No sarcasm, no creative play on words – just a story that shouldn’t have to be told.
If you’ve watched the news or read a paper you will have realized the latest trend is a sad and unfortunate series of events.
Teen suicide has been dominating the headlines in large numbers over the past year, more so in the last few months.
These are just four of the names that should never have made the papers, four names that would have benefited from the work now being done to aid those feeling the pressures of being bullied.
The Ontario government has an anti-bullying legislation in the works that could see bullies expelled from schools –instead of a simple suspension. But is that enough to tame the courtyard bullies? What will it take to make a point that states loud and clear “words hurt like knives”?
It’s been preached before and it’ll be preached until concrete evidence proves that what’s being done is actually helping this new epidemic of teen suicide.
The Toronto Star writes:
“Across Ontario, the number of deaths by suicide in those 19 and younger remains relatively constant at 60 per cent. The coroners office believes the total is under reported by as much as 33 percent“
Plain and simple, this shit needs to stop.
The Toronto Star has started a series that examines the lives of people who have not only contemplated the idea, but who also tried. The concept of the series is to share the success of these individuals after being stuck in a dark part of their lives.
The message: it gets better.
In an October episode of the Mercer Report, Canadian comedian Rick Mercer used the rant portion to speak to bullying. He says it’s not enough to just tell young people who are bullied that it will get better; we have to actually make it better.
Truth.
So we have a proposed bill and inspirational stories from big media outlets. What about an inspirational video from a teen who actually spent a portion of his life being bullied?
Jonah Mowry.
Four months ago this young man released a video expressing his feelings, telling the story of how dark his life has been. Take the time to watch it.
Pulls at your heart strings, doesn’t it? It’s also a positive message for those thinking of suicide, thinking it’s the only way out, the only way to make it stop. Advocacy for those who think there is no light at the end of the tunnel.
But recently a video went viral with a happier, smiling Jonah saying his school loves him – it wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the obnoxious gum chewing – take a look.
Before you jump to conclusions, understand that Jonah Mowry didn’t lie. He clearly makes a point of mentioning that his other video was posted 4 months ago. Since that video, his life has gotten better – people don’t hate him so much… well at least they didn’t.
The irony to this all, is that people are now bullying him again. They say they’ve lost all respect that he’s a liar and his first video was fake.
So what if it was. Regardless of the nature, Jonah brings up an issue that obviously needs to be addressed. Instead of judging because you think it’s fake, read between the lines and begin to understand the real issue at hand.
Teen suicide is on the rise, and shows no sign of slowing down.
If we as a society don’t start better controlling the bullying that’s plaguing our youth we will continue to see our youth fall into dark places, and continue to watch them disappear.
It’s not hard to be accepting, people should try it sometime.
