# Sad news



## oldSmokey (Jul 31, 2011)

I came across this on YouTube
I Just wanted to share this news as it involves the hobby many of us enjoy.

A young boy of 13 named Alexander Frye, who was a huge UP Railfan and modelrailroader, committed suicide last week in Wyoming. His family suspects bullying at school, largely as a result of his hobby, is the underlying cause. 


http://trib.com/news/local/state-and...04a805925.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnk1KKOlIWk&feature=g-u&context=G2e362cdFUAAAAAAAAAA


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## gunrunnerjohn (Nov 10, 2010)

That is a genuine shame! Why in the world would someone bully a 13 year old over trains? That makes no sense! Hell, lots of kids are into trains, and I've never heard of that being a "bully point".


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## winnbear (Dec 23, 2011)

Why are some people so narrow minded? Just because you have a hobby that "others" think is not cool, doesn't mean you harrass them over it.


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## shaygetz (Sep 23, 2007)

Wow...14 years ago, had a kid in a model railroad club I was associated with do the same thing. He was 16 at the time...


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## Big Ed (Jun 16, 2009)

Your first link did not work.

I found this,

http://trib.com/news/local/state-an...cle_f75be98c-cde6-5b00-8834-b5b04a805925.html

Very sad 

Read the comments under the video.

One lady told the guy to grow up and stop playing with toy trains!
Some people just PLAIN SUCK!

It really pisses me off when I hear this _hit!
Makes me want to go out and find a bully to beat up!

If my link works the kid did show some warning signs, I wish his Dad would have seen them.

If any of our younger rail fan members have a problem like this, PLEASE talk to your parents or school....someone.

Sounds like the kid really liked trains too, just a shame.

Enough said by me, I got to keep my Blood pressure down.


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## Gansett (Apr 8, 2011)

I don't understand bullying. Bullying happened when I was in school and my dad told me he'd kick my butt if I ever took part. I passed that "advice" onto my kids. My son earned the rep of enforcer in high school by stopping bullying when he saw it. He was praised, unofficially, by teachers and staff.

Couple of years ago a high schooler committed suicide by hanging herself in her bedroom. Note said she couldn't live because the boy she wanted to ask her to a dance didn't and other girls were making fun of her. My daughter is a EMT and was among those that responded.

It's very sad.


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## Russell (Dec 11, 2009)

The bottom line here is the pain this boy must have felt and the pain his parents are in now. Of course we all know that.

Then I wonder. I remember bullies as a boy especially in the school yard. Is there more of this now, or is there just more coverage? Like a seesaw, I find myself vacillating on this. 

Another thought: this is not only about someone wanting to play with trains, it's about being different. Movies that have had this as a theme are Edward Scissorhands, and Harold and Maude. Daily realities of being ostracized are lived by gay people, boys who don't like sports, or who are not focused on being tough and strong, and unfeminine women, i.e. lacking traits our society values.

There's no bringing that poor boy back.


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## Massey (Apr 16, 2011)

I was bullied when I was in school, Part because of how I look and part because of my personality. I am like a country song, I will help any in need even if it means giving the shirt off my back. I have always been like that even as a kid. My heart is big and I never went around teasing people. The teasing and bullying hurt bad when I was young but I eventually stopped putting up with it all and started laughing with the kids doing it. When some one would stiff shoulder me in the hall I learned to lean into it and expect it and wow they were the one that usually lost their balance because they were not expecting it. The teasing and bullying started to slow down quite a bit then in high school I came across a car accident and stopped to see if any one needed help. One of the guys that was teasing me was hurt pretty bad and his arm was bleeding alot. I took off my shirt and made a bandage for him and stopped the bleeding. then sent my other friend who was telling me to just leave him be out to the nearest house to call 911 (cell phones were still only for the rich back then)

Anyway the next day in school he came up to me and asked why after all the crap he gave me over the years did I help him, even ruining a shirt for it. I said because I am not like most people you meet and there was a person that needed help, so I helped. He and his friends stopped their bullying of me (they were the biggest group) and would get on others that would. It didnt stop it all but it did help. I found out after we graduated that the cut on his arm was bad enough he could have bleed out if I had not stopped and helped. 

I dont know what happened to him after we graduated he moved out of state but I still run into his friends in my old town every now and then.

I know how down this kid could have felt. I liked things when I was young that other kids thought was strange. Things like Trains and slot cars. My Dad was restoring a 56 T-bird so I talked about car shows and stuff when we would go. These were things the other kids didnt know or do so me talking about things like that were considered strange and also made me a target.

Massey


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## tjcruiser (Jan 10, 2010)

OMG ... what an incredibly sad, tragic story. I have two young boys of my own, and I can't even begin to imagine the pain that this family is feeling, and the retrospective questions they must be asking.

Anti-bullying campaigns are becoming more commonplace in public school systems (a good thing), but that's offset, of course, by the sad fact that bullying still persists ... perhaps even on a high level with all of today's "tech" means of bullying.

It can't be tolerated in any circumstance. The end result can often be far too tragic, as this story exempifies.

When I was young, I was subjected took my fair share of bullying, and even tossed a few disparaging remarks towards other "less accepted" kids. I certainly regret doing that today. I do remember one crossroads point where my perception of others -- and my choice of how to treat others -- changed for the better. When I was young, my mother would often see someone less priveledged and say, "There but for the grace of God go I." I heard that phrase, but didn't understand what she meant. That is, until one day when she sat me down and explained the fundamental "picture yourself in their shoes" philosophy. A bell went off in my head, and i finally "got it". And I'm ever grateful for that. Those words ring loudly in my head today ... and every day forward, I hope. We all walk different paths through life ... some fortunate, some not so fortunate. But should we ever set out to chastise anyone different from ourselves, I hope those words will loudly ring: There but for the grace of God go I.

TJ


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## sstlaure (Oct 12, 2010)

I too was bullied in school. I was the fat kid. Luckily I finally got sick of the torment and went completely ballistic on the bullies (I quickly determined that my extra weight gave me a certain advantage.) My mother enforced the idea of "this too shall pass" - your current situation will only be that way for so long. Later in life I lost weight and you'd hardly recognized me compared to that overweight teenager. It did indeed pass.

Very sad....as parents we need to make sure our children know we are there for them and that if something, anything is bothering them, that we can help.


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## mopac (Feb 24, 2011)

sstlaure said:


> Luckily I finally got sick of the torment and went completely ballistic on the bullies
> 
> Sadly this doesn't happen enough. LOL, many times this really helps to stop
> the bullying. I heard a news story this week of a kid getting tired of the bullying and went berserk and stabbed to death a bully. The bullying was documented and the kid will not be charged. Kinda extreme but the bully
> ...


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