Teen suicides

What with being USian and all, I've been hearing a lot about four very recent cases in which teenagers have committed suicide following homophobic bullying in the USA.

The columnist Dan Savage launched a project called It Gets Better. The way it works is this: you make a video for LGBT teens talking about why it gets better, and upload it to YouTube, and it's supposed to give hope to teens feel without any.

The activist S. Bear Bergman posted a response to the project:

"It Gets Better"? Swell. No disrespect to the people who have contributed video to that project in with great and loving hearts, but it's simply not enough. What about the "It Sucks Now" project?

Give your videocamera to a student; let them film what life is like for someone tagged as queer or trans or gender-nonconforming at their school. Then fill YouTube with those videos. Send them to principals, PTAs, school boards, legislators, religious leaders and let them see the physical and emotional brutality some of their students are suffering, and others are meting out. Demand to know why this behavior is tolerated, why nothing is being done for these students.

As was pointed out by someone in the comments of Bergman's thread, these are intersecting, not contradictory projects. It's absolutely true that students who experience bullying on a routine basis need hope, and need to know that they can survive this. It's also true that "wait it out" or "try to ignore it" is not enough.

I would also like to note while this project makes very clever use of widespread technology, and I note that there are major issues with intersectionality here. Transcripts and close-captions seem not to be available for the majority of videos, the majority of videos seem to be by White people, and the people who may be most isolated are those who cannot access the technology or deal with multiple prejudices. We know that people who experience multiple prejudices are more likely to experience violence and harassment.

That doesn't mean that I think the project is useless -- far from it. Anything you can do to stop the here-and-now pain is good. I also think that the longer-lasting, deeper, hope is created when we create stronger protections for students, when we stop excusing bullying, harassment, and discrimination. Things don't get better all on their own. This is a change we have to make in the world.

So here's what you can do: write to your elected representatives, wherever you live, and ask about anti-bullying legislation, and demand support for anti-bullying education for teachers and students.

Also, I like Ellen DeGeneres's take:




Transcript:

I am devasted over the death of 18-year-old Tyler Clementi. If you don't know Tyler was a bright student at Rutgers University whose life was senselessly cut short. He was outed as being gay on the internet and he killed himself. Something must be done. This month alone there have been a shocking number of news stories about teens who have been teased and bullied and then committed suicide, like 13-year-old Seth Walsh in Tehachapi, California, 13-year-old Asher Brown in Cypress, Texas, and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensburg, Indiana. This needs to be a wake-up call to everyone that teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country and the death rate is climbing. One life lost in this senseless way is tragic. Four lives lost is a crisis. And these are just the stories we hear about. How many other teens have we lost, how many others are suffering in silence? Being a teenager and figuring out who you are is hard enough without someone attacking you. My heart is breaking for their families, for their friends, and for our society that continues to let this happen. These kids needed us and we have an obligation to change this. There are messages everywhere that validate this kind of bullying and taunting and we have to make it stop. We can't let intolerance and ignorance take another kid's life. And I want anyone out there who feels different and alone to know that I know how you feel. And there is help out there, and you can find support in your community. If you need someone to talk to or you want to get involved, there are some really great organisations listed on our website. Things will get easier, people's minds will change, and you should-- you should be alive to see it.

Her website, that she mentions is here, and they do indeed list contact details for US-based organisations. If you live in the UK, try the Samaritans, and if you live elsewhere, you can find a helpline from Befrienders International.

--IP