Jamey Rodemeyer, an openly bisexual teen who
committed suicide over years of homophobic bullying, was laid to rest on Saturday. It was estimated that over 500 mourners, many of whom did not personally know Jamey or his family,
attended his funeral in Williamsville, New York. According to
Buffalo News, Amherst police are
investigating whether or not they can charge the school bullies responsible with harassment, cyberharassment or hate crimes in relation to Jamey's suicide. It should be remembered, however, that Jamey's case is not an unusual one. According to the
2009 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), nearly 90% of LGBT students experienced harassment at school while two thirds felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation. Other key findings included that 84.6% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 40.1% reported being physically harassed, 18.8% reported being physically assaulted, 72.4% reported hearing slurs such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often, and the reported grade point average of students frequently harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender expression was nearly half a grade lower than for students who were less often harassed. This is a strong indication that while bullying is an issue for all school students, it is even more so for LGBT students.
Thank you for posting this. It shows a life lesson to the bullies involved in any situation such as this. I am fifteen, I'm in my tenth year at Cathedral in Hamilton. I support the bisexual, gays and lesbians. They are just people, unique peolpe who shouldn't be judged. To the boys who died, God bless their souls. There are only few people who are Gay, or bisexual in my school. The boys who don't say anything,get bullied for who they are. These people need to know that the boys and girls that they bully, have hearts too. They are unique, and should be shown more respect than what they are being treated. I HOPE that who reads this will think the same, and hopefully will change their minds about the boys and girls who are most likely bisexual,gay or lesbian. They have hearts, I just hope others do.
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