2:13 pm - 09/22/2011
Lady Gaga was so shaken with the news about the death of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer this weekend that she has called for President Obama to enact laws making bullying a hate crime.
Rodemeyer, who had posted an "It Gets Better" video in May about his long struggle with bullying at school, took his life on Sunday after what his parents said was years of taunting over his sexuality.
In his video, Rodemeyer cited Gaga as an inspiration, saying, "She makes me so happy. She lets me know that I was born this way. And that's my advice to you from her: You were born this way. All you have to do is hold your head up and you'll go far." The teen seems on the verge of tears when discussing Gaga's message and promising to keep on going despite the hate.
On Wednesday, Gaga expressed her sadness over Rodemeyer's death. "The past days I've spent reflecting, crying, and yelling," she tweeted. "I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someone's life." She went further, posting Rodemeyer's "Better&" video, and insisting that bullying "must become illegal. It is a hate crime."
In fact, Gaga claimed in a subsequent tweet, she's so upset that she is planning to meet with President Obama on the matter.
"I will not stop fighting," she wrote. "This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey." A spokesperson for the White House could not confirm at press time if Gaga has officially set up a meeting with the president to discuss the issue.
MTV's ongoing "A Thin Line" project provides stories and resources for anyone who believes they are being cyberbullied or who is looking for ways to stop harassment by digital means.
Source
Lady Gaga Calls For Meeting With Obama After Bullied Teen's Suicide
Lady Gaga was so shaken with the news about the death of 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer this weekend that she has called for President Obama to enact laws making bullying a hate crime.
Rodemeyer, who had posted an "It Gets Better" video in May about his long struggle with bullying at school, took his life on Sunday after what his parents said was years of taunting over his sexuality.
In his video, Rodemeyer cited Gaga as an inspiration, saying, "She makes me so happy. She lets me know that I was born this way. And that's my advice to you from her: You were born this way. All you have to do is hold your head up and you'll go far." The teen seems on the verge of tears when discussing Gaga's message and promising to keep on going despite the hate.
On Wednesday, Gaga expressed her sadness over Rodemeyer's death. "The past days I've spent reflecting, crying, and yelling," she tweeted. "I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someone's life." She went further, posting Rodemeyer's "Better&" video, and insisting that bullying "must become illegal. It is a hate crime."
In fact, Gaga claimed in a subsequent tweet, she's so upset that she is planning to meet with President Obama on the matter.
"I will not stop fighting," she wrote. "This must end. Our generation has the power to end it. Trend it #MakeALawForJamey." A spokesperson for the White House could not confirm at press time if Gaga has officially set up a meeting with the president to discuss the issue.
MTV's ongoing "A Thin Line" project provides stories and resources for anyone who believes they are being cyberbullied or who is looking for ways to stop harassment by digital means.
Source
What kind of law? To make it illegal for kids to be giant douchebags?
Edited at 2011-09-22 06:25 pm (UTC)
i'm sure there are ways
it's as simple as a teacher in a classroom saying she will not tolerate this type of talk in her classroom before starting a lesson and getting on with her job. there is nothing like that now.
it won't get better until there are real consequences for kids and parents all over the country
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/us/13
Though if she had demon eyes I do NOT believe we wouldn't have seen them by now, she hides nothing and how could you top that for a VMA performance?
But idk, still seems like it would be something difficult to take care of
Why do people not get this?
i'm going to be taking notes on people judging this
and can i say? the only people i hate more than bullies are the people who insist bullying is no big deal and help people ~~grow.
I mean, it's true I wouldn't necessarily be who I am if I weren't bullied, but it wasn't some ~growth ~bootstrap experience.
Screw that noise.
I know from my own personal experiences that even though I'm a stronger person that is no longer afraid of standing up and speaking out about this subject, damage has been done that will never go away from my memories emotionally, mentally, and physically. Those scars will never ever be completely erased.
Also, bullying is not just on the playground or at educational institutions. It can happen in families/at the home, at the workplace, in relationships, etc.
I know plenty of people who when discussing the "It Gets Better" campaign believe it's all about how later on in the future those problems will seize to exist and tbh the wording in press releases and other forms of awareness done by this campaign truly make it seem that way. Bullying exists in all sorts of environments and is not confined to a certain age group. That's where I believe the campaign his failed to make itself clear on its overall message and has lost supporters or has confused the masses. That is honestly not right by any means either considering all the people out there who are being hurt each day by bullying and who would like to see something out there (laws, organizations/groups, etc.) that stands up for a cause that they relate to and that could have part in preventing such awful things from happening and spreading the word that it is happening.
(Sorry for the long comment. I just have a lot of feelings about this).
It gets better when you realize that what other people think of you is none of your business and you can surround yourself with people who are good.
The society has to change, and many policies and laws need to change, but it takes time. It Gets Better campaign is at least trying to say to these kids that it's not always going to be like this.
and in the end (not that it's 100% over) the schools ruling was to put my (bullied) kid into social skills class.
RAGE
i told the teacher exactly why i was late, and -i- got in trouble.
Edited at 2011-09-22 06:31 pm (UTC)
And even now at university I have my fair share of quite unpleasant classmates. If you're never questioning your own actions and whether you're right or wrong and have the loudest voice then you're going to be successful in life, I guess.
So in a way it does "get better" because there are less personal attacks but basically if you're raised to be a considerate person or if you're on the shy side tons of assholes will be giving you a hard time pretty much in any field.
My brother was bullied by one kid when we were little. My brother told our dad and it was A WRAP.
My dad came to our school, made my brother point the boy out. He snatched the kid up by his collar and dragged his ass to the principal's office. He let everybody know if they don't do something about it, shit would hit the fucking fan and that kid would be hurting lol. And if not him, his damn parents would, if he kept messing with my brother.
Most of the time, parents need to take matters into their own hands when it comes to bullying in school. Administrators don't do shit.
ffs, even when the bullying got worse because of her depression and ocd (people suck), when she was skipping classes, they did fuck all. they did berate her, ofcourse. they definitely wanted her out of the school as soon as possible because they couldn't have someone bringing the grades down. i don't even think they actually believed OCD was a problem/something that affected her... they had this attitude like she could and should just snap out of it.
ugh it seriously makes me rage. they can yell at a student for dumb shit like rolling their skirt up but when it comes to bullying, they take the backseat.
She was pissed, I was pissed, and my sister, who has a learning disability, was asking us why people were so mean to her.
it was like I was doing something wrong.
I never got it bad enough to be suicidal over being bullied though. i cant imagine the trauma some of these kids go through.