Things that piss me off:
A Rutgers University freshman appears to have killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate broadcast live images of the 18-year-old having a sexual encounter with another man on the internet, according to campus and law enforcement sources.
Tyler Clementi, 18, of Ridgewood, is presumed dead after his car, cell phone and computer were found near the George Washington Bridge last week, law enforcement sources said. His wallet was found on the walkway adjacent to the New York-bound lanes. In a statement released this afternoon, Clementi’s family confirmed the suicide and said his body has not been found.
Dharun Ravi, 18, of Plainsboro, and Molly Wei, 18, of Princeton, were charged with two counts each of invasion of privacy for setting up a camera in a dorm room on Sept. 19 and using it to view and transmit a live sex scene, said Middlesex County Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan.
They had to pick on the guy. And now he’s dead.
I would characterize it as evil and malicious rather than stupid and thoughtless. Hopefully they have enough of a conscience to feel horror and regret at what they’ve done.
Well, I assume that they had no intention of making the guy commit suicide. That’s what made it thoughtless. But, you’re right, it was malicious regardless of what they thought his reaction would be.
Thanks for posting this, BooMan.
When I heard this story at work, my mind immediately flashed on some cruel things that fellow college students had done to me when I was nineteen years old. I didn’t kill myself over it, but it was a tough, tough time for me.
I honestly don’t have any idea how to prevent this sort of thing from happening. But perhaps public condemnation will be a start.
Perhaps even worse:
In my opinion, the saddest part of this is that the kid felt so embarrassed at his homosexuality being exposed. It’s a harsh world, and only getting harsher it seems.
And this was the 2nd time for Ravi. He had done it earlier to the same individual. That is being charged separately I believe.
Parents say bullies drove their son to take his life
And at least this kid didn’t die and came out stronger:
Boy Cheerleader Tyler Wilson Won’t Quit Despite Arm Broken by Bullies
Did this stuff happen as often as it seems to 50 years ago and it’s more reported? Or is it just getting worse?
As I heard someone else say, it’s a shame that kids get a talking to for something an adult would be criminally charged over.
It’s not just gay kids, either. It’s bullying period, and Republicans and macho-assholes seem to think it’s just part of everyday life on the playground. Seriously, if anti-bullying initiatives are brought up, they tell kids to just “man-up.” It’s why these things happen. Administrators just ignore it.
I don’t know about suicide .. but I am sure the bullying is nothing new .. the only way to stop it is to stand up for yourself … and fight back if needed … ignoring it never works
It happened to me almost 40 years ago at Catholic school. Merciless ridicule, punching, slapping, pushing me down in the schoolyard and not letting me up, waging a relentless campaign of hatred against me. Those girls would not be satisfied until every single kid in the school joined in on the harassment. I begged my mother to let me attend the public school and she refused. I threw up each morning before school. Toward the end of the school year they started to be nice to me and invited me to a sleepover party. I was so eager to be accepted I went, and they ganged up on me, tore my clothes off and shoved me outside the house. 12 years old. I finally got my clothes back and walked home in the middle of the night.
It’s not new. I can’t imagine how much worse it is with cell phones and Facebook and internet bullying. There is no safe place for a bullied child now.
Well that last one with the sleepover seems pretty obvious but probably not so much when you’re 12. I’ve heard that the problem is that now with the internet and cell phones it never stops, 24/7. But then, though I was a longer, heavy and sarcastic as hell, I was never bullied.
targic. simply tragic.