{addendum: it's likely that the story that sparked this post is a hoax. but what i said still stands.}
i'm sick of this.
yes, i know kids get bullied all the time. for various reasons. but it really CAN be this isolating, distressing and hurtful.
i've been through it...and, to tell you the truth, i don't even really know why i was picked on. but i know it made me wanna stop living, too. luckily i had other influences that helped get me through.
but while i had to deal with folks' misguided sexual advances, i also had the privilege of being straight. these kids are vulnerable on so many levels. they are invisible twice, sometimes three or four times over.
on the other hand, i have to wonder: where is this deep, dark loneliness coming from? don't the smart/weird/freaky kids band together any more, or is everybody going for self?
when i was in school, the "outcasts" stuck together. even when they didn't like each other, if someone got harassed/beat up/talked about badly enough, there was some measure of support. whatever happened to that?
for the rest of us...
watch how you speak of gay, lesbian, and transgender people.
speak up when your kids harass peers for being "different".
befriend a kid who seems lonely.
listen openly, without judgment. be willing to learn.
you might save a life.
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