Life is something valued that we each are given a chance to take part in, to leave our mark before we pass along with time. The life we live is constructed upon diversity among others, which is simply what makes our world of various cultures and others’ ways of life so vast and unique.
The fault with diversity in our world today is how limited the acceptance is of others in relation to the spreading outbreak of criticism and maltreatment of others who display their way of life differently than our own. More specifically, the increase in teenage lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender suicides is now considered an epidemic due to the excessive teasing and harassment toward them.
“Teenage bullying and teasing is an epidemic in this country,” Ellen DeGeneres strongly stated in response to the suicide of 18-yearold Tyler Clementi, after he jumped to his death off the George Washington Bridge. Tyler was bullied and spied upon by his roommate because he was gay, outing him to his family and others.
After being harassed by other students of Rutgers University (who posted) his private relationships across the Internet, Tyler let go of his one chance of life by killing himself. In addition, Tyler’s suicide is just one on the long list of lives that have been lost due to the selfish and heartless treatment of others.
For example, recently there have been numerous news reports regarding suicides, such as 13- year-old Seth Walsh from Tehachapi, Calif., 13-year-old Asher Brown from Cypress, Tex., and 15-year-old Billy Lucas in Greensburg, Ind.
Furthermore, the phrase “treat others the way you would want to be treated” seems to be nonexistent for those who can’t refrain from treating these people with the slightest respect and human decency.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teenagers are much more likely to take their own life in result to the mistreatment of other peers.
Some may say these innocent teenagers are “bullied to death” verbally, physically and most of all through the social network by text messages and sites such as Facebook and MySpace. Also, the devastating heightening number of annual suicides in the United States was concluded to be between 35,000 and 40,000 per year, and of those numbers, 20 percent of the deaths are of children from age 12 to 18.
With each news story reported, each life lost from heartless maltreatment, and each family left in despair and confusion, the more that awareness about this topic needs to be spread.
As a junior in high school, I could feel nothing but grief and sorrow after reading how these innocent teenagers were bullied into their graves, and enough is enough. These tragic events assisted in allowing me to see past the superficial and fake mirages our society displays only to make ourselves feel better while others are left to suffer.
The way people set aside their own time to ruin someone’s private life by exploiting them is absolutely disgusting, and this epidemic needs to be cured as soon as possible.
I have been able to view the harsh as well as the good quality in those from these saddening suicides and have come to realize that not everyone has it easy, that for many, each day is like a marathon in their life as they run past the numerous obstacles that bullies and the superficial society sets in front of them.
The epidemic needs to be cured and lives need to be saved simply by restraining from degrading others for being different; because no one deserves to feel as if they don’t warrant the right to breathe and to take advantage of their one chance at life.
Alyssa Barreto junior Jackson Memorial High School Jackson