We need to be doing better than this

I read a very sad thing this week. The suicide of a 14 year old boy. He was gay, and he was being bullied, and he just could not take it any more.

I don’t care who you are, and I don’t care what your religious beliefs are, we are ONE people on ONE planet, we are a global community, and we should be looking after each other.

I don’t give a rat’s arse what your sexual preference is, because it makes no difference to me (and it shouldn’t to you either!)…

And before you leap on your pulpit and bash me with your ‘books’ let me point out: your religious beliefs will tell you that God made this world, that he made each one of us. Right? Do you believe God is an idiot who makes mistakes? He does not make mistakes, and being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, is not a choice it is who a person is. And it is perfect!

And—while I am on a rant—Jesus taught the path of unconditional love. Unconditional love. I am assuming you know what that means! It is not possible to say you follow Jesus and to be filled with hate. It is against what he taught.

We, as parents, need to be doing a much better job of raising our children. We cannot teach them to be bigots, and homophobic bullies. But, we must also understand that a lot of bullying comes from a powerlessness at home. So think about helping your children to meet their need for a little power in their own lives. This can be as simple as some small responsibilities followed by thanks and praise, so that they feel good about who they are, and feel appreciated.

I have seen bullies in school yards who were acting out because of what was going on at home. So, again, I say that as parents we need to be doing a much better job! Consider the impact you are having on your children with how you live your life.

Being gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, straight, is a part of who we are it is not all of who we are. The double standard has got to stop! Look at your news and your streets, and it seems that a straight man who beats up his wife and children is accepted as normal (what the?), but a gay boy, or a lesbian couple is just so wrong? Come on, this is sheer craziness! What is important is what kind of person you are. That is what matters. Are you loving? Are you kind? Are you helpful and compassionate? Are you funny? Do you make me laugh? Do you inspire me? This is what matters.

A 14 year old boy…Was he kind? Was he smart? What was his favourite food? What were his favourite movies? What kind of music did he like to listen to? What were his favourite books? What did he want to be when he grew up? Questions that should have been so much more important than the fact that he was gay.

He was gay. So what? Being gay does not mean a guy is going to try and jump every guy he comes across. And being lesbian does not mean a girl is going to put the moves on every girl she ever meets. They are not sexual predators! They simply have a preference.

This gorgeous 14 year old boy should have been accepted for the person that he was, and encouraged to reach his full potential in life. And he needed that from all of us. And we let him down. We let him down.

We need to be better parents. We need to teach better values. We need to love our children a whole lot more. We need to take care of each other as the global family that we are.