The emails started flooding my parent listserv. A body had been found in the Hudson River, and concerned parents were looking for more information. It didn't take long before the body had been identified as Tyler Clementi, the young Rutgers student who took his own life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. My heart aches for Tyler, for his family and friends, and for others like Tyler who are taking their own lives because they are bullied, harassed, or abused and feel like they have nowhere to turn.
I am, however, moved by the rallying that's taking place to try to stop tragedies like this from happening. Facebook has been brimming with amazing links, like Ellen's emotional speech, and my hope is that these messages are getting in front of those that need them. Entertainment Weekly reports that Glee creator Ryan Murphy is anxious to do an episode on gay suicide this season. If it's handled as well as this week's religion episode, I have high hopes for it, especially because Glee's audience is comprised of both adults and kids.
The best of what I've seen is a series of videos from The Trevor Project, a nonprofit that promotes acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth and aids in suicide prevention among that group. The videos emphasize that "It Gets Better." Chris Colfer (Kurt from Glee) has done one, as has Daniel Radcliffe. But the one that really gets to the heart of the matter is the amazing Tim Gunn, talking candidly about his own failed suicide attempt.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GGAgtq_rQc[/youtube]
As parents, we should be compelled to do these three things:
- Find every way possible to let our children know that we love them unconditionally.
- Teach our children to respect and be accepting of all other human beings.
- Help spread the message far and wide that there are places for troubled kids to turn to when they need help.
In a 2009 study, the GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network, surveyed over 7,000 middle and high school LGBT students and found that nearly 9 out of 10 were harassed at school. Nearly two thirds of the students felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation. Kids are harassed and assaulted in person, and harassed online as well. This is a crisis. We must all work together to keep these tragedies from happening, to keep our kids safe.
