Editorial by Ryan Brahm
Those of you who have read my story about my battle with suicide and depression know that when I was in elementary school I was not very popular. In fact, several of my “peers” went out of their way to call me names, such as cow. I can honestly say this experience shaped the kind of person I would be for the next 20 years. Definitely not in a good way. It took me that long to finally confront my emotions, and let people know of my struggles. While I survived my lowest times, some people have not.
Let me tell you the story of Jamel Myles. Jamel was a nine year old boy, who was struggling with a “problem”. He knew that he was gay, and wanted to wear more feminine clothing, but wasn’t sure how to tell his mother. One day while the two were driving in their car, Jamel just came out and said it. “Mom. I’m gay.” He sat in the back seat, nervous to hear what his mother, Leia Pierce, was going to say to him. Leia was very supportive, and told him “I still love you.” This was very important for the young Jamel, who then became more confident in himself. He then told his mom that he wanted to dress in girl’s clothes. She continued to support him, buying him some new clothes in preparation for the upcoming school year. Jamel was very excited to tell his friends at school, and show off his new wardrobe. Jamel started 4th grade on August 20th, and wore fake nails to school as well. Four days later, he was dead.
His fellow students, the ones he was so excited to come out to, and who he thought would love him regardless, turned on him. Leia said “Four days is all it took at school. I can just imagine what they said to him.” According to Leia, Jamel told her oldest daughter that the kids told him to kill himself.
Now I am aware that not everyone is accepting of those who are gay, lesbian, transsexual or whatever, but I ask you, why would anyone tell someone to kill themselves? All Jamel wanted was to be accepted for who he really was, and the people he cared about told him to kill himself. That is the most anger inducing, tear jerking thing I have ever heard. Jamel was a human being. We all are. We all are stuck here on this rock called earth for a short amount of time. We all want to be accepted for who we are. Imagine if someone thought everyone with your eye color was inferior. That is an aspect of yourself you can’t control. Sure you can put contacts in to make it look like you have a different eye color, but you would just be lying, not only to the world, but also to yourself. No one should be afraid to be who they are.
Bullying is still very much alive. While it doesn’t always manifest itself in the stereotypical big guy on the playground pushing the smaller kids around, it will manifest as a kid calling another kid ugly, or fat, or stupid. I can tell you from experience that if you are told something for long enough, no matter how false it is, you begin to believe it. If you tell a kid that they are inferior, and that they should kill themselves, chances are they are going to begin to believe it. This falls on the parents of today’s youth. If you let your kid talk like that at home, they will talk like that at school. Also, be sure to let your children know that it is ok to come to you if they are having trouble with a fellow student at school. Truly listen to what they tell you is going on. Don’t pass off a comment as a joke, and tell them “Don’t talk that way.” If a kid says something, it is for a reason.
Mental health is a very fragile thing, especially for a child. Most people associate suicide as a problem teenagers struggle with, but that is not the case. There are plenty of children who have, or are struggling with their self-worth, and are contemplating suicide. Need proof? Just ask Leia Pierce.
-Ryan Brahm
