What goes through people's heads when they bully someone? What pleasure to people get from tearing others down? To me, the reasons for bullying are incomprehensible. I believe that all people no matter what their gender, religion, race, or orientation, should be treated equally and with respect. 
Just today I was made aware of the tragic death of Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14 year old from the city of Buffalo, NY. Jamey was bullied day after day because of his sexual orientation. On a daily basis, Jamey had a wide array of gay slurs thrown at him. All of the bullying built up to a point where Jamey felt that he had to commit suicide, something no one should ever have to do. Jamey always had the support of his friends and family, but I guess the negatives overtook the positives. He tried to maintain a strong front so that no one could see that any of the hurtful words were getting to him. A lot of the bullying that happened to Jamey was done via internet, on social networking sites such as Twitter. In fact one of Jamey's final goodbyes was made on Twitter. On September 18th, the day he committed suicide, Jamey tweeted to Lady Gaga, " bye mother monster,thank you for all you have done, paws up forever".As a tribute to Jamey Rodemeyer, Lady Gaga dedicated her performance of her song "Hair" at the iHeart Radio Music Festival to Jamey. Along with Lady Gaga, there are other celebrities out there that are supporting Jamey, his family, and other teens in the nation that are facing the same situation. Jamey's mother, Tracey, said that her son was put on earth for this short time to show why bullying is wrong. Jamey's father, Tim, said, "my message to the parents is, 'Badger your kids and make them talk,' or get them the help they need,”.
Jamey Rodemeyer is not the only teen that faces bullies. Unfortunately, teens are bullied all over America. Bullying can be anything that constantly hurts someone. It is not just via internet like it was for Jamey. In some cases, teens are physically bullied. For example, Elise, from Brockport, NY, was harassed everyday on the bus. She was tripped and hit by older students.
These series of reported incidents of bullying and harassment have led to national acknowledgement of causes to end it. Many people have stated their opinions of what happened. Lady Gaga, during her performance at the iHeart Radio Music Festival, said, "bullying is for losers". I agree with this statement. Courtney W. says "Bullying comes in many forms. If it makes you uncomfortable, it's bullying. BE A BETTER PERSON!". "Bullying has morphed into something that is uncontrollable now. With the use of social medias bullying has increased to a level that in unimaginable", says Samuel H. Kathryn P. states "bullying is become a huge problem across America, and society should do whatever they can to stop it". The dean of my school, Mr.Miller, says "bullying has changed to cyberbullying".
I believe that bullying truly is a major problem with teens in this nation. Sometimes it involves a lack of self confidence and other times it happens because people want to fit in. However, this problem needs to be fixed. It is hurting innocent students physically, as well as emotionally. I also believe that there are three things that need to be thought of to prevent bullying. First, spread the love. Second, don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to yourself. Lastly, one action starts a chain reaction.
