By Lindsay Renner, Advertising Editor
By all accounts, Tyler Clementi was a bright young man, as well as gifted violinist. On September 22, Tyler Clementi jumped off the George Washington Bridge and ended his life, following his roommate’s unauthorized broadcast of Clementi’s sexual encounter with another man. In doing so, Tyler Clementi became another victim in a tragedy as old as time.
Bullying has long been a problem around the world. Clementi is certainly not the first to end his own life because of the actions of another, but this does not trivialize his death in the slightest. Rather, it speaks to a graver issue with the world psyche. Why, in a society as advanced as ours, do we continue to subject those who are different to a world of pain?
Father Stephan Brown, S.V.D., M.Div., looks at the treatment of homosexuals from a simple standpoint. “In general, we tend to not treat those who are different as equals because there is a lack of understanding and knowledge of others. There is a tendency to fear differences. Because we do not understand, there is a tendency towards fear, and that fear is shown in many different ways,” said Brown.
Perhaps most disturbingly, Clementi’s suicide was not the first of its nature in a long time. A Facebook event in commemoration of not only Clementi, but six other teens, not even all homosexual, urged its attendees to wear purple on October 20 in commemoration of these lives lost. It seems foolish to stop at these six young men; rather, we as a culture need to live our lives in such a way that actions such as these are discouraged in the first place. Yes, wearing purple in solidarity with these boys is a start, but the collective mind of the public needs to work towards an end for all violence of this sort.
As Christians on a Catholic campus, our duty towards these men and women is quite simple.
“I think the prejudice is from lack of understanding. Many Catholics do not understand church teaching,” said Brown.
“The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops sought to reach out in a pastoral message to parents and family members of those of a homosexual orientation in a letter entitled Always Our Children. The general message is that all Christians are called to accept all people as God’s children. In reaching out to families and those of homosexual orientation, itis an acceptance of a person and not a lifestyle. The church is very clear in this regard that homosexuals should be loved and respected. One should not break contact with or reject people because of their orientation. The Church requires in its Christian duty to love the person.”
The suicides of Clementi and these six other young men are a tragedy, to be sure. The sacrifice of their lives in the name of a cause may not be poor in concept, but it is important to remember that these lives are also fractions of a whole. These young men were not the first to go in such a way, and sad to say, they will not be the last unless our culture is truly capable of practicing the tolerance that so many ardently preach. Our culture needs to begin to teach acceptance rather than just tolerance
