God, it just makes my heart ache. And it was so nearly me, too. I remember hurting myself up with bullies, who’d smirk and play innocent when I asked them for help. I think they thought it would fix me, you know? I hear in so many of these harassing stories while i am in facebook that the people who think is an important part of growing up they say, over and over, it teaches people how to fit in, teaches them to be better, teaches boys especially. How not to step out of line, and these are important lessons somehow I learned. They think their actions fixes kids and teaches them not to be freaks. They know it goes on, even encourage it. And some of us survive, somehow, but some of us don't.
And you know you know there were a lot of people who knew this was going on, and chose not to stop it, because people will be people and that’s how people are in harm. I need to find a way to give this feeling and other, safer ways out of this. It just breaks my heart.
It seems I also was accused of being stupid. (Whether or not either of those people identified as gay is not the point, the point is that the focus, or at least a focus of the harassing and embarrassing peoples identity or suspicion of being **** is worthy of harassment.) No one did anything to stop them.After all, they were just being honest about how they felt, weren’t they? Weren’t they?
What I hear people talking about is whether or not a person can say how they feel about an issue. What I don’t hear people talking about the distinction between the way people “personally feel” about an issue and how public policy gets shaped around the way people “personally feel” and as a result, other people’s real life circumstances are affected. It’s not just that people have a “feeling” about someone’s “preference” or “lifestyle” (and if I never hear those words again in this context, it’s okay by me). It’s that people don’t think, or don’t care that negative feelings get translated into policies and laws that dictate whether or not a person has health insurance, gets tax benefits, is able to inherit from or leave an inheritance to someone they love, raise children, visit a hospitalized spouse, be a member of a faith community, or be safe from embarrassing. Or feel as if life is worth living.
No offense to anybody out there.
My Check-up!
