It is so tempting to hate on haters. But if I do that, does it make me any different than them? Probably not. So today is about awareness instead.
First, the folks in Mississippi faked out Constance and her date. Man oh man, this rises to a new level of unkindness–these are grownups punking a teenager. All for a woman in a tux and her girlfriend.
Second, today is a day to remember Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, an 11-year-old boy who took his life because he was bullied about being gay. See that picture up there? That kid could play on my son’s football team. And he thought his only option in the world was to kill himself. Because he was GAY. And people didn’t stand up for him.
When I hear these kinds of things, I want to yell obscenities at everyone and tear out people’s hair. Hate makes me feel hopeless. Instead, I try to focus on things like this quote from Constance from an article in THE ADVOCATE:
“Two students with learning difficulties were among the seven people at the country club event, McMillen recalls. ‘They had the time of their lives,’ McMillen says. “That’s the one good thing that come out of this, [these kids] didn’t have to worry about people making fun of them [at their prom].'”
I am going to take a cue from Constance and see the good. I can’t quite find it in Carl’s story yet, but I will try. Today, when I go home and show my own 11-year-old this story, maybe he’ll support a gay kid someday and stop the bullying. Maybe the circle will expand.
But oh, it’s hard not to hate the haters.