Gossip: Another Teen Suicide in America July 2009

sound like he was first of all taught wrong by someone but that could be anyone. second it sounds like he gave people a thrill (gave bullies satifaction) and was walking down the path for 6,7,8 and freshman year. third he had no one to turn to for some reason or another and lastly(fourthly) it sounded like he was under alot of stress and needed sometime to find himself further in life sadly he mad that decision and now he will never...

I know a kid that lives close to me he gets made fun of every day for his weight and is tormented and bullied the same way at school. Im afraid something like this might happen to him. Hes really a great kid and has a heart of gold. But that can be very stressful to be made fun of all your life. Parents should teach there children not to make fun of others. So sad!

i agree and actually for a year or two i sounded like this kid pushed around but then i got so fed up...i had my dad to fall back on but if you have no one well its quite difficult to look around the corner. and like you pointed out "Parents should teach there children not to make fun of others." and thats exactly the first step the second step is to teach them not to get picked on and spit on. its parents responsibility to raise a kid not a schools and thats where this starts all leads back to parent skills and communication from both sides of the view the bully and the bullied.

I encourage my children every day not to pick on or make fun of people and so far they dont thank God! lol they are like me i think *they dont have the heart to hurt someones feelings* Are you still in school? The kid i know he dropped out when he was 16 because of the bulling :S

yes im still in school and i i intend to keep it that way and learn as much as possible :s.............

Well just try to ignore all ignorance :) Do your work and studies and dont let anyone get you down ever :D I wish you luck with everything you do")

His family and friends say it followed Iain Steele from junior high to high school - from hallways, where one tormentor shoved him into lockers, to cyberspace, where another posted a video on Facebook making fun of his taste for heavy metal music.

"At one point, (a bully) had told (Iain) he wished he would kill himself," said Matt Sikora, Iain's close friend.

Iain's parents know their son had other problems, but they believe the harassment contributed to a deepening depression that hospitalized the 15-year-old twice this year. On June 3, while his classmates were taking final exams, he went to the basement of his home and hanged himself with a belt.

His death stunned his quiet suburb west of Chicago and unleashed an outpouring of support for his parents, William and Liz, who say greater attention should be paid to bullying and its connection to mental health.

"No kid should be afraid for himself to go to school," his father said. "It should be a safe environment where they can intellectually thrive. And he was, literally, just frightened to go to school, fearing what he would have to deal with on that day. And it was day after day."

A school spokeswoman said she did not believe Iain was bullied. Police are investigating the allegations.

Nearly 30 percent of American children are bullied or are bullies themselves, according to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. Bullying can be physical, verbal or psychological and is repetitive, intentional and creates a perceived imbalance of power, said Dr. Joseph Wright, senior vice president at Children's National Medical Center in Washington.

Soon, the American Academy of Pediatrics will for the first time include a section on bullying in its official policy statement on the pediatrician's role in preventing youth violence.

Wright, a lead author of the statement, said the decision to address the issue was due to a growing body of research over the last decade linking bullying to youth violence, depression and suicidal thoughts.

Last year, the Yale School of Medicine conducted analysis of the link between childhood bullying and suicide in 37 studies from 13 countries, finding both bullies and their victims were at high risk of contemplating suicide.

In March, the parents of a 17-year-old Ohio boy who committed suicide filed a lawsuit against his school alleging their son was bullied. Instead of seeking compensation, they are asking the school to put in place an anti-bullying program and to recognize their son's death as a "bullicide."

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Iain Steele enjoyed riding his skateboard, his father said, but after hip surgery in 8th grade limited his mobility, he picked up the guitar and impressed an instructor with his musical talent.

He was revered by younger kids in the neighborhood, often fixing their skateboards, settling their disputes and including them in games. "He was a very gentle, kind kid, compassionate to a fault," his father said. But Iain's embrace of heavy metal set him apart from classmates. He let his hair grow to shoulder-length and wore mostly black clothing, including jeans with chains and T-shirts of heavy metal bands with dark, sometimes morbid lyrics.

For this, his classmates at McClure Junior High School often called him "emo" - a slang term for angst-ridden followers of a style of punk music, said Sikora, 15.

The bullying could also be physical, Iain's friends and parents said. In 8th grade at McClure, one bully pushed Iain into a locker while he was on crutches and accused him of faking an injury to get out of gym class. Iain rarely shied away from his tormentors, however, and in this case, he punched the bully in the jaw, his father said.