Transgender teen's suicide note: ‘My death needs to mean something’

[Spyro 8,438]

The suicide of a transgender teen is catching national attention in part because of a suicide note she left behind online.

 

Leelah Alcorn, 17, of Kings Mills, Ohio, was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on I-71 about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to local media.

 

Posthumous posts started to appear on her Tumblr page, titled “Lazer Princess,†including her suicide note and a post apologizing to her closest friends.

 

“My death needs to mean something,†she wrote. “My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say ‘that’s f---ed up’ and fix it. Fix society. Please.â€

 

Alcorn's note explains that she has felt like a girl trapped in a boy’s body ever since she was 4. Then she cried tears of joy when she learned what transgender meant at 14.

 

“After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was,†the suicide note reads. “I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong.â€

 

After her death, Alcorn’s mother was harshly criticized for referring to her child by her given name  “Joshua Ryan Alcorn† and using male pronouns.

"My sweet 16 year old son, Joshua Ryan Alcorn went home to heaven this morning. He was out for an early morning walk and was hit by a truck,†the mother wrote.

Alcorn requested that all of her belongings and savings be donated to transgender civil rights movements and support groups.

 

Many people took to Twitter to mourn her death using #LeelahAlcorn and criticize the continued injustice facing transgender people today.

 

Similarly, members of the LGBT community and their allies have already started to organize candlelight vigils for Alcorn. One such event, called #StandUp4Leelah, is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

 

“This will be a short vigil but one that we feel must take place and one that will take a moment to educate, inform, and bring our community together to work towards a dream of one life. We may not have an instant fix but it's time to make it better,†the organizer wrote on the event's Facebook page.

Suicide rates in the transgender community are exceptionally high, with more than 50 percent of transgender teens reporting at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday, according to the Youth Suicide Prevention Program.

 

Transgender people who need someone to talk to can call the Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386.

 

 

http://news.yahoo.com/transgender-teen-leelah-alcorn-commits-suicide--leaves-behind-suicide-note---my-death-needs-to-mean-something-234758770.html

 

_________

 

 

This is really sad and wish he gotten help instead of having a sh*t mom. :l

[Blake 7,385]

AP. 

 

And they forgot to mention that it took 2 days for the Mother to remember her actual age of 17.

[Yanko 9,860]

     this is sad

[Ray of Light 8,134]

Did she committ suicide, or accidently die by cause of the truck?

Either way, the mother must be feeling so relentlessly guilty right now. It must be a very radical idea for a parent, especially of such a young transgender girl... But that's why there should be more awareness. No only in schools, but also find ways to get parents to understand that their child COULD be LGBT.

I just hope the mother finds peace and keep her daughters' wish of her death not being in vain. Hope many other teens and parents can learn from this and many other tragic cases :ohno:

[Sia 314]

AP. 

 

And they forgot to mention that it took 2 days for the Mother to remember her actual age of 17.

tf is with her mom like damn 

[MORE COWBELL 26]

Did she committ suicide, or accidently die by cause of the truck?

She committed suicide. Her mother made up the truck thing for her friends and family. Such a nasty person.

R.I.P. Leelah. You were so young, brave and talented...

[Ray of Light 8,134]

She committed suicide. Her mother made up the truck thing for her friends and family. Such a nasty person.

R.I.P. Leelah. You were so young, brave and talented...

We had a similar case here in my town. A little 13 year old boy shot himself - I've no idea why. But his mother, a heavily religious child psychiatrist, denied the whole thing & said he accidently shot himself cleaning his hunting rifle. Forensics later confirmed it was a suicide, but the mother still denies it to this day.

I understand it brings comfort to them as parents... But they're dishonering their Childs' life & intentions for death.

[Princess Die 1,864]

But why kill yourself? A live activist does way more than a dead one. It's not romantic or inspiring. It's asinine. Idgaf what anyone says. I'm not being hateful. I'm just trying to wrap my head around just why he absolutely had to die. We are losing too many good people and it's not helping our cause

[MORE COWBELL 26]

We had a similar case here in my town. A little 13 year old boy shot himself - I've no idea why. But his mother, a heavily religious child psychiatrist, denied the whole thing & said he accidently shot himself cleaning his hunting rifle. Forensics later confirmed it was a suicide, but the mother still denies it to this day.

I understand it brings comfort to them as parents... But they're dishonering their Childs' life & intentions for death.

Why would such a young boy have a hunting rifle or a gun at all? Anyways, that's really sad 

[Ray of Light 8,134]

Why would such a young boy have a hunting rifle or a gun at all?

[Goosey 3,017]

Did she committ suicide, or accidently die by cause of the truck?

This is what I wonder.

"Leelah Alcorn, 17, of Kings Mills, Ohio, was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer on I-71 about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to local media."

 

I don't think s/he should have jumped in front of the truck because it's not fair to the truck driver, a bridge or whatnot would be a better end. It's a sad story either way.

[MORE COWBELL 26]

But why kill yourself? A live activist does way more than a dead one. It's not romantic or inspiring. It's asinine. Idgaf what anyone says. I'm not being hateful. I'm just trying to wrap my head around just why he absolutely had to die. We are losing too many good people and it's not helping our cause

Please use female pronouns. 

The article does not explain properly I think. Her parents were unaccepting and sent her to many Catholic therapies with psychologists. She decided to come out as gay, thinking it would ease things off. Her friends were totally ok, but her parents got even worse, taking away all her electronic devices. They also didn't send her to school for the rest of the year. When the school year finished, they gave Leelah her phone back, and could finally talk to her friends. But she realised they only liked her because they would see her all the time, and got even more sad. 

It would be hard to continue to live in such a situation.

oh

[Tove Lo 2,481]

Why would such a young boy have a hunting rifle or a gun at all? Anyways, that's really sad 

In America you can hunt at a young age.

[Sia 314]

But why kill yourself? A live activist does way more than a dead one. It's not romantic or inspiring. It's asinine. Idgaf what anyone says. I'm not being hateful. I'm just trying to wrap my head around just why he absolutely had to die. We are losing too many good people and it's not helping our cause

:madge:  it's not that f*cking easy. " O why'd you kill yourself." 

[Blake 7,385]

But why kill yourself? A live activist does way more than a dead one. It's not romantic or inspiring. It's asinine. Idgaf what anyone says. I'm not being hateful. I'm just trying to wrap my head around just why he absolutely had to die. We are losing too many good people and it's not helping our cause

But why not use female pronouns?