Gay Bullying and Suicide.

Gay Bullying and harassment is an enormous problem that I feel strongly about. People don't realize the extent of how their bullying effects the victim until it's either too late, or somebody intervenes. Much too often they realize it when it's too late, and way too many times when it's too late somebody has lost their life. This could be avoided if there are people to lend a helping hand to the victim, but unfortunately many people simply choose to ignore it, and not care. Ostracizing people because of their sexuality is just as bad as bullying, especially when it's the parent excluding their child out of their lives because of their sexuality. People's choice to remain indifferent and not do anything is the reason why so many lives have been lost, when it could have easily been avoided if somebody came forward and decided to care and help somebody going through their hardships.
Here are some statistics:

• 9 out of every 10 LGBT students have experienced harassment at school.
• LGBT teens are bullied 2 to 3 more times than heterosexual teens.
• More than 1/3 of LGBT kids have attempted suicide.
• LGBT kids are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than straight peers.
• LGBT kids who belong to a rejecting family are 8 times more likely to commit suicide than LGBT kids who live in an accepting family. 

Information taken from:  http://www.itgetsbetter.org/pages/about-it-gets-better-project/

Here are some LGBT youth who took their lives due to Gay Bullying and intolerance:

•  Tyler Clementi- An 18 year old freshman Rutgers University who jumped off of the George Washington Bridge on September 22nd, 2010, after a video of him having an intimate encounter with another male was secretly recorded and livestreamed by his roommate. He made a status on Facebook about killing himself before he went through with suicide.
• Asher Brown- A 13 year old boy who shot himself with his stepfathers pistol on September 23rd, 2010. He killed himself after going through years of torment at his school because of his size, religious faith in Buddhism, and because he was gay. His parents called the school numerous times over the period of 18 months about the bullying, even giving specific names, and claimed the school did nothing about it. It is believed that the final blow was when he was tripped down a flight of stairs, and when he got back up, he was tripped down a second flight.
• Seth Walsh- A 13 year old boy who died on September 29th, 2010 after being on life support for 10 days after an attempt to hang himself in his backyard. He took his life after being bullied since he was in 4th grade for being sensitive and gentle. Later on when it was revealed that he was gay, the bullying got worse, he would get pushed around in the hallways and have rude messages left on his cell phone. Students would even tell him to take his own life, and threaten to "get him" on his way home from school.
• Billy Lucas- A 15 year old who hung himself in his barn on September 2010 after going through intense homophobic bullying. He never said he was gay, and yet was accused of being gay and went through a lot of harassment due to this assumption that he was gay. 
• Justin Aaberg- A 15 year old boy who hung himself on July 9, 2010 after years of bullying after coming out that he was gay at the age of 13. His mother never realized the pain he was going through until after his death, when she talked to his friends from his school.
• Eric Mohat- A 17 year old student who committed suicide on March 29th, 2007. He was mercilessly harassed in high school because he was accused of being gay. On March 29th a bully stood up in class and said to Eric, "Why don't you go home and shoot yourself, no one will miss you." He went home, locked himself in his room after taking his father's pistol, and ended his own life.
• Carl Hoover- An 11 year old boy who hung himself with an extension cord in 2009. He went through daily routines of having anti-gay said to him by various bullies, it was never even certain that he was gay.
• Jamey Rodemeyer- A 14 year old boy who hung himself outside his home on September 18, 2011. Months earlier he made an It Gets Better video, and tried his best to send out a positive message to other members of the LGBT community. He went through years of taunting, but told his parents that things got better for him since he started high school, unfortunately they couldn't see his blog which had posts of desperation and sadness on it. He stated that Lady Gaga was one of his biggest idols due to her support for the LGBT cause. His final blog and twitter posts on the day he died was "I pray the fame won't take my life," a possible reference to Lady Gaga's song, "The Fame." After his death at a high school dance they played a Lady Gaga song, and his sister and friends began to cheer, but some students started yelling that they were glad he died. Even after his death the offensive remarks didn't stop.

These are only a few of the many victims of gay bullying. Nobody should have to go through the incredible pain that these or any individuals who have been bullied, whether gay or straight. This is a huge problem that can be avoided if there are more efforts from the schools, students, and parents to try and make educational facilities a much safer place for all students. Suicide is very unfortunate, and it is never good for somebody to kill themselves, especially because of things such as bullying and alienation. Many more people would be alive if they had more support and help from those around them. If you or anyone you know is a gay youth who is being bullied or is depressed and needs help, I highly recommend visiting www.itgetsbetter.org, it is a great website full of love and support, as well as contacts to people who really do care. Don't let the deaths of of all the LGBT suicide victims go in vain, keep going on with life and have hope that it will get better. The LGBT community has come such a long way and it's still going, don't give up now. Happiness and equality will be achieved and your lives will get better, but first you have to let it.

                   (Rise Against-Make It Stop music video, taken from www.youtube.com by RiseAgainstVEVO)
Here is an incredible music video from Rise Against for their song Make It Stop, all credits go to them for this incredible song and video. Everybody who comes onto my blog should absolutely watch this video and check out other songs by Rise Against, they always have great messages in their music. This video is a perfect anthem for LGBT youth who are victims of bullying, or anybody who is being bullied for that matter.

                            (Lady Gaga performing hair live, taken from www.youtube.com by MyLittlePonyTeam)
A video of Lady Gaga performing Hair live and paying tribute to Jamey Rodemeyer, this is a great live performance and it really shows how nice and caring Lady Gaga is. She really cares about her fans and it really shows here, she is a great role model and a huge supporter of the LGBT community.