14-year-old Jamey Rodememyer posted an “It Gets Better” video to encourage other people who suffered like he did at the hands of bullies. Jamey, an openly gay student from Buffalo, tragically committed suicide months later and his story has garnered national attention due in large part to that video.
In his plea to others he singled out Lady Gaga as a beacon of hope and when Mother Monster caught wind of this sad story she began a Twitter campaign to attempt to bring about legislation to adopt anti-bullying laws. She met with the President and performed a moving tribute to Jamey at a recent concert.
In addition to Gaga’s efforts, area police have begun an investigation into three students:
“We’ve heard that there were some specific students, an identifiable group of students, that had specifically targeted Jamey, or had been picking on him for a period of time.”
Jamey’s parents, Tim and Tracey Rodemeyer have decided to address this issue head on in hopes that they can bring about change in the wake of their son’s passing. In the following interview with Ann Curry from Today, Tim and Tracey revealed a particularly disturbing bit of information into just how bad the bullying atmosphere was and still is for their family:
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If you’re unable to catch the clip, Tim and Tracey told Ann the following about what happened to Jamey’s sister Alyssa during a homecoming dance:
“She was having a great time, and all of a sudden a Lady Gaga song came on, and they all started chanting for Jamey, all of his friends,” Tracy said. “Then the bullies that put him into this situation started chanting, ‘You’re better off dead!’ and ‘We’re glad you’re dead!’ and things like that.”
Before that Ann read a couple of examples of the hate that was sent Jamey’s way online that drove him to his horrible decision:
“Jamey is stupid, gay, fat and ugly. He must die.”
“I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would so just do it. It would make everyone way more happier.”
It’s hard to grasp where that level of angst and intolerance comes from. One of the issues that has come to light is the fact that the internet and all the social media outlets make young people like Jamey more accessible to those who wish to cause hurt and harm. Jamey’s mother Tracey concluded with the following statement to other parents:
“My message to the parents is badger your kids and make them talk or get them the help they need. There’s lots and lots of other people that maybe they’ll talk to. There’s a lot of organizations out there that maybe they’ll talk to, but get them to talk. We tried to get Jamey to talk to us constantly, and he just kept it in. He just put up a brave face but just wouldn’t let it go, if you know they’ve been bullied in the past, keep on them, go to the school, do whatever you have to, to make sure that they’re getting the help they need.”
A great resource if you know anyone in this situation is The Trevor Project which you can find out all about here.
On a personal note I can say that I suffered at the hands of some neighborhood bullies when I was Jamey’s age. I am not gay but it didn’t matter to a couple of the older kids as they’d pick fights with me and tried a couple of times to pop me with a bb gun. It sucked, but there was a certain line that these older boys didn’t cross and it seems like that line has diminished and the vitriol has escalated since then.
I’d also like to point out that I’m no saint as I darn well know I was on the other end of this for some of the outcasts at my high school but once again there was a line of demarcation I would have never dared to cross.
It’s a damn rotten shame because this hyper-intensified bullying is ruining lives.
