COMMENTARY | Jamey Rodemeyer, the gay teen who committed suicide in Buffalo, N.Y., earlier this month, is continuing to be bullied even in death. This time it was his sister who was viciously given the brunt of the verbal victimization as her brother is no longer a physical target for the bullies' attacks.
Jamey was just 14 years old when he was found dead in his parents' home Sept. 18. He had endured bullying since middle school, and had been open with his parents about it initially, but became more withdrawn as he entered high school.
After his death, MSNBC re-ports Rodemeyer's parents discovered one of his last online posts that read, "I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. What do I have to do so that people will listen to me?''
Almost incomprehensibly, Rodemeyer's sister, Tracy, was attending a school homecoming dance shortly after her brother's death, and the same bullies started chanting for Jamey when his favorite singer, Lady Gaga, was played.
The bullies shouted as if speaking to Jamey, "We're glad you're dead! You're better off dead!"
This sort of despicable behavior is usually learned at home; for a teenager to exhibit such a cold and uncaring heart, I wonder about the future of that individual. Bullying and angry attacks will likely continue to be a part of this person's life if it isn't stopped at the roots.
Parents who make hateful comments against gays, for whatever reason, are setting an example for their children. The anti-gay messages from our churches and hypocritical politicians are all part of the violent bullying acts that happen in our country.
Adults need to realize how much their hateful messages affect teenagers whose lives are difficult from the start. They do not choose to become gay. People are born this way, just as we are born with blue eyes or brown. When these teens hear the hate coming from adults who are supposed to be in a position of trust, imagine how it affects their self-esteem.
Rodemeyer knew from the time he was in sixth grade that he was gay. Do you really think he chose such a difficult thing to be because he was a deviant, as so many Christians believe?
In order for this kind of bullying to be stopped, the ignorance needs to be stopped from its inception: the parents who taught their children to hate. Religion should never be an excuse for hate, yet it often is.
Please, let's stop hate crimes against children and all human beings before we lose another child to bullying.
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