Rendering I

Rendering I

During a staff meeting this morning, we watched the following two videos:

Here is a link to the first video where Jonah provides an explanation about why he made the video in the description.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdkNn3Ei-Lg

Jonah suffered from bullying for many years and contemplated suicide many times. For years he struggled to tell his parents he is gay, suffered from bullying while trying to pretend to be happy, and eventually got fed up with the criticism from other people and wanted to make a stand. He even said that he hated himself. This resulted the first video I posted.  Jonah tells his story using a series of flash cards with an emotional song by Sia Furler playing over top of the video. By the end, he is crying and indicates that he's not going anywhere because he is "stronger" and has a "million" reasons to live.

It's interesting to see the effects that the video had on Jonah. The video currently has over 9 million views and there are a substantial amount of videos posted by other users that respond to Jonah with their support or their own similar stories portrayed using the same technique with flash cards. The use of technology has obviously had a huge influence on Jonah's life. The video I will link below was posted by Jonah's friend about how she supported him since he was in grade 7. She talks about how she had seem him slowly break down and gave examples of the type of bullying Jonah experienced. She was one of the first people to see the original video posted by Jonah, and even she was surprised by his hidden feelings.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2I2QsfmZAk&feature=related

According to the second video I posted, Jonah is currently happy and is being supported by his entire school, even those who bullied him. Imagine what would have happened if he didn't post his video. It's common for our youth to be bullied, especially if they are gay. The bullying can get so bad that these kids commit suicide. I played hockey with someone who commit suicide at the age of 11 - he was gay, too.

Jonah's video provided a message to over 9 million people that revealed the dark times he struggled with and how he took the first steps to overcoming them. This video sent a message not only to people who are struggling with similar issues, but also to people who are bullying others. The YouTube community greeted Jonah with open arms and there were some who questioned the validity of his story, but that should be expected from over 9 million viewers.

The message that Jonah provides is the same one that education faculty emphasize. If you are being bullied, stand up for yourself and tell someone. Jonah did and he is recovering from the tragedies he has endured for so long. Others aren't as strong as Jonah and their alternative is sometimes suicide. I hope more people realize this so that our youth can live their adolescent years without such dark thoughts weighing them down.