Please respond to two students:
Student 1: The topic of discussion is something I find very upsetting and sad. While it is a known fact that bullying plays a huge role in the suicide of many, it hurts to know that it has life threatening effects on a variety of people that have not gotten to fully experience life yet. I cannot imagine how hard it is to not only be bullied for your sexual orientation, but to know that you could not have saved a child, friend, or or acquaintance from taking their life. Not only did the age of the people being talked about stand out to me in the videos and articles, but the fact that just an assumption led to bullying a child to death was crazy to me. In the first video we learn that a fifteen year old child named Billy Lucas was perceived as gay, and that was why other children made him a target. After being harassed constantly, he made the decision to take his own life. I found it crazy that children will go out of their way to make others feel badly about themselves. I also find it upsetting that students and parents will report these behaviors and still no actions are taken or those actions are taken too late.
While the TED talk had stories that stood out to me, the talk as a whole really left an impression on me. The part of the talk that made me emotional and sad was when the key speaker was telling his story. He talks about how he felt as a gay kid in a town that held bullies that hurt him because of his sexuality. While he does not outright say he struggled with suicidal thoughts or actions, it becomes clears his experiences caused him to have a lot of fear. He began to cry when recalling his story and had a hard time saying what could potentially have been the feeling of wanting to harm oneself. Even though the speaker had to recall a hard time in his life, I felt the overall message to be heartfelt and sweet. It made me glad to know that there are people out there that want the best for those that are mistreated for their sexualities. Although this issue is not one I can personally relate to, I have heard the many stories of the families that have lost someone to it and my heart goes out to each and every one of them.
Student 2: Something that caught my attention was when he mentioned that people get bullied because of the assumptions people have about their sexuality. That has been something that bothers me the most about certain people I’ve been around. People shouldn’t assume someone’s sexuality for them just because someone is different, or someone doesn’t follow gender norms. I just don’t understand what a person’s sexuality does to the life of another persons. I can understand that it goes against certain religions, but to tell someone that they are shameful or sinful about it is not anyone’s place, but the person themself. I find it extremely upsetting that the man in the first video even has to share this with the world because it’s such a real situation. He could barely get through it because he is so hurt by telling the stories and thinking about all the kids taken from their lives at only 13.
I don’t appreciate how people normalized bullying nowadays. I can understand if the jokes are mutual, but you don’t really know unless you are the person you are speaking to. I personally don’t take bullying lightly and neither should anyone else. Bullying isn’t only face to face; bullying is also an issue online as well. Instagram reels and TikTok comments are always flooded with hatred and bullying towards people they don’t even know a lick of information about, and it’s so sickening in my opinion. I feel like bullying people about their sexuality has become worse than it was a couple years ago. I’ve always wished for society to be a place that was more accepting, so many of us hide the people we are because people can be truly cruel.
