Fourteen-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer took his own life on Sunday after years of bullying. Ironically, Jamey recorded a video for the “It Gets Better” campaign back in May of this year. Anderson Cooper recaps Jamey’s story in the video below, and he reveals several politicians and organization leaders who believe that bullying isn’t a problem.
I’m grateful to Dan Savage and the thousands of people who have posted these “It Gets Better” videos, but further steps need to be taken. Young people need and deserve more than inspirational videos.
My post on bullying last week received a lot of support, and I appreciate it. If you’re reading this post and watching the video below, please make a commitment to PAY ATTENTION and don’t let bullying happen when you’re the adult or the person in power in a given situation. You’d be surprised who’s watching and who you may actually help. We can’t stop at recording videos, and we need people outside of the LGBTQ community to serve as allies at every step of the way.
Please share this post, forward it to friends and colleagues, and use the words “Pay Attention” when you do. It sounds simple enough. Let’s make it simple in action as well.