Much frustration has been vented over a certain Senator's failure to participate in the taping of an It Gets Better video. The entire Massachusetts Congressional delegation all showed for it. That is, except for one, conspicuously absent was Republican Senator Scott Brown.
And the disgust is righteous. It is a shame that Brown couldn't or wouldn't extend such a simple act of kindness and compassion on behalf of his constituents, or in the name of bipartisanship.
But I really hope the hubbub over Scott Brown not doing the video is not an unseemly attempt to exploit the tragedy of LGBT teen suicide merely to play partisan politics.
Because this issue shouldn't be about who is or isn't taping a YouTube video. We don't elect people and send them to the House or the Senate to tape YouTube videos. We send them there to work on legislation that solves problems.
What this should be about who is working toward solving the problem.
This may be news to some folks, but LGBT teenagers killing themselves is not a new problem. It is in fact, a very old problem. The gay community has known about it for a long time, and so has the psychological community. Here is just a sampling of some published, peer-reviewed psychological studies dating as far back as the early 1980s. You can look them up if you're handy with that sort of thing. (Thanks to psychodrew for the research.)
Suicidal behavior in adolescent and young adult gay men., Schneider, Stephen G.; Farberow, Norman L.; Kruks, Gabriel N.;
Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, Vol 19(4), Win, 1989.
Abstract: The relationship of homosexuality to suicidal behavior was explored by questionnaire responses from 52 men in gay-and-lesbian college organizations and 56 men in gay rap groups.
San Diego suicide study: Comparison of gay to straight males., Rich, Charles L.; Fowler, Richard C.; Young, Deborah; Blenkush, Mary;
Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, Vol 16(4), Win, 1986. pp. 448-457.
Abstract: Compared data on 13 homosexual males (aged 21–42 yrs) in a series of 283 suicides with data on 106 other age-matched male suicides.
Stresses on lesbian and gay adolescents in schools., Hunter, Joyce; Schaecher, Robert;
Social Work in Education, Vol 9(3), Spr, 1987. pp. 180-190.
Abstract: Notes that an awareness of homosexual orientation often emerges in students during their high school years and that a significant portion of these self-identified adolescents experience unique stresses (i.e., rejection from family, pressure from peer groups, social isolation, harrassment and violence, suicide risk) that the school system could recognize and address in an affirmative manner.
Suicide risk among gay men and lesbians: A review., Saunders, Judith M.; Valente, S. M.;
Death Studies, Vol 11(1), 1987. pp. 1-23.
Abstract: Discusses empirical data, theoretical issues, and other research issues involved in the study of suicide risk factors among homosexual men and women. Three large, well-designed studies found that homosexuals attempt suicide 2–7 times more often than do heterosexual comparison groups.
Parasuicide, gender, and gender deviance., Harry, Joseph;
Journal of Health and Social Behavior, Vol 24(4), Dec, 1983. pp. 350-361.
Abstract: Hypothesized that gender-role nonconformity during childhood is associated with social isolation that, in turn, is related to suicidal feelings and attempts.
As you can see, the correlation between sexual orientation and gender expression deviation from norm and increased risk of suicide was pervasive enough to be noted and studied as far back as 1983,
a full 28 years ago.
Many Americans first become familiar with the LGBT teen suicide prevention hotline The Trevor Project when it became the obvious charity of choice affiliated with It Gets Better.
But The Trevor Project too, has been around a long time. It was founded, 13 years ago in 1998, precisely because it was recognized way back then there was a unfilled demand for outreach and suicide prevent support specifically aimed at LGBT teens.
Tyler Clementi threw himself to his
death off the George Washington Bridge.
So how come suddenly gay teens killing themselves was all over the news last year? Veteran LGBT activists recognized there was no sudden epidemic of suicides. There was merely a sudden (and welcome) epidemic of the
reporting of LGBT teen suicides.
Perhaps the sudden interest last year was just more of what the media does best, going off and chasing the same "hot story" that everyone else is chasing.
It Gets Better was Dan Savage's spontaneous and heartfelt attempt to address the problem with the tools he—as an ordinary citizen and concerned activist—had at his command, a home video camera, a YouTube account and a voice. It was a primal scream of both frustration and compassion that resonated across the nation. But it has not yet echoed through the legislative chambers of Washington, DC.
Can't we do more to address this than post videos to YouTube? Yes we can, and our elected leaders are the ones most empowered to be leading the fight for solutions.
Post-tragedy investigations often show outrageous levels of negligence
—even complicity—on the part of the people tasked with caring for our children. A joint Department of Education and Justice investigation into 13-year old Seth Walsh's death
concluded:
Despite having notice of the harassment, the district did not adequately investigate or otherwise respond to it. Based on the evidence gathered in the investigation, the departments concluded that the school district violated Title IX and Title IV.
Moreover, regional cluster patterns demonstrate like Michele Bachmann's, the problem is definitely not merely the random, tragic result of "boys being boys." Groups like ACLU and Southern Poverty Law Center are now doing what Congress won't, forcing school districts to address this issue via the courts.
There are systematic changes that must be made to ensure there are lifelines of support available to these kids and to their families. And there are activist stepping up with solutions.
There are currently three bills in the US Congress that address the issue of bullying, they have versions in both the House and the Senate, they are:
• SSIA: The Safe Schools Improvement Act which would address creating safe learning environments for all students, in part, by creating codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment and require that states report data on bullying and harassment to the Department of Education.
• SNDA: The Student Non-Discrimination Act would forbid discrimination against any students in school and school-affiliated activities. It was a response to the Constance McMillen "lesbians want to go the prom" debacle.
• Tyler Clementi: The Tyler Clementi Higher Education Anti-Harassment Act which would address harassment at institutions of higher education, such as it's namesake Tyler Clementi (pictured on People cover above) endured at Rutgers University before he killed himself by jumping off the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey.
There is another possible explanation for the media's sudden interest in reporting gay teen suicides, and it's kinder, but more poignant. Perhaps we've gratefully evolved as a nation to a point where incidents like these are not shameful things to be hidden and covered up. Maybe we're more ready and used to discussing gay issues in public. Maybe these incidents leave behind not feelings of shame but survivors crying out for justice, for help; and for change, so no other family should suffer the same fate.
Sirdeaner Walker cried out for help and change when she lost her son. She shared the story of her son's suicide before Congress in July 2009, likely before some of the same leaders that taped that It Gets Better video. She said, "School bullying is a national crisis, and we need a national solution to deal with it."
What a remarkably brave and strong woman. Such a terrible burden she has to bear. My best wishes to Ms. Walker that she find comfort.
Sirdeaner Walker's daughter, Dominque reached out for help to Scott Brown's office and told them of how she came to lose her brother, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover. Dominque told
Metro Weekly she wanted to ''make sure that other families don't have to go through'' what they experienced when a suicide shook their family. She participated in a lobbying day on behalf of the Safe Schools Improvement Act in March of 2010.
Metro Weekly reports she told Brown's office:
''Students called him 'gay,' 'faggot,' anti-gay slurs. And, he really didn't perceive himself to be either one, straight or gay,'' she said. ''He thought the only way to get away from his torment was by killing himself, and that's what happened.''
Referring to her lobbying the staff of Sen. Scott Brown (R-Ma.), she noted the liberal bent of her state and his Republican status, but then said, ''It actually went better than I thought it would.
''His staffer was really – he didn't really know much about my brother – but he knew about Phoebe Prince,'' another student who had committed suicide because of anti-LGBT bullying at school. ''After I explained my story, he said Scott Brown would look into it.''
Her mother, Sirdeaner Walker, has testified before Congress and the Massuchusetts legislature on safe-schools issues, a fact clearly taken to heart by Walker, who said, ''I want to work alongside my mom; I really want to see the Safe Schools Improvement Act passed.''
Dominque Walker wanted to know, Senator Brown, can you help? Will you sponsor SSIA?
They told her they are "looking into it."
But 15 months later, Senator Brown's name is as missing from that piece of legislation as his face was from that YouTube video.
I don't personally know if these three bills offer the ideal solution or if they have fatal flaws.
But these bills are at this point, the only measure of relief that our leaders in DC have placed on the table, so we have to work with them.
And I also know they don't yet have enough demonstrated support in the House or the Senate to be considered viable for a vote. And until they're nearing a vote they will remain, as they are now, works in progress.
Let's tell our leaders to work on them. Every day of delay could be literally fatal to a child.
Reacting to the It Gets Better story, Senator Brown's spokesperson told The Hill:
"Scott Brown has a strong record at the state and federal level against bullying and believes that all people regardless of sexual orientation should be treated with dignity and respect."
Such reassurances notwithstanding, there is no evidence of his "strong record" on these Federal bills.
Senator Brown is not a sponsor of any of these three bills. And this is a much greater concern to me than whether he taped an It Gets Better video.
By contrast, his Senate colleague Senator John Kerry co-sponsors them all.
But Kerry is the only member of the Massachusetts delegation who can say that.
Here are the Massachusetts House Delegation's co-sponsoring of these bills, according to Open Congress, links attached to the bill names will take you to Open Congress' summary of the House version of the bill. Senate versions are linked above in summary.
Their names are linked to their sites if you'd like to contact them and thank them for their YouTube video and ask them to please consider sponsoring the other bills that address issues related to youth bulllying and harassment.
If you're outraged that Scott Brown won't tape a YouTube video, I urge you to channel that outrage into asking your own representatives, "So, what are you doing to make it better?"