Society has an impact on mainly every aspect of an
individual’s life. Even making everyday decisions are based on society’s
approval. For example, deciding what to wear so that you’re not shunned out by
your peers.
We all know that society provides structure,
continuity, a sense of community; and to some, a sense of belonging. However,
society does “punish” those individuals who think outside or “question the
paradigm” and can also favour status quo over change, even if the status quo is
discriminatory, unethical or even inhumane. Since homosexuality goes against
many paradigms’ created in society, homosexuals now feel compelled and trapped
in a world that does not understand them thus committing suicide to end their pain
and suffering once and for all.
As a society, we feel that it is our duty to "remove" any kind of issue that may "corrupt our loved ones". Many communities shun out homosexuality because they fear that homosexuals may in influence their own children from straying them from their religions, beliefs or "normal" life. Instead of making the society a "better place" to live or trying to guide children to the right paths, they might not know it, but they're actually not making the society a better place for everyone and they are guiding their children to the right path.
By trying to remove homosexuals from society, people end up creating more havoc and disputes amongst themselves and in the process, many individuals commit suicide in order to escape the people that are trying to "make society a better place". As for "trying to guide children to the right path", people may not be aware of it, but they are actually teaching their children to discriminate against homosexuals. People tell their children; "you can be anything you want to be", but if a child decides to come out of the closet about their sexual orientation then all of a sudden, that child is restricted of that freedom. These people are just sick and tired of being treated as if they aren't human and to them, the only way to escape, is committing suicide; it is absurd that discrimination against homosexuality has gone to this extent.
Among all the suicide attempts in Canada, 1/3 of them are attempted by homosexuals. Homosexuals are constantly afraid of living their life the way they want to because they're afraid of "coming out of the closet" and being rejected. Homosexuals often have trouble accepting their sexual identity and may start hating themselves because of who they are, especially if they come from a strict religious or conservative household/community. To prevent so from happening, homosexuals engage in heterosexual behavior in an effort to change their sexual orientation and feelings towards the same sex. However, they feel like they are living a life full of lies and in order to escape such deception, they commit suicide.
As a society, we feel that it is our duty to "remove" any kind of issue that may "corrupt our loved ones". Many communities shun out homosexuality because they fear that homosexuals may in influence their own children from straying them from their religions, beliefs or "normal" life. Instead of making the society a "better place" to live or trying to guide children to the right paths, they might not know it, but they're actually not making the society a better place for everyone and they are guiding their children to the right path.
By trying to remove homosexuals from society, people end up creating more havoc and disputes amongst themselves and in the process, many individuals commit suicide in order to escape the people that are trying to "make society a better place". As for "trying to guide children to the right path", people may not be aware of it, but they are actually teaching their children to discriminate against homosexuals. People tell their children; "you can be anything you want to be", but if a child decides to come out of the closet about their sexual orientation then all of a sudden, that child is restricted of that freedom. These people are just sick and tired of being treated as if they aren't human and to them, the only way to escape, is committing suicide; it is absurd that discrimination against homosexuality has gone to this extent.
Among all the suicide attempts in Canada, 1/3 of them are attempted by homosexuals. Homosexuals are constantly afraid of living their life the way they want to because they're afraid of "coming out of the closet" and being rejected. Homosexuals often have trouble accepting their sexual identity and may start hating themselves because of who they are, especially if they come from a strict religious or conservative household/community. To prevent so from happening, homosexuals engage in heterosexual behavior in an effort to change their sexual orientation and feelings towards the same sex. However, they feel like they are living a life full of lies and in order to escape such deception, they commit suicide.
Here are a few very shocking statistics about
homosexuals and suicide:
- In a study made by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, they estimated that 30% of “COMPLETED” (not attempted) suicides are committed by homosexuals. That is approximately 1,488 suicides per year.
- Roughly 20% of homosexual teens said they had made an attempt of committing suicide, versus the 4% of heterosexual kids that made an attempt of committing suicide.
- As many as 1 in 3 homosexuals have attempted to commit suicide.
- Scientists believe that 10% of the world population is made up of homosexuals – (For example, if there are 100 people in your class, 10 of them are most likely to be homosexual).
- Homosexual suicide has gone from 2 per 100,000 in 1960 to 17 per 100,000 in today’s generation.
As society evolves, we should be decreasing our social problems and it is expected that we open up to new concepts and welcome all type of people. But as statistics show, the numbers of homosexuals that commit suicide have actually been increasing instead of decreasing. This is very surprising especially since the concept of homosexuality has now been accepted by many individuals compared to say the 1950’s where homosexuality was greatly frowned upon.
Here’s a story about an 11 YEAR OLD BOY who was so
sick of the taunting and bullying he received in school about being homosexual,
that he decided to commit suicide.
Eleven-year-old Jaheem Herrera woke up on April 16, 2009 acting
strangely. He wasn't hungry and he didn't want to go to school. Jaheem
Herrera's mother thinks he hanged himself because he was perpetually bullied at
school. But the outgoing fifth grader packed his bag and went to school at
Dunaire Elementary School in DeKalb County, Georgia.He came home much happier than when he left in the morning, smiling as he handed his mother, Masika Bermudez, a glowing report card full of A's and B's. She gave him a high-five and he went upstairs to his room as she prepared dinner. A little later, when his younger sister called him to come down to eat, Jaheem didn't answer. So mother and daughter climbed the stairs to Jaheem's room and opened the door.
"I always used to see these things on TV, dead people on the news," says Bermudez. "I saw somebody die and to see this dead person is your son, hanging there, a young boy. . . . To hang yourself like that, you've got to really be tired of something." Bermudez says bullies at school pushed Jaheem over the edge. He complained about being called gay, ugly and "the virgin" because he was from the Virgin Islands, she said.
"He told me, but he just got to the point where he didn't want me to get involved anymore because nothing was done," she said. Bermudez said she complained to the school about bullying seven or eight times, but it wasn't enough to save him. "It [apparently] just got worse and worse and worse until Thursday," she said. "Just to walk up to that room and see your baby hanging there. My daughter saw this, my baby saw this, and my kids are traumatized."
She said Jaheem was a shy boy just trying to get a good education and make friends. "He was a nice little boy," Bermudez said through her tears. "He loved to dance. He loved to have fun. He loved to make friends. And all he made [at school] were enemies." Bermudez said she thinks her son felt like nobody wanted to help him that nobody stood up and stopped the bullies. "Maybe he said 'You know what -- I'm tired of telling my mom, she's been trying so hard, but nobody wants to help me,' " says Bermudez.
After Jaheem's death, the school board expressed condolences, saying the school staff "works diligently to provide a safe and nurturing environment for all students."
Trying desperately to understand what went wrong, Bermudez asked her son's best friend to recount what happened on the day Jaheem killed himself. "He [said he was] tired of complaining, tired of these guys messing with him," Bermudez said, recalling the conversation with Jaheem's best friend. "Tired of talking, I think to his teachers, counselors and nobody is doing anything -- and the best way out is death." ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)
Jaheem was hanging by his belt in the closet. He used to say, "Mom they keep telling me this . . . this gay word, this gay, gay, gay. I'm tired of hearing it, they're telling me the same thing over and over," she told CNN, as she wiped away tears from her face. But while she says her son complained about the bullying, she had no idea how bad it had gotten.
These are only a few of many video's that show us what the effect of
society's negligence and negativity towards homosexuality results in.
Citations:
Denizet-Lewis, B. (n.d.). True Gay Youth Suicide Stories-True Gay Teen Suicide Stories. Is Homosexuality a Choice?-No-Homosexuality is like being Left-Handed. Retrieved October 13, 2012, from http://lakeweedatarrowhead.net/suicidst.htm
Hart, J., & Richardson, D. (1981). The theory and practice of homosexuality. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Bullough, V. L. (1979). Homosexuality, a history. New York: New American Library.
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