Dallas has its “Purple Party,” which may make it easier to remember this: Wear purple on Oct 20.
That’s the hope of a group circulating on Facebook, designed to raise awareness of the deaths by suicide of six youth in recent weeks as the result of anti-gay harassment, bullying or humiliation, among them a 13-year-old Harris County boy. This also follows a statement released Tuesday by Harry Potter Daniel Radcliffe, on behalf of the Trevor Project.
The wear purple group claims no centralized movement, so far as I can tell — it’s just a grassroots effort. And I got some purple in my closet … guess it’s time to come out. Again.
So now we are supposed to “honor” those people too weak and selfish to continue living? Sounds like bullshit to me.
Man Rolo… Must me nice to be tough as nails. Read what you have posted here. You MUST be a right-wing, Tea Party, Sarah Palin, death panel kinda guy… also. Did you ever stop to think, that maybe these kids might be enduring daily physical violence, and mental abuse by their peers? And possibly some adults? People such as yourself, are the reason we have bullies, road rage, hate crimes, domestic violence… the list goes on. We have lost ALL civility in American society. Even amongst our own community. We treat each other as if everyone else “less than”. Until we can become a cohesive, organized community, we will never be taken seriously within the society at large. So Rolo, if you are part of the gay community, you should be terribly ashamed of yourself for even thinking about what you posted. Since you put it for every one to read, I would suggest some therapy. If you are not part of the gay community, then, I would think of you as John Cornyn, Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison ass kisser… Hope you never have to face your demons. You have plenty of them…
ROLO – Do you know that not all human beings are made up of the same genes, come from the same background, have the same tough and cold heart as you? Did you know that it was my cousin who committed suicide last week and I am reading your comment realizing that it was people with YOUR mentality and ignorance that pushed my cousin to the edge? He was sensitive, kind hearted, loving, sweet, talented, shy….he was an AMAZING person who cared about everyone, never said one mean thing about anyone or anything. You should take a long hard look at yourself and what is inside your heart. I am sad for you.
Wow….Selfish …the people who are selfish are the poeple that dont think about others before they treat someone that way, about how they are making that other person feel. being around peers is hard enough but to know that when you get up in the morning and head out into the world that people are going to be making fun of you because of who you are inside…thats hard…maybe their friends didnt understand maybe they had no one to turn to. People need to realize that a person is a person no matter who they are what they look like. Unfortunatly you Rolo are a sad person who needs to take a good look in the mirror and think about how u speak of others.
Rolo. You have a point but the thing is, even the strongest people do break down at times. Straight people will probably never get it as they never face the situation when someone feels so much different from others it hurts a lot just to think of yourself. I wish people like you get to see somehow someday what makes those strong LGBT people kill themselves
rolo… please take your narrow-minded and selfish views somewhere else. your lack of a subjective understanding is understandable, as you seem to function on a estimated 2 brain cells… however i find it incredibly rude and absent minded to not have the ability to at least have an objective understanding of the tough circumstances that led to these events…
wow Rolo…really??…there is no point of putting wise words in to a fullish man..sad
I’m with Rolo. And AM A PROUD SUPPORTER OF GAY RIGHTS. However, I think suicide, as someone who has had to live with the after effects of it is th SINGLE MOST SELFISH THING A HUMAN BEING CAN DO. Just my opinion. Life gets tough and I know full well how tough it is for the LGBT community, but what suicide leaves in its wake is far, far worse and those who leave us with that burden are just flat out selfish.
I think some are missing the point. I am someone that will be wearing purple but it’s for more than just honoring suicide victimes. It’s to show solidarity against senseless bullying, to support a community persecuted for their sexual orientation, it’s to promote peace. I sincerely feel for all loved ones of the deceased and will gladly step forward to try to understand their fight although I will never know just how hard it must’ve been. We are all created equal – period – and there is no place for this ignorance in this world anymore…
I will be wearing purple.. as some one who has thought about suicide in my life Because life became unmanageable because of those around me… due to homophobia and gay bashing . How can i judge someone unless i walked in there shoes. i dont hold those who have commited suicide responisible for what they did. The bigger question is: Why are we allowing this to happen.( the homophobia and the gay bashing )Yes, it was selfish but if you lived in a world of torment and and had no support.. what would you do as a 13 year old?
“Sensationalized coverage along with detailed information surrounding the event increases the likelihood of additional suicides” (…) “‘Psychological proximity’ is related
to the level of identification an individual has to a victim. Examples include cultural or subcultural connections (Hendin, as cited in Berman & Job…es, 1994), victims of bullying, team members, classmates, those attending the same school, and others who perceive a unifying characteristic. Youth may connect with a victim who has a similar life circumstance or view the deceased as a role model.” (…) “Avoid providing unnecessary details about the suicide. Never notify students in a large assembly or by a schoolwide announcement.” (…) “Convey that the victim is responsible for his or her actions.”
So by my reading, a) emphasizing the ‘unifying characteristics’ of being gay and bullied… b) splashing the gory details all over the national media… and c) saying that these six/eight/twelve suicides are actually the fault of the bullies… is pretty much exactly the *opposite* of what you’d want to do if you wanted the suicides to STOP?
Gotta say, I’m with Rolo and Susan. There are ways to support the gay community that *don’t* encourage copy-cat deaths… and holding the dead accountable for their own actions is an important part of that. If the bully killed them, it’s not suicide. It’s a vital distinction if you want justice.
Also: Bullying stops only when peers stand up for one another, and they need to cross ‘party lines’ to do so. When other kids walk away because they “don’t want to get involved” the bully gets away with it… and the next victim might be one who walked away the day before. One day it’s the gay kid, the next it’s the fat kid, the day after that the geek, and the goth the day after that. No one is immune from bullying. Those peers who see bullying and do nothing need to be considered accomplices – aiding and abetting. Unless teens step up and defend *anyone* … even someone that is not in their ‘clique”…. if they see bullying in action, it will never stop.
Just want to show my support. Being a transgedered woman, I understand all to well the pain and loss caused by suicide and how easy it can be to lose hope and give in. I agree it is not the right thing to do, but saying that to someone who is desperate and in trouble makes them feel even worse and causes them to slip deeper into depression. I know this from first hand experience. I fought y way through it and survived and I’m stonger for it now, but too many others won’t make it. I don’t think ‘honoring’ is the correct vernacular for this day. Remeberance and vigilance would sound more appropriate I think.
wow Rolo.
im not gay , but atleast i have a heart. im sorry for my language , but you need to shut the fuck up. you have idea what they went through on a daily basis and its people like you that make trageties like this happen.
your probobly just mad because lesbians get all the pussy and all the girls left are in love with beautiful gay guys. you really need to understand what you and many other people do to the LGBT community.
i love gay people even tho im nt gay
and im wearing purple today
Im a queer in purple on an Air Force Base 🙂
How about we stop thinking it’s ok to bully, persecute and make fun of another for ANY reason. How about we teach our children that it makes THEM a much smaller person when they try to make another feel small.
How about we try to walk in another person’s shoes for a second, and see who they might be.
HOW ABOUT TOLERANCE FOR ALL PEOPLE.
And LOVE the queer in purple on an Air Force Base….you rock! 🙂
I monitered and responded to the RIP board for 3 days. I took off bashing and gave children telephone numbers to call for help. I feel the abusers have been abused themselves and were unable to break the mode. They take their anger out on what other people see as weaker person whether they were gay or not.
12 and 13 yr old children are not even entering puperty yet. Their voice is changing thus squeaking, they’re gangling and are not their full growth yet. Children are bullied every day but to younsters that are sensitive, being called a sinner and will go to hell, who wouldn’t get depressed? They question themselves. Are these people right about me? Will my parents think I’m a sinner?
The bullies tape people’s privacy, rape them, stick things in them and destroy a person. Remember Columbine and what came next. The kids that were abused killed their classmates for the same reasons. 1-800-398-GAYS
Everybodies having ago at rolo which i agree with but you all passed over jenna i am so sorry about your cousin <3