Girl commits suicide in fear of racial backlash

Link

A talented teenage gymnast committed suicide after becoming concerned she would be branded "racist" after taking a joke photograph and sharing it with friends, an inquest heard.

Phoebe Connop, 16, uploaded an edited picture of herself where her skin tone had been darkened and she was wearing a scarf wrapped around her head to a private Instagram message, which she shared with friends.

She was scared of what the reaction might be from the Asian community in her areaDetective Sergeant Katherine Tomkins

Miss Connop, who had been speaking regularly to an Asian male, told the group it was what she would have to look like to get approval from her "boyfriend's" parents.

The image was shared beyond the private group and Miss Connop feared their would be a backlash, the inquest heard. She died on July 7 after committing suicide at her family home.

Black Country Coroners Court heard on the day of her death Miss Connop had been working with her father Laurence, 53, to get some money for her summer holidays on July 7 this year.

He had taken her home early due to her feeling unwell but found his daughter hanged when he returned after work.

Five days earlier, the award-winning gymnast had posted pictures of her school leavers prom on her Facebook page.

Giving evidence at the inquest, which was held on Friday, Detective Sergeant Katherine Tomkins, from West Midlands Police, said: "From speaking to her friends in the weeks following her death, we discovered that the image had circulated further than she wanted it

"There had been some negative reaction and she confided in her friend, who did take the image down at her request, that she was scared of what the reaction might be from the Asian community in her area."

The inquest heard Miss Connop, who lived in Halesowen, West Midlands, was a talented gymnast who had ambitions of becoming a midwife.

Her family found a "wish list" in her bedroom following her death, which listed that she wished to study at sixth form.

Mr Connop described his daughter as a "lovely girl who would never want to cause offense to anyone".

"She had shown me no indication in the weeks leading up to her death that there was anything wrong, let alone anything that would lead her to do this," he said.

There is nothing I can say to help with the painBlack Country Coroner Zafar Siddique

Would suck to be the person who leaked that photo.

So this is what it's come to, huh? Suicide over fear of being called a racist. Jesus motherfucking Christ.

I'm sure there's more to the story than what the media is portraying. They're probably giving it this angle because the whole tragic suicide thing is getting old and people are more likely to click if they tie it in with the current hot social issue.

@PernicioEnigma: of course, she had an islamic boyfriend, but his family did not approve of it. So she took a photo of her covering her face and kind of put brown makeup on so she can look presentable to his family

Another thing that keeps bothering me is people thinking Islam is a race. Race and religion are separate concepts. Not all Muslims are Arabs. In fact, Indonesia has the largest Muslim population on Earth.

Couldn't she at least have waited to see if there was an actual backlash?

It's been worse. I'm glad I'm not living during the Crusades, Mongol conquests, Black Death, any civil war, the World Wars, or the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Some people say we live in the most peaceful time in history. It's hard to believe at first, but when you stop and think, it's true. The media just makes the world seem like it's a worse place than it really is. Negative stories get more views via sensationalism.

I have access to food, water, a place to safely sleep, education, a car, the Internet, a mobile phone, and video games, as do billions of others, minus except maybe video games. :P Not sure if the gamer population is a billion yet. :P

We live in an age of advanced research and medicine. Crime rates, despite what you hear in the news, have been decreasing since the mid-20th century. Gun murders are blown out of proportion in the US. More people commit suicide by gun than are murdered by one.

I'm glad I was born in 1992, and not 1092, 1192, 1292, 1392, etc. :P When I think back to how people lived back then, I can only imagine how short and hard life was, not to mention boring. If you were fortunate to be literate, books were an escape. Now look at all the entertainment we have. Considering how long human history is, I find myself fortunate to be living in this time period.

True. I definitely think ISIS and radical Islam in general is one of our major issues today, as is improving living conditions in poorer countries, increasing literacy rates in said countries, and combating climate change. I think climate change is our biggest concern because it involves the whole planet; ISIS is more or less confined to a few countries; correct me if I'm wrong. If climate change isn't addressed, then it will be definitely bad times for all of us in the future, especially with access to food and water.

Oh hell no. The sun is in the middle of its life right now. It has five billion years left. Trust me, we're fine. ;)

The sun won't even blow up. It's not big enough to go supernova. It'll swell into a red giant billions of years from now, possibly engulfing the Earth, and then anti climatically revert into a dwarf star.

Meh, it depends on the subject; science and math are not my strong suits, but thanks anyway! :3

Well that's a rather dramatic view of "better safe then sorry".

yup

@gamerguru100: THE SUN has five billion years. We have much less than that. Earth will become too hot to sustain life well before the red giant phase. I think current estimate is we have about a billion years to be off the earth. Then we have to be out of the solar system by the end of the red giant phase.

That should be more than plenty of time provided we don't let religion hold science back and don't nuke ourselves into another stone age, rise back up, and do it again.

If you commit suicide, I think the problems are far bigger than "afraid of being mistaken for a racist".

@sonicare: "If you commit suicide, I think the problems are far bigger than "afraid of being mistaken for a racist".

So you're not buying this story?

Im just saying that's probably not the only reason she may have committed suicide. Usually it has to do with pathologic depression or mental illness.

@sonicare:

No I'm with you. I think there's more to this story.

Someone hiding something.

It's really embarrassing that a lot of Americas think this! I don't know whether to blame our media or just our natural fear to venture out of our comfort zone

Agreed, people are so quick to come to a conclusion based off a headline.

Hanging is a terrible choice for suicide. Unless one were to use a significantly elevated location (such as a high balcony), the neck would not break and an agonizingly slow death by strangulation might ensue. :-(

A thing a lot of people ignore is that there is very rarely just one thing that causes a person to kill themselves.

We hear something bad happened and then that person killed themselves, and everyone assumes that that one thing must be the sole cause and not just the final straw.

None of the quotes in the article actually use the word "racist". The actual quotes don't say anything about her being scared of being called "racist". The quotes just say that "She was scared of what the reaction might be from the Asian community in her area" (in the UK, "Asian" usually means South Asians, not East Asians, BTW). It seems like she was seeking approval from her boyfriend's South Asian family/community, and killed herself because she thought they'd react negatively to her picture. That's still a dumb reason to kill yourself over. But it's not simply because she was scared of being called a "racist".

Sure, but I don't see how that's fundamentally any different than dumping a person and then finding out that the person committed suicide because they were dumped.

Obviously many people will feel in some way responsible, but hopefully they'll know that the suicide was a ridiculous overreaction and that there's no way they could have anticipated that doing that would result in the person's death.

She was probably mentally ill or something else. Maybe it's a murder? I don't know. But if she has committed suicide solely due to fear of reactions, then it's definitely mental illness at play.

Thats sad, the person who leaked this should be accountable for her death.

Murder? Are you ****ing shitting me?

It's perfectly possible. But as long as it's not confirmed, let's just say I'm shitting you.

No we don't. Life is pretty good. Could be better. But it could be muuuuch worse. Look at civil rights movement, or reconstruction, or slavery. All stuff U.S. has gone through. Today we are just sensitive, weak, prejudiced, and racist. Not bad all things considered.

That... seems wrong. There has to be more going on than just that. Because, I get it, teenagers are unstable, emotional balls of insecurity, but this just seems like a step too far, especially for someone who didn't seem to be particularly ostracized otherwise. I wonder if there's more than what the article is reporting.

That being said, I do think it's silly how much people cry racism these days. Like that Ellen DeGenerres thing. Clearly intended as an inoffensive joke and people got all up in arms about it. Like, I get why they do that, but there's being aware of racism, then there's just looking for things to cry racism about.

Yeah, and it's POSSIBLE that you're a sex offender, but I wouldn't suggest such a thing when I don't have ANY evidence that you are.

Similarly, is there ANY evidence pointing to this being a murder?

Obviously she had more problems than that.....

generally there's a bit more going on. Girl probably had many other issues, likely undiagnosed depression and anxiety.

C'mon folks...people kill themselves. Usually over stupid shit. Sometimes for legit "right to die" reasons. Sometimes someone has been on the edge for a long time and all it takes is one little reason to do it.

@Stesilaus: Actually there is a proper way to do it by tying the rope a certain way and by placing it around the neck a certain way.

When done properly, you would pass out within 10 seconds. Kinda like how MMA fighters pass out quickly when if a chokehold is properly applied.

So it would be a whole 10 seconds of suffering...which is nothing.

However if done wrong, yes you could be hanging there for like 20 minutes, kicking and trying to break free...which would suck.

I don't condone suicide, but jesus, if someone is going to do it, at least do it right. Educate themselves first.

While this definitely isn't the case for all suicides, many suicides are sort of a spur of the moment type thing.

Point being...in those cases if they took the time to educate themselves on the right way to do it, then by the time they found out how to do it correctly they probably wouldn't want to kill themselves any more. Which, I guess is one more reason why they should take their time and learn how to do it correctly.

Speculation is dirty business, I know. But it is no dirtier than thinking she was screwed up in the head. I don't understand why you're tripping up this much. If I had blamed murder on someone without proof then your reaction would be appropriate. But right now, you're just overacting.

@gamerguru100: Too bad that will never be aired on major media outlets. And even social media. The idea that we live in a more calmer time. Doesn't fit the agenda of numerous individuals and groups out there. Fear and shock has always been a good attention grabber. Even if its not always for the good of society.

I don't know the full story of this particular girl. But if she did commit suicide over the fear of being called a racist when she wasn't. Is very unfortunate. I suppose its an issue that parents will have to address to their kids that statements made against them. Aren't always going to what's truly in their heart.