Death is not a competition

It's something that has been going on probably since the beginning of time. Recently, it has been getting a lot more media attention because more people are speaking out about it and frankly, people are starting to actually take it seriously. Bullying is starting to take over headlines and breaking news all over again. It's a shame that it stopped getting media attention because it has been a major problem in the past and unfortunately, it always will be an issue in the future. I wish I could say that it wouldn't but realistically, people will always find reasons to hate other people and that's all that bullying really comes down to, hate.

I want to talk about the Amanda Todd story for a little bit. I'm sure you all have heard of it as it's been all over your television screens and newspapers recently. In a nutshell, what happened was that a girl that had been bullied repeatedly put up a video on YouTube a couple months ago telling the world her story. Recently, the bullying got so bad she couldn't take it anymore and decided that not living would be better than the pain that she feels everyday so she committed suicide. If that wasn't tragic enough, I went on YouTube to watch the video and I see MORE hate comments even after her death. The hate comments then erupted onto my twitter and Facebook. Most of them went along the lines of "She brought it upon herself" or "If she wasn't a *expletive*, she would still be alive right now". I didn't know her personally, but I am human enough to respect her and her family. If reading those comments make my heart drop, I can't imagine how her family would feel. It's disgusting, it's as if her being bullied about her mistakes EVERY DAY and eventually committing suicide wasn't enough for people. It's as if they wanted her to suffer more for her mistakes because clearly if they are still bullying her after her passing, they don't think she had actually paid for her mistakes.

With that said, I am also sick of people complaining about how she's getting so much attention when [insert name here] went through the same thing but nobody ever talked about them. Death is not a competition. Stop comparing deaths. Each life has it's own worth and it affects different people. I read a Facebook status the other day about this and I just have to share it.

"Stop comparing suicides. There is nothing you can gain from that. Saying one person WHO KILLED THEMSELF doesn't deserve a facebook page as much as another because "they weren't that innocent" or "they weren't as nice as my friend" is like saying Pol Pot's genocide shouldn't be taught in school because Hitler's was worse. 

Mourn the deaths of those we have lost and recognize them as a person in relation to themselves, NOT in relation to others who have committed suicide" 

Enough said. 

If you face bullying and are scared to talk about it, you can always visit the UTSC health and wellness centre for counseling, advice, and anything else you might be facing.

That's enough of my rant for today, until next week,

Peace and love.