James Rodemeyer makes a plea to the world.
A Memorial for Jaheem HerreraOne of the reasons that I decided to write my book is because of Jaheem Herrera who hung himself after months of cruel bullying at an Atlanta area school.
According to Feministe, The 11 year-old, Herrera, had recently moved to Atlanta from St. Croix in The U.S. Virgin Islands.
The pre-teen had reportedly complained to school officials and family about the intense taunting and cruelty of students calling him homophobic names.
His mother told WBS-TV that she found her son hanging lifeless in his bedroom. She only wished that school officials would have done more to help her son.
There was no mention of her son actually being gay.
Months before Herrera commited suicide, 11 year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover also committed sucicide after being sexually bullied at his Atlanta area school.
Both stories resonated with me and have led me to advocate against sexual bullying.
- Why do people feel the need to sexually bully?
- Where are kids getting their influences from? Is it from family? Peers?
- It is obvious that something needs to be done.
You can read about both boy's stories by clicking on the link:
http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2009/04/21/another-11-year-old-boy-commits-suicide-after-homophobic-bullying/
- The posted youtube video is of James Rodemeyer. You can read more about his story at the NYDaily News.
Is our homophobic society killing our most precious children? Sound off...
Christ calls us to love everyone. No one should bully or show hate to someone for any reason... especially in the name of the Lord. Having said that, I do believe that the bible preaches absolutes and right and wrong. Sin equals death. And all sin, if it be homosexuality, promiscuity, hateful words, gossiping... is natural. We are all born as sinners, with different desires and inclinations. BUT God offers grace and he can wipe us of these natural sins if we choose to let him. And his grace should motivate us strive to live holy, and without sin the best that we can. It's not our place to judge others though... it's our place to love them. How sad that people would torment others in such a way that they no longer find life worth in living. Our God offers us a glorious life, and it's our job as Christians to help others find that love and grace. We need to focus on what we are for. And I'm for the love, grace, and forgiveness offered through Christ... and the power to rise above our natural desire to sin. We can't show other people the wonderful love of our Father in Heaven without showing love. Sorry... this is almost more of a response to your previous post. Anyways, power to you for standing up and telling your story. It's not an easy thing to do. May God bless you on your journey of sharing.
ReplyDelete