I have been thinking about the Tyler Clementi case a lot over the last couple of days. I will not make the mistake of many commentators by presuming to know what was in this young man's mind as he took his own life. The assumption is that he was embarrassed / afraid / angry / distraught -- chose the word you like -- over the fallout of being outed to a worldwide audience. It may be that simple; it could well be far more complex.
What I do know is that gay teenagers commit suicide in frightening numbers. They do it for a lot of reasons, but I believe that one thing is true in each and every case: our society makes it very hard for many gay people to be who they are. We are a homophobic society. Yes, of course, progress has been made, but, as this case perhaps shows, that progress has been woefully inadequate.
Media types have been rushing to place blame for Clementi's death. Obviously his roommate is the go-to guy here, but people have argued that Rutgers is at fault or that higher education is at fault. I heard an NPR interview today with Penn State researcher Sue Rankin, author of "2010: The State of Higher Education for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People." She stated that fully a third of LGBT students have seriously considered leaving their school because of an anti-gay environment and that only seven percent of colleges offer LGBT support services. She's met students who were comfortably out in high school but who reopened the closet door because of a fearful college environment.
Where, ultimately, does the blame lie for this tragedy? With organized religion, I say; specifically, with America's Christians. Yes, all of them, not just the radical right and the Terry Joneses of the world. It is biblical interpretation that is the foundation for homophobia in western thought and it is America's Christians who must shoulder the blame for not putting an end to this intolerance, at least here, in the land of the free.
Again, yes, of course, progress has been made. Plenty of Christian parishes and even denominations are welcoming and affirming, but it is a long road between welcoming a few gay people into your fold and actively working to stamp out the hatred that is supported by your basic text. Whether you argue that the bible does not in fact condemn homosexuality, or that it cannot be taken literally, or that the church has changed, the undeniable fact is that plenty of Americans use the bible to support their homophobia. Christians leaders know this and have not done nearly enough to change it.
I ask Pope Benedict; I ask the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; I ask Bryant Wright, President of the Southern Baptist Convention; I ask all the leaders of all the Christian faiths Americans believe in: how many more teenagers must die before you put a stop to it?
Well put. You nailed my thoughts, and you've expressed them more cogently.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Since the Pope doesn't seem to care how many children are abused by Catholic clergy, I don't see why he should give a shit about this...
ReplyDeleteMy experience teaches me children are cruel. The bullying and abuse happen even when the other child is not so different. When it is encouraged and abetted by adults (church says these people are bad or family attitudes toward certain groups) then it goes into overdrive.
ReplyDeleteOne of the problems with this sort of abuse is there is, I think, insufficient punishment when it happens. While school administrators say they have preached about bullying and such, the reality is no one will actually be in the slightest way inconvenienced by whatever happens afterward.
I also blame the churches. Intolerance as a way of life, of worship, is so Bronze Age. Too bad we cannot get past the belief systems set up by goat herders 4000 years ago.