This sickens me.

People keep telling me that punishment shouldn't be part of the justice system, but its crimes like this that tell me that it should.

Cyber Bullying gays and others like that should be a hate crime, period, and they need to start making examples of these people.

It wasn't that long ago that we talked about a family feud that resulted in the suicide of a young girl due to cyber bullying.

In this story they talk about suspending one of the kids for taunting after the fact. Screw that, you don't suspend the kid you expel him, you run him through the court system, and then you make an example out of him.

You make him work on a suicide help line, or make him work at a morgue when they bring teen suicides in.

Suspending him, give me a break.

The school system failed completely here as well, instead of helping the kid it sounds like they ignored the problem, people need to lose their jobs over this. Teachers and councilors need to have a process in place where the first time its reported the cops are called, and the bully is hauled out of class in handcuffs, and he or she and his or her parents need to have a sit down with the victim and his family.

Personally, if I was the dead boys dad, I would probably be in prison right now because I would be on the way over the bully's house to have a talk with the kid and the parent and they would know what it feels like to be bullied.

Bullies are the biggest cowards out there, I remember a friend of mine telling me that if their child was bullied that there shouldn't be retaliation but her kid should try to understand the bully and give him or her a hug and make her feel less alone. Bullsh%t, that just gets your a%% kicked more. You confront a bully and make him back down, or break his legs with a stove pipe.

If its a cyberbully, you hunt him down and ram a tablet up his a%%.

Completely disgusting, and as much as I blame the bully, the bullies parents are lousy human beings, and the school is a complete and utter failure.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

This is pretty sad to hear.

I wonder what sort of punishment could actually 'work' against this sort of thing. What could be done to those who were chanting that to actually sink in and make some sort of change.

Expell them from the public school system, and make them go to the harshest military academy in the state.

Charge them with a hate crime and publish their pictures and drag them through the court system.

Charge them with manslaughter and send them off to a regime of hard labor.

Horse whip their parents in front of them.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Agent86

I hope that someday those kids wake up and realize what they did. Also I really wish the media would stop glamorizing these kids that do kill themselves because I really think that it is putting the idea into more kids heads to kill themselves rather than telling them to talk to someone or to get help if they need it.

Having Lady Gaga dedicate a song to him and make him a celebrity while I am sure the intention is good might do more harm in my opinion which would be very sad to say the least.

Yeah, it's a hard choice, though. Do they keep all these cases quiet so there's no copycat cases and hope that bullying can be stopped without big media attention, or give these cases attention to say "hey, look how big of an issue this is, we need to do something now!"?

[CaptainCrunch]

I'd rather that the media reports this so that it becomes a problem that cannot be ignored.

Instead of sweeping it under the rug.

Maybe put huge pictures of the bullies on the front page with the headline, "Gay hating small minded ignorant murderer"

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Cyber Bullying gays and others like that should be a hate crime, period, and they need to start making examples of these people.

It wasn't that long ago that we talked about a family feud that resulted in the suicide of a young girl due to cyber bullying.

In this story they talk about suspending one of the kids for taunting after the fact. Screw that, you don't suspend the kid you expel him, you run him through the court system, and then you make an example out of him.

I like the idea of a hate crime. It would be nice if these people had "hate crime" on their permanent record, that would screw them over for future employment......as a start.

"So we ran your record, and it says you were charged with a hate crime?"

"yeah, remember that kid who was bullied so badly he killed himself, and then his sister was taunted about his death just hours after his wake? That was me"

"GTFO".

[CaptainCrunch]

To me it is nothing short of a hate crime, they targeted an openly gay teenager who had the guts to come out of the closet and be honest with himself and everyone around him.

Look I might not be the most enlightened guy out there, but even I recognize that targeting gays for persecution is no different then targeting races or religious groups.

Its a hate crime pure and simple.

The parents of the victim should certainly be able to sue the school system and the bullies parents and reap a massive financial settlement.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by flameswin

Yeah, it's a hard choice, though. Do they keep all these cases quiet so there's no copycat cases and hope that bullying can be stopped without big media attention, or give these cases attention to say "hey, look how big of an issue this is, we need to do something now!"?

I think it is possible to identify the problem without turning him into a celebrity though. I think that the recent rash of highly publicized cases of GLBTQ suicides are in part related to the media reporting it giving the impression of higher incidences while at the same time a contagion effect likely occurs where the thought is implanted into someones mind, especially with teenagers who aren't thinking right for one reason or another.

Youtube has made him into a martyr and while I feel bad for him and his family I do worry that it may lead other kids down the same path.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Agent86

I think it is possible to identify the problem without turning him into a celebrity though. I think that the recent rash of highly publicized cases of GLBTQ suicides are in part related to the media reporting it giving the impression of higher incidences while at the same time a contagion effect likely occurs where the thought is implanted into someones mind, especially with teenagers who aren't thinking right for one reason or another.

Youtube has made him into a martyr and while I feel bad for him and his family I do worry that it may lead other kids down the same path.

Okay, fair enough. I just read the story 20 minutes ago, and wasn't aware that he has been made into a "celebrity" or whatever. My response was just regarding the media attention itself, which I think should continue, a it's that big of an issue.

[Dion]

I'd have the bullies stand on a busy street corner with a sign saying they were the ones that bullied the teen who comitted suicide. Let them suffer the verbal abuse and public embrassment they'd recieve from thier fellow citizens. Not one day but for entire month.

[Henry Fool]

I read about his a while back on Boingboing. Incredible that the hate didn't stop with his suicide.

http://boingboing.net/2011/09/20/gay...s-suicide.html

Jamey's heartbreaking 'it gets better' video:

[Henry Fool]

Making this a question about how harsh the punishments should be misses the point and could even be seen as a way to avoid the real issue of the responsibility of adults. It's the adults that have created and by their words and actions maintain an atmosphere that licenses hate like this. We're all capable of cruelty given the right conditions.

Just something to keep in mind the next time we feel tempted to go for that gay joke. Perhaps it's not always as innocent as we'd like to think.

[pylon]

I'm with CC on this one. This whole BS attitude "We have to rehabilitate them, not punish them" pussified, lame brained idea of justice is not acceptable, and makes nobody accountable. They bullied the kid so hard he killed himself. That wasn't enough they bullied him post posthumously.

Me and CC are a lot alike. I have met the dude, and based on our posts, we had very similar upbringings. If my old man, found out I was bullying a weaker kid at school, unprovoked, he would have kicked the crap out of me the second the principal hung up the phone with him. There was no ,"Son, that is a bad thing, lets talk about your feelings... and lets see a therapist that will ask you how much you jack off."

In fact, I slugged a girl at school once when I was 8, and it was kinda justified from a kids perspective, she peeled all the decals off my BMX and put Strawberry Shortcake scratch an sniff decals on it. My dad when he found out, slugged me about 10 times. And good for him. Because I never hit a girl, ever again. Even after taking an unprovoked, full wind up, kick to the nuts from a psycho ex when I was 25 that put me in the ER for 2 days. I wound up, but stopped when I remembered that lesson. Stuck with me for life.

Maybe the answer is more militant justice. Maybe parents do need to smack their kids is they step way out of line. I used to think, "Woe is me, my dad beat me up when I was a kid." But its kinda funny. I am respectful to my peers. Respect my elders and boss, am chivalrous with women, and will always stick up for the little guy. All lessons I learned the hard way. The fear of repercussions was all the incentive I needed to stay in line.

Today's youth is so protected from any form of punishment or justice, they have nothing to fear anymore, and absolutely zero accountability for anything.

edit:
Not condoning beating kids as the answer...... but the current methods are not stopping bullying, it seems the problem is much worse now

[Muta]

Originally Posted by pylon

Even after taking an unprovoked, full wind up, kick to the nuts from a psycho ex when I was 25 that put me in the ER for 2 days.

You can't bust this out and then not explain this comedy / thriller of a story.