As a follow-up to the recent post, Bring an end to cyber bullying, it is appropriate to share the story of one mother’s plea to see that anti-gay bullying is denounced by Congress. Tammy Aaberg is the mother of a gay high school student from Minnesota who committed suicide after being harassed and bullied by peers.
On September 15, 2011, Aaberg, who was joined by three of Justin’s peers, delivered a petition with more than 145,000 signatures Rep. Michele Bachmann’s Minnesota office. The petition was started by Aaberg online with CREDO Action signatures and called on the Congresswoman to denounce anti-gay bullying in her district and take the issue to her peers in Congress. Bachmann has stated that anti-gay bullying “not a federal issue” (CBS).
Aaberg was able to deliver the signatures in person and meet with Bachmann’s district director, to whom she told Justin’s story.
I told her about my son, a kind and talented 15-year-old, who faced malicious bullying on a daily basis. And I told her about that horrible day, a day I’ll never forget, when I discovered that my son had taken his own life.
It wasn’t until after Justin’s death that I first heard about the torment he endured each day at school. And because Anoka-Hennepin School District enforces a dangerous “neutrality policy,” Justin’s teachers were barred from adequately addressing the fact that he was being bullied because he was gay.
This is simply unacceptable. No student, gay or straight, should feel threatened or unsafe in school, or hopeless enough to take their own life.
It wasn’t until after her son’s death that Aaberg realized the severity of his bullying and therefore vowed that she would not allow this to happen to another student. Aaberg feels that the very least Rep. Bachmann can do is denounce the anti-gay bullying in her district. She stated, “by remaining silent, she’s condoning this violence”.
As we have seen with the public cases of Justin Aaberg and Phoebe Prince, whose case made international headlines in 2010 (Bullying is Abuse) after bullying led her to commit suicide, silence will only continue to fuel such abuse. Sadly, since the break of Aaberg’s story another teen plagued by anti-gay bullying took his own life. Following years of anti-gay bullying, 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer committed suicide on Sunday, September 18, despite his own efforts to inspire and empower other teens faced with daily bullying in a May 2011 YouTube video. The Buffalo News reported that Jamey had been posting depressed messages to his Facebook page and his blog for several weeks prior to his suicide.
“No one in my school cares about preventing suicide. I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens,” Jamey stated in a September 9 entry. “What do I have to do so people will listen to me?”
In the wake of these heartbreaking stories it is apparent that action must be taken to condemn such abuses against our children in the name of so many who have tried. Aaberg has taken the case to the representatives in her district and home state, however, this issue is nation-wide: action must be taken at all levels as we work to remove this social stigma. Nonetheless the real issue that must be addressed is our failure to acknowledge and take a stand against all forms of bullying.
If you see a child or adolescent that is being bullied or abused don’t stand by helplessly and let him or her suffer, report it, talk to the child, and look for the signs. We can put an end to the violence and it starts with one child, one school, one community. We are well on our way to winning the fight.
If you are a child or teen facing bulling please do not be afraid and report the abuse to a trusted adult right away or contact one of the following Crisis Hotlines for help.
Please also see the following resource lists: Books for Children and Parents of Victims of Abuse and Links for Abused Children and Parents
Please see further news coverage of Aaberg’s story here:
To see current information and news reports on the Phoebe Prince case click here.
