The death of Jamie Hubley shines light on the negative effect that bullying and hatred has on queer youth. In this blog post, I will analyze the CBC News article on Jamie’s death along with Nan Stein’s Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students and John D’Emilio’s Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview in order to show that the relationship between bullying and suicide among queer youth is at times overshadowed by the mentality of the community in which queer youth live.
Jamie Hubley killed himself on October 15, 2011. He was the only openly gay boy at his high school and constantly taunted for his sexual identity. His father states that his son, Jamie, suffered from depression because of the bullying he experienced. In one occasion, a group of teenagers tried to stuff batteries down Jamie’s throat. Jamie desperately sought to be accepted. He did not understand why kids could be so cruel. Jamie took his life on a Saturday night. He posted a suicide note on his blog:
"I'm tired of life, really. It's so hard, I'm sorry, I can't take it anymore… It's just too hard. I don’t want to wait three more years, this hurts too much."
The response that the Ottawa community had to Jamie’s death seems shocking to me. Jamie’s father was a city councilor, a man of power, who after losing his son could make a difference for the LGTBQ community. The city of Ottawa and the media covering Jamie’s story dismissed his suicide as a result of depression, giving little credit to the role that hatred and bullying played in Jamie‘s death. CBC News states that, “Awareness of teen depression and mental health has grown” and that, “a series of teen suicides in the Ottawa Valley have forced communities to design better strategies to… [identify] signs of depression earlier and [remove] the stigma surrounding mental health issues.” There is not mention of the effect bullying and hate incidents had on Jamie. No attempts to stop bullying or raise awareness for queer students is made. Depression is an important issue but that was not the initial trigger that led to Jamie taking his own life. It seems that this community refuses to accept that violence and hatred toward queer youth exists and should not be tolerated.
In her article, Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students, Nan Stein argues that a difference should be made between violence and bullying. Sexual and gender harassment are put under the umbrella term, bullying, when one should be treated with more seriousness. She states that, “Sometimes egregious behaviors are framed as bullying when in fact they may constitute illegal sexual or gender harassment, or even hazing or assault.” What Stein is saying comes into play in the case of Jamie. The article states that Jamie was “picked on” but one can argue that he was a victim of hate incidents. Stuffing batteries down somebody’s throat goes beyond being “picked on.” It is a form of assault and should not be tolerated. However, the schools are not the only ones who need to differentiate between bullying and harassment. The community as a whole needs to change the way in which bullying and hatred toward the LGTBQ youth is viewed. They also need to realize that Jamie’s suicide was not just a case of “mental illness.” In his article, Homosexuality and American Society, John D’Emilio describes a time in which homosexuality and mental disease were believed to be interlinked. To regard Jamie’s suicide as a case of “metal illness” in a way affirms this erroneous belief. Jamie did not have depression because he was gay. Jamie was a young boy who was tormented to the point that he developed depression. Jamie killed himself because he was a victim of hate. Awareness of LGTBQ issues, such as hatred in the school environment, need to be raised so that no queer youth have to suffer.
References:
Burke, Ashley. “Gay Ottawa Teen Who Killed Himself was Bullied.” CBC News. October 18, 2011. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/10/18/ottawa-teen-suicide-father.html
D’Emilio, John. “Homosexuality and American Society: An Overview.” Politics, Sexual, Communities in the United States 1940-1970, Chicago Press, 1983.
Stein, Nan. “Bullying, Harassment and Violence Among Students.” Radical Teacher, No. 80. Teaching Beyond Tolerance. Winter 2007, 30-35.
I read a similar article in which a student who identified as gay was beat to death but he was only named a victim of hazing rather than a hate crime. I agree that many communities fail to admit that violence against queer youth exists. Regarding your article, I do agree that as a man who holds power, Jamie Hubley’s father should have attempted to raise awareness of hate crimes and bullying against the LGBTQ community. However, I also believe that he had reasons for dismissing his son’s suicide as a result of depression rather than bullying. According to Theo Van Der Meer, there are many beliefs that homosexuals “flaunt their lack of honor” (Van Der Meer 159). Homosexuality may be dishonorable, but depression is a sickness. Further, Jamie’s father is a city councilor who has a reputation to protect. By disregarding the bullying and violence that contributed to his son’s depression, he would not have to admit to having a gay son. However, if he had attempted to raise awareness for the queer community, he could have lost much of his honor as well as the support from older generations. Although I firmly believe that he should have used his son’s suicide to raise awareness for the LGBTQ community, we cannot consider him the enemy. Unfortunately, the LGBTQ community is not yet universally accepted in today’s society. Jamie’s father has a reputation to uphold, a career to maintain, and a family to support. Admitting his son was gay could easily risk all of that. I think he did what he believed to be best for his family.
ReplyDeleteBibliography
Van Der Meer, Theo. “Gay Basing: A Rite of Passage?” Culture, Health, & Sexuality 5.2 (2003): 153-165. Print.