Wednesday, October 26, 2011

School Bullying: Jamie Hubley's Short Life (IMG00482)

Jamie Hubley, the openly gay grade-10 student of a local secondary school took his own life on Oct 15, after having been bullied, taunted and harassed by other teens.

After his suicide was made public, there has been a sharp increase of ppl seeking assistance from Pink Triangle Services, which is a local service agency for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, two-spirit and queer (GLBTTQ) people.

Altho the Canadian Charter of Rights and government laws prohibit discrimination against an individual based on, among other things, his/her sexual orientation, open or covert hostility and harassment are still rampant in many sectors of the Canadian society.

While I am not part of the GLBTTQ community, I do feel strongly that inclusiveness (within the context of the Charter and govt laws) is what makes our Canadian society strong. One might not agree with Jamie Hubley's sexual orientation and life style, but he did not deserve the bullying that was driving him to despair and eventually contributed to his death.

The only comforting thought from this tragedy is that the end of Jamie Hubley's short life has helped raise public awareness (incl the local schools) and will save the lives of those who might not have otherwise seek help to extricate themselves out of that suicidal dark corner.

Photo Credit:
* Oct 26, 2011 Ottawa Sun article entitled "A Call for Help" - standing next to Jamie was his father Allan Hubley



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4 comments:

the inner space said...

年輕人哊啲就要話死,sigh!奈何!

Haricot 微豆 said...

SBB:

But we must stop blaming the victim of abuse. Those who bullied the victim and drove him to suicide must be held accountable for their actions.

the inner space said...

OK thank you very much HBB!

In fact I was once the victim of a cyber bulling case,though I didnt commit suicide personally, I was being deeply hurted to the extend 。。。 to the level venturing to let ”the inner space“ vanished from the cyber world (like suicide)。

YES,Those who bullied the victim and drove him to suicide must be held accountable for their actions.

Haricot 微豆 said...

SBB:

I am glad you did not give up blogging!!

With modern tracking technology, shared social networks, and powerful search engines, it is not that difficult for bullies to dig up personal info. And it is hard to defend against snipers once you become a target in the open !!!

The enforcement of anti-bullying laws will hopefully help deter the abusive behviours.

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