A Sad Story; A Life Lost
Written by: Tom Sawyer
This is starting to get old, but this is the world we live in. Another tragic situation, another life lost. I couldn’t really think of anything to do except copy and paste part of this story.
Eleven-year-old Jaheem Herrera woke up on April 16 acting strangely. He wasn’t hungry and he didn’t want to go to school.
Jaheem Herrera’s mother thinks he hanged himself because he was perpetually bullied at school.
He came home much happier than when he left in the morning, smiling as he handed his mother, Masika Bermudez, a glowing report card full of A’s and B’s. She gave him a high-five and he went upstairs to his room as she prepared dinner.
A little later, when his younger sister called him to come down to eat, Jaheem didn’t answer.
So mother and daughter climbed the stairs to Jaheem’s room and opened the door.
Jaheem was hanging by his belt in the closet.
“I always used to see these things on TV, dead people on the news,” says Bermudez. “I saw somebody die and to see this dead person is your son, hanging there, a young boy. … To hang yourself like that, you’ve got to really be tired of something.”
Bermudez says bullies at school pushed Jaheem over the edge. He complained about being called gay, ugly and “the virgin” because he was from the Virgin Islands, she said.
“He used to say Mom they keep telling me this … this gay word, this gay, gay, gay. I’m tired of hearing it, they’re telling me the same thing over and over,” she told CNN, as she wiped away tears from her face.
But while she says her son complained about the bullying, she had no idea how bad it had gotten.
“He told me, but he just got to the point where he didn’t want me to get involved anymore because nothing was done,” she said.
Bermudez said she complained to the school about bullying seven or eight times, but it wasn’t enough to save him.
Unfortunately, a former co-worker of mine went through a similar situation. In that situation, I actually asked him how his son was doing – a son that lived under his roof – and his response was, “I don’t know, I haven’t been able to get with him. It was his son! I can’t imagine having to “Get with” my daughter and I certainly can’t imagine the pain that followed his tragedy. Sad.
Tags: bully forces suicide, child commits suicide after being bullied at school, shool does nothing about bullying
April 24th, 2009 at 5:52 am
When I read this story it pulled at the core of my heart…. No! kid should have to endure this…No parent should have to be unaware of a school's response… No community should tolerate this behavior…That precious baby did nothing wrong and everything right: telling his parents, telling his teachers, telling the school's leaders. Sadly, from the sounds of things this only made matters worse….At the core of this issue is a group of kids that have learned through society and likely their parents that it's really OK to call someone out of their name and that it's OK to be cruel… Intolerance is what is the heart of this beast and nothing will change until everyone especially parents recognizing the harm they are causing.
April 24th, 2009 at 7:43 pm
I have had those days where this just about sums up what I have thought or felt.
April 30th, 2009 at 6:35 am
We used to live by a school and I passed the playground every day when I walked home from work. When I saw bullying taking place I always got involved. Many times I walked into the office and reported it. I also learned that you need to make sure someone gets off their chair and handles it. My kids weren't bullied (as far as I know) but I would have been extremely aggressive if they had. But that's only one side of it. We all have to talk to our kids and make them understand how wrong it is to make fun of people. Now I'm talking to my grandkids about it. Schools must be held responsible by the parents. In other words, if your child is being bullied you need to show up at school every day until something is done about it. We can't sit back and expect the government to handle it because our kids are OUR responsibility, not theirs. Most school shootings can be traced to the shooter being mistreated by fellow students. We all need to stop sitting back and letting the government deal with everything. They are doing a terrible job and we can do better. Get involved. If you have children, volunteer at school. You will see who the bullies are and that they are usually hurting as much as the kids they inflict torment on. If you're a grandparent take some time and volunteer at your grandkids school. You can truly change lives. But don't take cupcakes because they don't allow that anymore….
May 4th, 2010 at 3:21 am
Great post!