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Police might bring charges in bullying-related suicide of gay teen
09.23.2011
02:46 pm
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Police in the Buffalo area are weighing whether or not to file criminal charges against the students who allegedly bullied 14-year-old gay teen Jamey Rodemeyer into killing himself. I hope they do. I think this story, as sad as it is, has a chance to educate conservative people who were on the fence about how to deal with gay bullying. There is a chance that some minds can be changed here.

The thing is, of course—despite what Michel Bachmann and her cronies might think—there should be a zero tolerance policy in the schools where this sort of behavior is concerned by the administration and teachers, but you can also point the finger at the students who knew this was going on and didn’t put social pressure on the bullies to stop what they were doing. Had a few of his classmates stood up to the jerks, or had they been ostracized for their behavior, Jamey might be alive today. It might have actually gotten better for him. I’m sure it would have, but he never got a chance to find out…

I can’t imagine what his pain felt like. I can’t even go there…

Police have opened a criminal investigation in the suicide death of Buffalo, N.Y., 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer, who was bullied online with gay slurs for more than a year.

The teen’s parents, friends and even Lady Gaga, who was his idol, have expressed outrage about what they say was relentless torment on social networking websites.

The Amherst Police Department’s Special Victims Unit has said it will determine whether to charge some students with harassment, cyber-harassment or hate crimes. Police said three students in particular might have been involved. Jamey was a student at Heim Middle School.

Jamey had just started his freshman year at Williamsville North High School. (Both Amherst and Williamsville are just outside Buffalo.) But the bullying had begun during middle school, according to his parents. He had told family and friends that he had endured hateful comments in school and online, mostly related to his sexual orientation.

Jamey was found dead outside his home Sunday morning, but Amherst police would not release any details on how he killed himself.

Below, Diane Sawyer on ABC News, discusses the tragic death of young Jamey Rodemeyer:
 

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Via Joe.My.God

Posted by Richard Metzger
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09.23.2011
02:46 pm
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Another heartbreaking gay teen suicide
09.20.2011
03:50 pm
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Jamey Rodemeyer, 14, of Buffalo, NY is the latest victim of teen bullying. He was taunted with hateful cyberbullying posts like “JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!” and “I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would. So just do it smile It would make everyone WAY more happier!”

If this is the kind of stuff these bullies would write, you can only guess at what they said to his face.

“I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens,” Jamey wrote online on September 9th. “What do I have to do so people will listen to me?”

Just over one week later, Jamey was found dead outside his home of an apparent suicide.

In the months prior, he routinely blogged about school bullying and thoughts of suicide in between upbeat posts about his pop star idol Lady Gaga and the ordinary types of teen rants typical for kids his age.

On Sept. 8, he wrote: “No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you’re the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down.”

Jamey made an “It Gets Better” video earlier this year. It’s one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen in my life. Read more about the short life and tragic death of Jamey Rodemeyer at the Buffalo News.
 

 
Via Joe.My.God

Posted by Richard Metzger
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09.20.2011
03:50 pm
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