A published excerpt from a suicide note and comments made by friends at a memorial service are shedding new light on a gay teen filmmaker who took his own life earlier this month.
San Diego Gay & Lesbian News contributor Melanie Nathan, who attended one of several memorials dedicated to Eric James Borges (known as 'EricJames' to his friends), quotes from the note -- which includes references to friends and his favorite pop icon -- in her exclusive report.
"To my friends you gave me life and love, never think this was your fault," one segment reads. "To Lady Gaga, you have been a fearless relentless proud LGBT advocate..." The 19-year-old Borges, who worked as an intern for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth advocacy group The Trevor Project, also expresses his gratitude to the organization: “I do not want my passing to reflect poorly on the Trevor Project,” he wrote. “That organization was the best decision I ever made in my life.”
The note concludes: “My pain is not caused because I am gay. My pain was caused by how I was treated because I am gay.”
Borges' passing left friends and acquaintances confused, particularly as the budding filmmaker had produced an "It Gets Better" video in support of LGBT youth just one month earlier. Jennifer McGuire, with whom Borges lived after being kicked out of his own home, is quoted as saying, "By the time he got to us -- his real family -- he was so injured and so wounded that the triage we provided wasn’t enough."
Take a look at other recent bullying cases and related news below:
Jack Reese
Though details of the 17-year-old Reese's April suicide are scarce, his boyfriend Alex Smith spoke frankly about the repeated bullying the teen had experienced at school.
As one official is quoted as telling Ogden OUTreach off the record: "It happens here about once a week, but officially, you know, it doesn't happen here."
Kenneth Weishuhn jr.
The 14-year-old took his own life after friends and family say that classmates sent him death threats on his cell phone and made him the subject of a Facebook hate group.
"People that were originally his friends, they kind of turned on him," sister Kayla Weishuhn, a sophomore, is quoted as saying. "A lot of people, they either joined in or they were too scared to say anything."
Eric James Borges
In January, just one month after filming an "It Gets Better" video in support of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, 19-year-old Eric James Borges took his own life.
Borges, who went by EricJames among friends, worked as an intern with The Trevor Project, and as a supplemental instructor at the College of the Sequoias, according to Queer Landia blogger Jim Reeves.
Jacob Rogers
Jacob Rogers had been bullied at Cheatham County Central High School for the past four years, but at the start of his senior year, it had become so bad he dropped out of school before taking his own life. "He started coming home his senior year saying 'I don't want to go back. Everyone is so mean. They call me a faggot, they call me gay, a queer,'" friend Kaelynn Mooningham said.
Jeffrey Fehr
Eighteen-year-old Jeffrey Fehr, who was known as a skilled athlete and previously served as the first male captain of his high school's cheerleading squad, hanged himself on New Year's Day in the front entrance of his family's Granite Bay home after enduring what his parents describe as a lifetime of anti-gay bullying.
Tyler Clementi
The disturbing rash of LGBT teen suicides began receiving attention last fall. Among those who took their own life was Tyler Clementi, an 18-year-old Rutgers University student who jumped off the George Washington Bridge between New Jersey and New York after his roommate allegedly filmed him having sex with another man.
Seth Walsh
Seth Walsh, a 13-year-old California teen, hung himself in September 2010 after reportedly being bullied because he was gay.
Raymond S. Chase
Gay Rhode Island-based student Raymond S. Chase, 19, became the fifth in 2010's disturbing spate of teen suicides last fall.
Obama's Anti-Bullying Video
In October 2010, President Obama released a video in support of LGBT youth who were struggling with being bullied.
Pastor's Confession
In November 2010, Jim Swilley, the pastor of a Georgia megachurch, revealed to his congregation that he is gay. The 52-year-old father of four said the recent spate of teen suicides, particularly that of Clementi, prompted him to change his mind. "For some reason his situation was kind of the tipping point with me," Swilley told CNN's Don Lemon this weekend.
Daniel Radcliffe Honored
In June, "Harry Potter" actor Daniel Radcliffe was honored with the Trevor Project's "Hero" Award for his <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/26/daniel-radcliffe-speaks-o_n_478960.html" target="_hplink">ongoing suicide prevention efforts</a> for LGBT youth.
Jamey Rodemeyer
In September, Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old boy from Williamsville, N.Y., took his life Sunday after what his parents claim was years of bullying because of struggles with his sexuality, months after posting this "It Gets Better" clip on YouTube.
Lady Gaga's Dedication
After vowing to stop bullying and make it illegal, Lady Gaga -- a longtime advocate for LGBT causes -- dedicated a performance to Rodemeyer at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas. "I wrote this record about how your identity is really all you've got when you're in school," Gaga told the crowd. "So tonight, Jamey, I know you're up there looking at us, and you're not a victim. You're a lesson to all of us."
Bachmann Speaks Out
Days after being faced with a petition that urged her to publicly address gay bullying in her district, Rep. Michele Bachmann noted, "That's not a federal issue," according to CBS News. Previously, Tammy Aaberg, the mother of Justin Aaberg, a gay teen in the Anoka-Hennepin school district who committed suicide after having been bullied in area schools, delivered petitions to Bachmann's office asking her for support.
Jamie Hubley
Jamie Hubley, a gay 15-year-old from Ottawa, Canada, committed suicide Oct. 14. In this clip, the teen performs Mike Posner's "Cooler Than Me."
Hubley Tribute Video
Friends created a poignant tribute video to Hubley, the Canadian 10th grader who committed suicide on Friday.
A published excerpt from a suicide note and comments made by friends at a memorial service are shedding new light on a gay teen filmmaker who took his own life earlier this month.
San Diego Gay & ...
A published excerpt from a suicide note and comments made by friends at a memorial service are shedding new light on a gay teen filmmaker who took his own life earlier this month.
San Diego Gay & ...
While I usually speak about economic issues or geopolitic or global issues, today I would like to discuss an issue that's about care for our kids, about the next generation and about a specific danger they are facing: suicide.
How horrible. How sad. This poor kid never was given a fair chance at life. He says in the video his life is better, but I don't believe or feel his words. I do believe it is because he could not feel them either.
short personal story:
I am new at work, a bartender at a restaurant, and today a cook who I had never met refused to acknowledge me. I thought at first, maybe he does not know I am speaking to him, the next time I thought that maybe he did not understand what I said and the 3rd time I thought maybe if I introduce myself still no response so I said "you don't care?" He replied "what?" I replied "My name is Janae" and stuck out my hand to shake his, he turned away with a smirk and said "I don't care"
This is a single event and it really hurt. To not even have the respect for the fact that I am a human and to treat me as such. I CANNOT imagine this being an everyday occurrence for another PERSON. This world is cruel and disgusting and it is sad that finding wonderful people is becoming a challenge. Quit judging. Quit being selfish. And quit being holier than thou. We are all humans PERIOD!
Janae_Jolene_McLane: How horrible. How sad. This poor kid never was given
I am a Christian woman and do not agree with homosexuality, but you had better believe that you will NEVER hear me saying I hate gays or call them derogatory names. I have no problem telling the gays I meet, "Dear, I don't agree with what you do, but I LOVE you with a Godly love".
God is not mocked and He is incensed by self-righteousness; many of the Christians who shake their fists at gays over their "perversions" are the same ones who have DVD's wrapped in brown wrappers delivered to their homes on a regular basis, who are filled with heterosexual lust outside of the marital bed, and who actively commit adultery. As I said, God is not mocked and He will have the final say and judgment.
loveteec3: Religion is created by man, and is not of God.
@loveteec3, you are spot on!! I agree 100%. These people who mistreat gays under the name of "religion" tarnish what God really stands for. He wants us to love everyone and place no judgment. Leave the judging to him.
karaanne90: @loveteec3, you are spot on!! I agree 100%. These people
I appreciate your open-mindedness, but respectfully, look at your comment from a different perspective:
"I am a Christian woman and do not agree with big noses."
"I am a Christian woman and do not agree with dwarfism."
"I am a Christian woman and do not agree with mottled leaves."
Life is diversity; the universe is all about diversity. There are very likely alien species on other planets with alien cultures, habits and behaviors that would terrify your average human. Homosexuality is just one single expression of that diversity that is about love, respect and admiration....these are positive things that do no harm. Of all the things in life (that you can't change and have been around since the beginning of time) why fight with something that brings people joy?
As far as gay sexual practices, unsafe sex, pedophilia, gay crime, etc, criticize all you want because a lot of it deserves criticism. The gay community should be criticized for unsafe sex! But NOT being gay....it is NOT a choice....trust me, I'm gay, I'm the authority, not Rick Santorum! Would you ask a deaf person what it's like to be blind?
Please don't judge homosexuality....it is just part of the diversity of life....and you will never be able to suppress it. Feel free to be disgusted by it…that’s your right, but for heaven sakes, don’t enshrine your disgust in law. If we all did that, we would have no freedom at all?
MarkInEugene: I appreciate your open-mindedness, but respectfully, look at your comment
Honestly, it's time to seriously consider removing tax-exempt status from these destructive orgnizations. All we are asking of them is to please keep your beliefs out of the law and don't act with prejudice toward non-believers. And they refuse to comply with this simple request.
It is such a blatant insult to millions of decent Americans that we are forced to subsidize organizations who have become highly political and use the money we effectively give them to limit our civil rights!
And the expect lawmakers to fight for their prejudice. It's so dysfunctional and unconscious!
MarkInEugene: Honestly, it's time to seriously consider removing tax-exempt status from
Please everyone who bullies STOP bullying people because they are homosexual. No one has the right to bully or judge anyone else. Anyone who bullies another is in want of heart. And anyone who judges another will be judged. He who has not sinned can cast the 1st stone. We are all obliged to wash ourselves clean in the blood of the lamb. That means NO BULLYING, NO HATING and NO JUDGEING as well as keeping ourselves clean and undefiled.
RaquelDeans: Please everyone who bullies STOP bullying people because they are
I am so sorry your parents and others are so hostile towards you. If one of my children were homosexual I would feel so sorry for that child. (Regardless of the fact that no one wants pity) I would love him or her and pray for that one. I would not reject my child nor would I spit or insult any other person who is homosexual. There are reasons why people are homosexual, but homosexuality is not the only reason people are rejected in this world. It is also not the only great difficulty people have to deal with. Difficulties however can be overcome with love patience and understanding. When it comes to the stance churches take they are obligated to uphold the word of God. Jesus died for our sins. If a person knows and loves God his Son's teachings become more important than sexuality and his laws are more important than sexual gratification whether homosexual or otherwise. I don't want anyone to feel bad about being homosexual but I pray they can overcome it even though it is a difficult thing to do but it is not impossible. We all have to overcome our sins and imperfections to be adopted as sons and daughters of Christ.
RaquelDeans: I am so sorry your parents and others are so
For all the great work that organizations like, GLADD, do, and are actively doing across the USA. It is a daunting task when church leaders, school administrators, right-wing, religion-minded, Washington politicians, and their supporters, are actively working against any and all laws, policies, that protect or try to protect the LGBT youth and adult community.
Glowbeanie: For all the great work that organizations like, GLADD, do,
Got to keep making the LGBT kids and youth strong, proud and smart about being bullied for being who they are and not the self-loathing people the right-wingers want them to be.
Glowbeanie: Got to keep making the LGBT kids and youth strong,
I posted on this article on the 29th, and I drew a lot of comments. Some agreed with me, some thought I was a callous creep. I responded to an attempted suicide two years ago. A young man had taken a huge amount of pain-killers. We got him back. I talked to him, and even gave him my own phone number in case he wanted to talk. Two weeks later I cut him down off the beam he had hung himself from. Every suicide I have run in the past 25 years left a mark on me. It is heart breaking. And that, friends, is why I may come across as crass and uncaring. I feel deeply for these kids.
fd909: I posted on this article on the 29th, and I
Feeling deeply for all kids that take their lives, is a good thing to be proud of. Unlike the people who are acting to drive kids to commit suicide because they don't meet the religious-right's idea of what or who passes for a good Christian in their view.
Glowbeanie: Feeling deeply for all kids that take their lives, is
I've never seen so much hate spewed in one place. If ur a Christian and you stand up against homophobes, you still get yelled at. It would be funny if it weren't so sad. I guess Christianity is the same as conservatives - all bad. You gotta love those close minded people, who think they are open minded, making broad, generalizations.
lezanelson: I've never seen so much hate spewed in one place.
everyone responds differently to emotional and physical abuses. Some have serious accidents yet sill live while some die because of very minor diseases. If you dont understand it educate yourself before you judge or comment on others' lives.
louis_in_syd: everyone responds differently to emotional and physical abuses. Some have
I'm not judging anyone, I just said that it is a personal decision to end ones life.
No one makes that decision for someone else.
Don't blame bullying or any other manner of lifes challenges for a personal mental state.
litwahf: I'm not judging anyone, I just said that it is
Both of my parents abondoned myself and my brother on 2 different occasions each, so I don't want to hear about abuse causes suicide, if that was the case I shouldn't have arrived to 15 years old, let alone 50.”
litwahf: Both of my parents abondoned myself and my brother on
Bullies, listen up & maybe you will learn something.....
When you physically, emotionally, or mentally abuse a gay person, you are fooling yourself that you are stronger. You are weak. Weak in your own sexuality, because if you're secure in your own sexuality, then the sexuality of others would not be perceived as a threat to you, &you would not act aggressively &need to "prove" you are straight by condemning a gay person.
It is only because YOU are insecure in your own sexual identity, that you feel threatened by someone who is differently-oriented.
People often get angry at any thing or any person who causes them to feel insecure, &anger is rooted in fear. So all bullies operate out of fear.
Bullies are also cowards, because they prey upon the weak, different, etc. They're cowards because they would never dare pick on anyone their own size. It's always the shy, the younger, the gentle ones who are not going to fight back.
If you are a bully reading this, think for a minute. Think about the REAL reasons you bully. It's not the funny hair, or weight, or sex of a person that is the issue. You bully because you are afraid, and angry at yourself. Don't take it out on innocent people. That is gutless and cowardly. It takes more guts to be friends with a gay person, than to abuse them.
happyjoyjoy333: Bullies, listen up & maybe you will learn something..... When
The ostracization of those who are "different" is as old as humanity and exists to create close knit teams for the purpose of advancing common goals.
People of a like nature gravitate to one another and become stronger than the sum of their parts.
Bullying has nothing to do with gay, it's about those who are different.
litwahf: The ostracization of those who are "different" is as old
re: your response; "Bullying has nothing to do with gay, it's about those who are different. "
Duh, that has always been obvious.
Let me explain it to you:
My post is on a page where a GAY person committed suicide because he was bullied for being GAY.
While it is primarily directed towards that issue,
I ALSO stated the fact that "Bullies are also cowards, because they prey upon the weak, different, etc."
Can you SEE the word "different" in my post now?
Sheesh!
happyjoyjoy333: re: your response; "Bullying has nothing to do with gay,
These Gay people are very hateful and vindictive on this thread. No wonder Gays are having such a hard way to go in life. I think this is the last time I will post here.
ZC1968: These Gay people are very hateful and vindictive on this
You need to learn of something called tact, even us we todd dead jarheads learn of it. You can dislike something and still be civil and mature, or well I can be, it doesn't appear it's as easy for other people, heh. In addition if you dislike homosexuals so much why are you in the Gay voices section of HuffPost?
6531WilliamsG: You need to learn of something called tact, even us
Too bad you feel infuriated in the first place for someone and something that is out of your control. Whatever she is selling, has be been sold and will sell, long before and after you're alive on this glorious planet.
Glowbeanie: Too bad you feel infuriated in the first place for
Such a shame that this handsome, talented and intelligent Human Being gave
up on a possible wonderful future and life because of the pressures by neanderthals
who have nothing better to do with their time than to judge others and spread hate.
*Note: Just read some of the rubbish spewing from the minds of the emotionally and mentally challenged here on this forum below.
My condolences to his family members who cared about him and his best mates.
ANY LIFE lost is heartbreaking, but for someone to feel that they have no other options
than to end it all because of torment from others and parents who shunned him is especially tragic. There's always a way out. Just surround yourself with people who love and care for you
and as weird as this may be due to the circumstances with his parents -pray and have faith.
It really does help. Travel well Eric, God Speed.
British_Pixie: Such a shame that this handsome, talented and intelligent Human
Amen! I hope we could get more people involved and ready to assist the many kids that feel poorly in life, so they can live to see how beautiful life and some people truly are in our world.
Glowbeanie: Amen! I hope we could get more people involved and
Its sad that this can happen, hell I remember when I came out as bi to my family and friends. (ok so i am greedy) I was lucky to have a loving family. This is one topic I can agree on even with you liberals. I thank God that I was accepted for who I am. Only time I hid it was while in the service.
Soldier79: Its sad that this can happen, hell I remember when
Being Bi, is not being greedy. It means you can enjoy and appreciate both sexes or genders. You don't have to decide between a man or a woman, as long as you let the person know that you are Bi, and not Gay or heterosexual. Misleading people you date or engage in intimate relations, hurts everyone involved, except the one that is selfish or a liar about who they are in their privacy.
Glowbeanie: Being Bi, is not being greedy. It means you can
Loading comments… 
First Posted: 01/29/2012 10:38 am Updated: 01/29/2012 9:22 pm