A Life Lost

A Life Lost

  I can not imagine what life had become for Rutgers’ freshman Tyler Clementi in September 2010. I have seen videos of him playing the violin, he was very talented. I heard people say that he was a very good and kind person; that is not to say that all people were good and kind to him.

  From what I have read and watched on the news; Tyler was a homosexual young man who was learning to cope with who he was...not unlike most people his age. One night his roommate placed a web cam in their dorm room. On this specific night Tyler was seen in his room with another male...and his roommate allegedly aired it over the web. As with most things on the internet...it went viral; the humiliation of the video was too much for Tyler to deal with. And on Sept 22, 2010 at 8:42p.m.; Tyler Clementi posts on his Face book wall “Jumping off the G.W. Bridge, sorry”. That was the last anyone heard from Tyler Clementi, a life that ended far too soon.

  Now his family must try and move forward...left only with memories of a kind soul...that the world was NOT kind too. Why did Tyler throw himself off the George Washington Bridge? He ended his life, because someone wanted to make fun of him. Someone thought a laugh was more important than compassion.

  I am angered at this situation, because this happens too often. Our children are being bullied and badgered from one extreme to another. Tyler was a child of God...yet we allowed him to be isolated. We made this form of bullying permissible...by simply sitting in front of our computers while this video was live streamed. We didn’t stand up and try to stop it. And in the end, Tyler could not live with the embarrassment...so he ended his grief.

  I intentionally have not mentioned the names of the 2 individuals that were responsible for this incident...not because I am trying to protect them. I am leaving them nameless because the only persons name worthy of remembering...is Tyler Clementi.

  I am writing this to focus on an ongoing problem...bullying. People are no longer just trying to steal lunch money...they are stealing the lives and livelihood of our offspring. It is up to us to put an end to this. No one deserves to feel alone, and deserted. Families don’t deserve to have to pick up the pieces of their broken hearts, because someone thought that humor at the expense of another...was acceptable.

  We are responsible for implementing good, strong, virtuous morals within our children. Every time a child is bullied...it is our world’s problem. Every time a child is fearful of going to school or out to play, because some other child or adult is strong arming them...we are responsible. It is our job to step forward and put our foot down, for those that have not found a way to do it for themselves. We must embrace God’s children...regardless of who they are.

  Young men and women have enough to deal with...just being young adults. Life makes things hard enough, without us pushing things to their limit and making it almost impossible to survive. It saddens me to know that Tyler felt like he had no other choice but to end his young life. I pray that this vicious circle can end here. We all can play a part in making the world a more loving place. Encourage our children to be respectful of others; and in the wake of bullying we should educate our children in the art of compassion. Stand up for those who do not know how to stand up for themselves.

  I pray that God will guide us back onto our true path...we have wasted far too much time.