Eric James Borges, 19, of Visalia,
California, committed suicide a month after producing a video in
support of troubled LGBT youth, QueerLandia.com's
Jim Reeves reported.
According to the report, Borges, known
as EricJames to his friends, took his own life on Wednesday, January
11, 2012.
In his nearly 5 minute It Gets Better
video, Borges talked about the torment he faced at the hands of
bullies.
“I was physically, mentally,
emotionally and verbally assaulted on a day-to-day basis for my
perceived sexual orientation. My name was not Eric, but 'Faggot.'”
Borges claims in the video that his
mother attempted an exorcism to cure him of his sexuality and
eventually kicked him out of her home.
“My mother knew I was gay and
performed an exorcism on me in an attempt to cure me,” he said.
“My anxiety, depression, self-loathing and suicidal thoughts
spiked. … My parents told me that, among other things, I was
disgusting, perverted, unnatural and damned to Hell.”
“I know it is hard, and I know what
it feels like to be rejected and abused for your biological sexual
orientation. And I know what it feels like to live in a world of
government-sanctioned homophobia. But I refuse to be treated as a
second-class citizen.” (The video is embedded in the right panel
of this page. Visit
our video library for more videos.)
Borges worked as an intern at The
Trevor Project, a group devoted to reaching out to troubled gay teens
considering suicide.
“We are deeply saddened to hear about
the tragic death of EricJames Borges, and our hearts go out to his
family and friends and his community,” Laura McGinnis,
communications director for The Trevor Project, said in a statement.
“EricJames was a dedicated, trained volunteer. Our main concern
right now is that those affected by his death feel supported and can
get the care they need.”
Borges, an aspiring filmmaker, produced
the short Invisible Creatures last fall. Watch
it here.