PA Bullied 14yo Commits Suicide by Tractor Trailer

Students at Midd-West High School cried out against bullying Friday as they mourned the loss of a classmate who in the early morning hours walked about 13 miles from his home to Routes 11-15, where he ran in front of a southbound tractor-trailer after leaving a suicide note at his home.

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tlcox said:

oh for goodness sake. Has the world just plain gone mad? How can we have such a world full of bullies and it be happenstance, an accident? What is happening with our children? Do we even know? How can that many bullies be out there bullying? How can that many parents be clueless to their own children's behavior? Or are they bullies as well? Are we seeing the second or third generation of bullies raising bullies?

I do not pretend to know the answer to any of theese questions but they are things I ask when I see stories such as this.

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passionflower said:

Kids can be cruel.
In my day they teased about the color of your hair, your name,looks but 14 and bullied about sexual perference..........come on, people wake up!
This is way out of hand.
14 yr. olds should be having a great time, not worried about sex !

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momtective said:

He was emo...my granddaughter does the emo thing...dark heavy eyeliner, hair down over one side of her face, tight skinny jeans, boots and usually a headband or skull cap. It's her style, one that many teens today identify with. She's the sweetest young lady, full of compassion, very active in our church and a just a wonderful young lady.

I'm sure Brandon was a really cool kid, the loss of his life and his contribution to this world is just tragic. My prayer for his family and I hope the kids who gave Brandon a hard time have many sleepless nights knowing they caused his death.

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jjenny said:

Probably not that many, I've never seen any teenagers looking like that in person.

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momtective said:

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&...tle&resnum=3&ved=0CDwQsAQwAg&biw=1280&bih=587

http://myemohairstyles.com/what-is-emo-style

Although some associate "emo" with self mutilation, that just isn't so in all cases. Mostly it's just a style of self expression. I live in a small rural area and there are several kids here who sport the "emo" look.

How sad that people can't just accept others for what's in their heart and not judge them for what they wear...just sad!

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dolphingirl said:

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I copied and pasted this here. Not sure if Im allowed to do that. I had started a new thread but really wanted to just add it to here. Is there a way to get rid of the new thread and just leave this here?Sorry in advance-Im still kind of new to this.



http://dailyitem.com/0100_news/x6991...mmed-into-wall


Not sure if I posted the link correctly-Ive never done it before.


This is very local to me. We moved to the area a few years ago.My kids go to a neighboring district. Its
a great area but I was steered away from Midd-West schools. This region is very heavily into their high school sports and the players are like super stars(on the news,in the papers etc). I was told 3 years ago that particular district has a lot of fighting and the kids can be "rough".Not my words-just opinion from the realtor and a friend. 2 local schools (that were heavy sports rivals) combined and made Midd-West one school.Since then supposedly there have been issues.

Bullying is a problem with the kids around here.Sports is super competitive and the parents definately push.The kids go to assemblies and have discussions with guidance but the parents have a "kids will be kids" attitude.

I can see how this poor boy was probably bullied constantly. I love living here-it's rural and "away from it all"- but being different is not easy around here.I believe he was considered "emo".There are some emo kids here but not a lot and Im not sure about Midd-West.

Anyway just thought I would give a local perspective. I dont post much but this hit close to home.

RIP Brandon-Im sorry you felt there was no other way to cope with these bullies.

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In the days since Brandon took his life Nov. 5, students and staff have tried to cope with the issues at Midd-West. There have been online tributes, remembrances, meetings, even a protest outside the school on Thursday.

Also there have been stories -- numerous stories told via e-mail and telephone to The Daily Item from parents who said their children have been bullied in the Midd-West school system. And despite reporting that bullying -- something Brandon did not do -- they said nothing was done to stop it.

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"It would start on the bus," she said. "He was physically and mentally bullied from the time he got on the bus to the time he got home."

T said she and her husband went back to the school several times when her son was in seventh grade, and again nothing happened.

"I looked at (the school official) and said I need to know that something will be done, and you will take some type of responsibility for this for me to feel safe with my son coming here," T said.

The administrator "flat out refused," she said.

All the responsibility for the situation was pushed back on her son, "and it was so humiliating, it took him everything to tell his parents, let alone his teachers," she said.

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