It was a sad day in La Grande, Oregon on 26 January. The family of Jadin Bell, took him off life-support. Who is Jadin Bell? Jadin was a 15-year old high-school sophomore who had tried to commit suicide on 19 January by hanging himself in the playground of Central Elementary school. What may have driven Jadin to take his life?
According to his family, “following repeated attacks by bullies both in person and on the internet regarding his sexual orientation.”
Really? The year is 2013, and we continue to lose children to bullycide. This can not go on!
As I said in my 2011 piece on the 34 we lost in 2010, what did they all the children have in common? They were different.
Jadin’s friends and family remember him as an “amazing young man.” Jadin volunteered at the local assisted living home for seniors. His mother, had this message for school bullies: “The next time you are thinking of being unkind to someone, think to yourself. If that person was a member of your family, would you want them treated like that? Don’t treat them like that.”
The school acknowledged that Jadin had reported the bullying to school officials. The school officials told Oregon’s KATU that they were in the process of an investigation when Jadin hanged himself.
We’ve lost another young man, too soon.
Are you a parent? Sit with your children – speak to them about tolerance, inclusion, diversity, and acceptance. We can not afford to continue to lose our youth.
KATU (Channel 2) – provides a brief overview of two teen suicides in Oregon in the past three months: Video
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