I read with horror and some tears yesterday a story about a freshman at Rutgers University who jumped off the George Washington bridge because of a hate crime that had been perpetuated against him. Two people (one of them the victim's roommate) secretly filmed the guy having sex with another man, and posted it online. Apparently they had filmed a second encounter and were ready to post that one, too, but their victim -- talented violinist Tyler Clementi -- was so distraught by what they'd done to him that he posted a simple message to his Facebook page -- "going to jump off the gw bridge sorry" -- and then committed suicide by following through.The two pieces of shit who had posted the video have been arrested. I'm assuming (hoping) that they didn't intend for things to go as far as they did, and are probably as horrified as the rest of us to know the cause of their actions, but that doesn't bring back Clementi, nor dull the emotional pain they inflicted on him. I think it takes a special kind of callous to have done what they did. Clementi is not the first homosexual to commit suicide for being mocked by people who clearly lack any sort of self esteem and make their fun by hurting others, but in one of the articles I read yesterday, it mentioned an absolutely BRILLIANT project by Dan Savage. He's asked gay men and women to post videos on YouTube talking to younger gay men and women about times when they had been harassed for being gay, and to let them know three simple words: It gets better. I can't think of a better way to tackle such a devastating thing, and I applaud Dan Savage for coming up with this. Please help promote this site wherever you can. You can go here to the YouTube channel and watch some of the bravest and most inspirational testimonies you'll ever see.
Tyler Clementi, RIP.
8 comments:
Bravo, Dan Savage. There may be no greater expression of the human spirit than to share one's own painful experience so that another might find a path outward from their despair. Makes you sort of proud to be a human, once in a while.
So very sad. You should check out Ellen D's response on her show. Powerful and courageous.
I hope both of those parasites get the 5 year maximum sentence.
What a wonderful idea. I think I will try to post a video over the weekend.
Thanks for posting this.
Saw this on Savage Love. Thanks for reposting. I hope everyone who can will send a message to the younger versions of themselves. It does get better
I have always thought Dan Savage is wonderful anyway, and starting this excellent project in answer to such a tragic and awful event makes me love him even more. The only way to successfully combat terrorism of this nature, in my mind, is with compassion, perseverance and strength of will. What an exemplary showcase for these characteristics, and a superbly reasoned response. Bravo, Dan. Bravo.
Hey Nik, catching up with your blog, boy I have a lot to read, but just wanted to say thank you for this post. I was so saddened to hear about how Tyler was maliciously bullied like this. As much as technology is a blessing, it can be a curse given that kids these days can be bullied 24/7 on line, by text, at school, everywhere at any time. Its tragic. I was also made fun of at school for being a geek and a bookworm, and it really hurt. Kids don't realize how much it does hurt. RIP Tyler....
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