Press Room

Teen suicide and bullying information added to Amancio Project website

October 30, 2010 6:00 PM

In the past several weeks, there has been a number of tragic teen suicides that have been blamed on bullying and harassment based on an actual or perceived sexual orientation.

As a result, the Amancio Project has created three new pages and one sub-page to its website in an effort to reduce physical attacks and bullying upon gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning (GLBTQ) students and youth.

Amancio Project founder Michael H. Baughman said the pages were created in an effort to address these issues in hopes that Yuma does not become host to one of those headline incidents.

“Everything boils to right and wrong,” Baughman said. “Suicide is suicide, and dead is dead. Every problem in the world is correctable except that one.”

The new web pages are “Thinking of Suicide?, “Prevent Hate Crimes” and “If You Are A Victim,” with the sub-page being “Bullying.”

Among the recent suicides are 13-year-old Seth Walsh, who after months of relentless bullying hanged himself from a tree outside his California home; Billy Lucas of Indiana, 15, who hanged himself after being called a “fag” over and over again; Asher Brown, 13, whose classmates teased him without mercy and acted out mock gay sex acts in class, shot himself in the head; and Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi, who killed himself by jumping off a bridge after his roommate secretly recorded him with another male student, then broadcast the video online.

Additionally, a single school district in Minnesota has seen seven suicides in the last year by young victims who were tormented.

“In the past couple of months there has been a rash of teen suicides, and it has almost exclusively been male,” Baughman said. “Sadly, these are not isolated incidents; deaths like these continue to occur around the country, but they are preventable.”

Baughman said the Thinking of Suicide page encourages those considering suicide to just relax, breathe and sit back for one moment. It also shares his life story, including his attempted suicide.

“Usually, if they take a step back and think about it, they won't go through with it,” Baughman said.

Further material on the page offers immediate hot-line information like The Trevor Project, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization that deals with GLBTQ youth who may be in crisis.

“Do whatever you need to do to talk about it, even if you have to rant, romp, stomp, scream and holler,” Baughman said. “If you have a good friend, they will let you do that.”

From that page there is a link to a page solely dedicated to bullying, along with other website and telephone numbers to contact and suggestions on how to deal with a bully.

The Prevent Hate Crimes page suggests ways that someone can help, such as becoming a straight ally or a volunteer for anti-violence projects.

The If You Are A Victim page discusses steps to take if you are a victim of a violent crime. The page covers important actions to keep in mind such as getting immediate medical attention, fully documenting the incident and reporting the crime to authorities.

The page also offers important safety tips, such as knowing the “danger zones,” carrying a whistle or taking a self-defense class.

As the bullying issue has reached a fever pitch, Baughman says, the Amancio Project encourages compassion, forgiveness and understanding to bullies. Often, bullies, he said, are victims of bullying too.

“We don't know what they are struggling with at home or at school,” Baughman said. “We need to intervene now to show them more productive and positive ways to express their frustrations.”

Jail, detention, and ostracizing create more marginalized, more challenged youth, according to Baughman. He said society needs to respond to bullies by protecting ourselves, educating teachers, changing society, and creating ways to warm the hearts of the bullies themselves.

“We should make every effort to not fall into the mainstream narrative of vilifying bullies,” Baughman said. “It only makes the cycle of violence worse.”

James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.