Joel Burns spoke at the city council in Fort Worth, Texas. You know what his point is for the entire speech. Burns starts out by telling the room that he is there to educate them about suicide in gay teens and to encourage these teens to not give up. The sympathy card was pulled very early in this talk. One great move that Joel Burns made was the fact that he addressed the struggling teens directly. This helps them to feel as if he is sitting there, right next to them, telling them to hang on. It makes them feel as if someone really does care. Joel chokes up at some point while reciting his speech because it really hit home for him. This, plus the fact that what he says is completely heart-wrenching, then caused me to choke up also. He really makes the room aware of his cause and makes an impact.
It gets better. This is the key phrase in Burns’ speech. No matter how bad it is now, it gets better. This is a vital idea to believe in as someone who is struggling with their life. Kids sometimes have tunnel vision. This means that they think there is only one side of the story and that nothing will ever change. This is wrong. There is ALWAYS a way to avoid a certain situation and things hardly ever stay the same in ANYTIHNG in life. However, kids continue to think that life is never going to get any better so they decide to just end it. Look at this boy.
Can you see how happy he looks? Does it look like he has a love for life? If you just took one look at him, would you believe that, one day, he was bullied so badly that he had finally had enough of this life? Would you believe that he went home, wrapped one end of a noose around his neck and the other around a tree and jumped? Now look at this boy.
See how young he is? He can’t be any older than 13. This child was also bullied to the point where he believed there was no way out. This child also committed suicide.
It is not fair that people so young have to deal with these huge aching feelings that people thrust upon them. And, on top of all that, they have to deal with all of the normal stressors in regular teenage life (getting good grades, trying to make friends, trying to figure out where you belong). Bullies form at exactly the wrong moment: the youth. Teenagers are already distressed because they don’t know who they are or what they are supposed to do. Youth is the time to figure this out. If you are told that no one will ever like you and that you aren’t wanted in the world at this crucial point in life, then you will most likely believe it. This is what causes teen suicide. This is why so many lives hang in the balance at this very moment. These people are too young. They haven’t even had a chance to truly live. Joel Burns is not only here to tell children that it gets better. He is here to tell the adults that something needs to be done. The world cannot continue in this way. The kids cannot possibly deal with this on their own.
How could bullying get this far? It started out as simply arguing in the sandbox. Why did it escalate to this level? Why did we LET IT? Could we not see what was going on? It has been said that ignorance is bliss. I’m positive that this only applies to half of the parties in this day and age. The people who ignore the bad are happy in their own little bubble. The struggling teenagers? This isn’t them. They are obviously not happy. Can we stop this madness? Can we accept others and the decisions that they make? Answer me this: Why can’t people just let each other be?
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