Kameron Jacobsen from webshot of his Facebook page
By Mark Singer & Brody Levesque (Washington DC) JAN 21 | Kameron Jacobsen, a 14-year-old freshman student from the Monroe Woodbury High School in Orange Country, New York, which is located in the northern edges of the suburban New York City metropolitan area, was tormented by Facebook bullies who taunted him about what they thought was his sexual orientation. He reached a threshold earlier this week and killed himself.MyFox News, Channel 5 in New York City reports that Kameron's parents, friends, and members of the community are stunned and devastated.
Fox also reports that crisis teams have been called in to help students, staff and parents deal with not one, but two tragedies in less than two weeks. Sources told Fox that besides Kameron's death, another student, a junior on the school's football team, ended his life.
Channel 5 Reporter Lisa Evers in a broadcast Wednesday told viewers:
At the high school they both attended, students tried to make sense of the incomprehensible -- that two teens with everything ahead of them seemed to find life too painful.
Principal David Bernsley said the sense of loss is excruciating and that they are doing their best to cope.
"Our hearts go out to the families," Bernsley said. "We're devastated as a community."
For Jacobsen's family, the grief is beyond measure. Even with his death, online entries still sting. His older sister, Kierten, pleaded that people stop writing "rest in peace" entries and posting personal information about her baby brother.Facebook has issued the following statement regarding these deaths:
"We are deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of these students, and our hearts go out to their family and friends,” said Facebook. “These cases serve as a painful reminder of how people can help others who are either bullied or show signs of distress on Facebook. We encourage them to notify us, and we work with third party support groups including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to reach out to people who may need help. Our Safety Center also contains resources on how to help people who are in danger of harming themselves. These deaths are a loss to many, and it's critical that we all work together to give hope to teens who may be feeling similarly."
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4 comments:
What Facebook needs, and so do all the other 'community' pages and services, is a huge red button on each page that can be hit by anyone feeling there is an attack going on, and staff to take INSTANT action, almost like a 9-1-1 operator.
The first step should be instant removal of the page, the next the removal of the account, and finally a contact with the person being abused offering help. Lastly, there should be an investigation of the perpetrators' posts with a view to possible criminal charges (if found to be warranted).
There really is only one effective way to stop this FB and similar attacks and that is to remove the weapon. The weapon is a major part of the problem, whether it is the internet, guns, or sticks and stones, and disarming the person should be the first order of business.
I know some will think I'm being insensitive to the trauma and should be offering condolences, but really, that is over-used and useless if we don't change the problem. Why don't we just do something instead of offering more platitudes?
I am a family member of Kameron Jacobsen's. He was a great kid who had many friends. He was bullied in school and his family tried to handle it quietly and asked the school to promise not to let Kameron know they were investigating it quietly. Unfortunately, the school decided to break their promise and didn't keep it quiet. As anyone who was ever 14 y/o knows, you don't want to make a big deal, things seem worse than they are and he was now afraid the bullies would retaliate. This was the common bullying that goes on and on in schools all across the country. Kameron never got to go to a prom, never got to get a driver's license, never will get to date the girl he liked. He couldn't handle it.
If he could see how the newspapers and reporters are twisting the story and making more of it than it was - which was NOT about his sexual orientation - he would be crushed all over again.
There is most likely a tremendous amount of gay-bashing going on in the schools and all the Jacobsens are sympathetic to this horrible epidemic, but this was not the case with Kameron. We all understand that you want desperately to bring attention to it, but don't use Kameron for your agenda.
We are the kind of family that if someone came to any of us and said they were gay, we would say "We love you and we support you, now pass the mashed potatoes" and our lives would go on and it would not make us love that child any less. So this is not a note to pretend he had "sexual-orientation" problems. It is merely a comment to put the truth out there and to focus on the real issue at hand.
I doubt you will retract your stories, because we all know that isn't as sensational, but I hope you keep this comment on the site and I hope you check your facts before printing things like this.
I, too, am a family member.
I know that it can be very difficult for gay teens but it can be really hard for straight teens, too.
It's so important for us to understand that the bullying of any child, for whatever reason, has to stop. These are our kids! Please let's not separate the victims by sexual orientation - let's join together to fight all hatred and intolerance. Kam would have been loved by his family regardless of whomever he chose to love!
Kids go to school for an education to mold their young minds. Peer pressure itself is challenging enough without the fear of bullying thrown into the equation.No one should have to use suicide as an escape from this torment and torture they are forced to endure.Please kids stop the torture. Everyone deserves the right to be who they are.Lets return schools to learning centers. God Bless all the families that have lost a loved one due to prejudice and bigotry.
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