Expect More: A Soapbox Response to a News Article and the Comment that Followed

I guess it is time for me to get up on my soapbox about a comment that was made to a link I saw in my News Feed on Facebook. The article was through Edge Media Network and is about a lawsuit that was filed Tuesday in Mississippi and the lawsuit says gay students are being bullied in a southern Mississippi school district. This bullying included a lesbian student made to sit alone in the class when the other students were split into boys and girls. (The article can be found at this link: http://www.edgeonthenet.com/news/national/News//153237/lawsuit:_gay_students_bullied_in_miss_district .)

While the information in this article and the act of bullying in any way are despicable, there was a comment to the link, in which Ms. Landry commented, saying, "I live in Mississippi & I love my state but honestly you can't expect much from a state that still holds KKK conventions! If Blacks can't have respect in 2013 why expect that for LGBT?" There are two things I find erroneous about this comment. The first is that we can indeed expect more from the people of Mississippi who are engaging in such horrendous bullying tactics. Just because the KKK conventions are being held does not mean that we cannot expect more. Expecting less is the reason this bullying warfare (yes, warfare because the students being bullied are bombarded with assault after assault) continues to go on in school districts. Expecting less of the teachers who allow this cruelty to continue is the exact reason bullying continues in the school districts. Expecting less of the parents is the reason the children aren't held to a higher standard when they are in a public forum. Expecting less of the kids in the school and not asking for more respect and decorum in schools is the very reason bullying continues. And finally, expecting the bullied students to just sit back and take it because the teachers, parents and the school district will do nothing to protect them is despicable and should never be expected of them simply because they live in a district that continues to hold KKK conventions.

Finally, stating that because we are in the year 2013 and other's can't expect any respect then why should the LGBT community. Stating that it is the year 2013 does not give any credence to the idea that we are in a civilized world. The year has nothing to do with the mindset of the people...obviously! Also, the LGBT community, the Black community, and every other community can indeed expect respect. It is a right given to us simply by being. And if the communities think because they are Christian that gives them the right to treat others as though they are lesser beings, these same Christian communities need to revisit their Bibles and the words of Christ. Even Christ would not judge the harlot when she was brought before him. If Christ and his words, which are the very essences of Christianity, will not judge a harlot and also state, "Love they neighbor as thyself," what makes it okay for someone to treat LGBT kids or Black people any less than Christ would treat them? Perhaps, they need to rethink their affiliations with Christianity. The message of Christ is love and has nothing to do with color, gender, or sexual identity. Just love! So, no matter what century we are in and no matter what race, gender, sexual identity, or any other thing that identifies us as different, we can indeed expect more. We, in fact, need to expect more or we will, in the end, destroy ourselves.

Expect more of each other. Expect love from your neighbors and your teachers. Expect change from school districts. Expect more! We are all a part of the great human race and simply because we are different from on another does not give anyone the right to treat us as though we are lesser. We all breath. We all love. We all live. And to do nothing and expect nothing is one of the greater sins. Is it not?

Namaste. 

Good Parenting: Experiencing Unconditional Love

A good parent can go a long way. A great, loving parent can carry a child on a journey through the brambles of life when that child's legs won't carry them much further. Now, add another loving parent to that child's life and the load that child carries will be lessened that much more.

I have been one of the lucky ones to have two loving parents to have on my side and by my side during this perilous journey of life. At times, during those moments of growth when I felt so alone, I forgot that they were on my side and by my side. Sometimes, I think I took that fact for granted too often. And I fear, sometimes I cursed them for how protective they were of me. I didn't realize, during those times, that they were doing their best to shield me from the darkness they had seen in this world.

Today, I feel extremely grateful to my parents, who not only have my physical well-being in mind as they protect and have protected me, but they also have my spiritual well-being in mind. I don't know how often, as I've called home to talk, they have said, "We always have you in our prayers," or "we put your name in at the temple." If all else fails in this world, I know that I have two loving people who watch out for me and pray for me. I fear the day when their physical bodies are absent in my life. However, believing in something more than this life allows me to know that they will still be there in spirit and in my heart always.

It is thinking of my parents love for me that I wish with all my heart that every child could be this lucky. I wish everyone could experience the love of a parent. I wish children could experience the unconditional love a parent gives even when they disagree with where your life is headed. I know that not all people will agree with me, but in my wishing, I have a hope that people can see past sexual orientation when the well-being of a child is concerned and know that love is love. That child will be cared for. Whether by a mother and a father, two mothers, two fathers, a single mother, or a single father, that child will get to experience unconditional love. And that is a beautiful gift.

In one of the cover pages of Gordon Merrick's novel The Lord Won't Mind, it says, "I say, if it's love the Lord won't mind. There's enough hate in the world." And how can I disagree with this. There is so much hate in the world. I can't allow other's to suffer if they could have the chance to love and be loved, even if that structure of love goes against what society says is a "normal family." Because really, what is a "normal family?" Can anyone really say they have normal parents or a normal family?