Tis The Season To Be Hateful: Ironically, Jamey's Hell On Earth Continues. Will Hell Houses Follow Suit?

DISTURBING UPDATE:

At a homecoming bonfire that included a Lady Gaga song in memorial to Jamey Rodemeyer, shouts were heard "You're better off dead. We're glad you're dead" while knowing full well that Jamey's sister was in attendance. Police are investigating. (see video below).

So Will Jamey Rodemeyer's Death Be Featured In Hell Houses?

Jesus Christ died for your sins. That was unthinkably beautiful. Now Jamey Rodemeyer has died from your sins. That is not. That is the very hell that, awfully enough, you’ve somehow tricked yourself into believing your life refutes. - from the blog of John Shore

One of the most obvious causes of gay teen suicide are hell houses, yet people like Rev. Keenan Roberts refuse to acknowledge the fact or take any form of accountability.

“I don’t care. They say that we’re causing all the shame and confusion that the homosexual experiences—absolutely wrong. We’re saying, ‘You were not born this way; God did not do this to you. Jesus has all of the power to overcome and to set you free.’ It’s a conservative message presented in a very nonconservative way.”

"I don't care." Actually, that just about sums up the attitude of most hell house churches. In the past ten years, producers of hell houses have been told by researchers and psychologists that hell houses are harmful. For example, a 2001 study published in the Journal of Psychology found that “the belief in an active Satan directly related to intolerance toward gay men and lesbians.” One year ago, in a series called Demonizing America, we hit on the aspect of teen suicides and hell houses. but since then, there has been no evidence that churches will attempt to edit/change their scripts.


From a hell house script:

Homosexuality - No one is born gay. Genesis C1 V27 says that God created man in His own image. Homosexuality is sin and is not just an alternative lifestyle.
Gay Wedding - The sacred institution of marriage between a man and a woman is further disgraced by the unholy union of a man and a man, and Satan wouldn't have it any other way

The chorus against hell houses may be growing, but it's not large enough yet to really make a difference. Too many churches just "don't care." And while Christian Right leaders like Tony Perkins, James Dobson, and Bryan Fischer scream "We're not to blame," the onus is still on the bullies and their parents.


THE INTENSITY OF THE BULLYING

What is particularly terrifying about Jamey Rodemeyer's case is that (see update), his tormentors as still trying to torment him and his family. I personally have only seen such continued viciousness in one case: while living in San Francisco's dangerous Bay View district, I experienced gang homicides followed by additional shootingS - OUTSIDE THE FUNERAL PARLORS OF THE VICTIMS. Acts perpetrated like this show an absolute disrespect for humanity and human dignity. Had Rodemeyer's tormentors gone to his funeral and chanted the same taunts, it would not have been more horrible.

The intensity of Rodemeyer's continuing torment could spark a kind of warfare: if the bullies are brought to light, their families will be scorned and they might receive threats. The latest development has now caused America to react more with a horrified vengeance: the number of people in the country who would love to punch any of the perpetrators in the gut is growing. Ku Klux cross-burners - the ultimate bullies - could not have done a better job in fomenting hatred.

The Nail In The Coffin

As we've seen, perhaps the biggest nail in the teen suicide victim's coffin is the Halloween hell house: looming productions of hell houses across the country portend more suicides. It will be argued, of course, that everything/everyone is made right in the end of the religious fright fest because they are "saved" by Jesus.

But it's the demonizing that stays in the minds of teenagers as well as adults. Professions of "love" and "salvation" are muted. Does Keenan Roberts know this? Do the keen supporters of hell houses know this?

The blistering salvo is: yes. But as Keenan Roberts said, they just don't care.

And The People Who Caused It Couldn't Care Less: Another Bully-related Teen Suicide! Ho Hum.

“I wouldn’t care if you died. No one would. So just do it It would make everyone WAY more happier!”


We'll hear from the sacred cows in just a few hours (this being written at 3:00AM EDT). We'll hear how THEY would have prevented Jamey Rodemeyer's death. His parents, however, think differently: they actually worked with the school to try and stop the bullying - to no avail. Saving Jamey was almost too dauntless a task for any one entity. It would have taken a whole community to stop the bullying, and an even greater number to shore up Jamey's self-esteem. The bullying was too relentless, and it took the form of unabashed lies:

“JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!”

This is a picture of Jamey Rodemeyer:

Far from "stupid", far from "fat", far from "ugly", but not far enough from "gay"

Perhaps the stark contrast coming from this situation is with those who absolutely refuse to have any gay sensitivity awareness or real anti-bullying presentations in schools because they think that their true purpose is "indoctrination." 

From a pamphlet distributed by Family Research Council:

This pamphlet describes how pro-homosexual activists work their way up from seemingly innocent-sounding "safe schools" programs (which treat traditional values as being equivalent to racism), to one-sided "training" of teachers and students, to injecting homosexuality into every subject in the curriculum. Their final step is the active punishment of those who dare to express disapproval of homosexual behavior. This pamphlet will equip you to oppose this promotion of homosexuality in your child's school.

After reading this, it's no wonder that Tony Perkins of the FRC actually stated that his own group of "social conservatives" were not in any way responsible for teen suicides. Obliterating religion's role in suicides for the last thousand years was quite a feat ... of hysterical stupidity, but Perkins pulled it off effortlessly.
       
Bullying as a Traditional Value

Isn't it possible that in prohibiting teachers and administrators from teaching that "homosexuality is normal" that  "traditional values" zealots just as forcefully send the message that bullying is "normal"? After all, bullies have been around for millennia ... just like marriage. The harm bullies do might be considered, in fact, totally inconsequential: young teens who might consider themselves gay certainly deserve the taunting they get, and who cares if they commit suicide? ALL gays are psychologically tortured because that's part of being gay! Bullies are just being normal boys. Girls are never bullies. 

The disingenuous statement that "Of course, we're concerned about the welfare of ALL our children against bullying" will undoubtedly be bandied about this time, but this time it may seem utterly rancid: a larger effort to stop bullying in that particular school district (Jamey was not the first bully-suicide) could have at least diminished the efforts of the bullies, but through sheer thoughtlessness and lack of compassion, the bullying went unabated. This time, the school was not at fault as much as the community at large, a community perhaps fueled by righteousness: with a town that celebrates Old Home Days, it is perhaps steeped in genteel poverty (the per capita income hovers just above the poverty line) and its population of only 6,000 (97% white) supports a major Catholic church and five private Christian schools. 

Looking back at it, Jamey never had a chance.

I just wanna say good bye, disappear with no one knowing

I don't wanna live this lie, smiling to the world unknowing

I dont want you to try, you've done enough to keep me going

I'll be fine, I'll be fine, I'll be fine for the very last time

Jamey Rodemeyer's life will be remembered by those who loved him:

Olivia Rinaldo, an eighth-grader at Heim Middle School, said she was drawn to his outwardly upbeat and extroverted personality. He made friends of the friendless, she said.

But his suicide will be discarded in memory by those bullies who just couldn't care less.