Heartbreak

I'm sure that many of you know I don't watch the news.  I refuse.  It massively depresses me, and though I'm aware that bad things happen, I don't like to dwell on them.  I don't like for my brain to automatically hit replay on all the sick and cruel and terrible things of the world.  And it will.  And it drives me crazy when it does.  When a person will agonize for the next week over every single thing she said the one night she actually went outside of her home, worrying whether or not she's offended someone or whether she's possibly made enemies out of previous friends, well, that person really has no business watching the news.  Obviously, she can't handle it.  Anyway, that may or may not have made sense to you, but I know what I'm talking about.  Honest.
So, no news-watching.  However, I do check my Facebook news regularly, (if you can call it that), and things that are posted there, if I sense they aren't overly terrible, I'll quench my curiosity, and check them out.  I did this last week with a message from funny woman, Ellen.  I knew it would be serious, but I thought it would be a "serious with a silver-lining", you know? Well, it wasn't.  It was Ellen pleading to the watching audience to teach their children to be respectful of others.  And by that, I mean simple lessons.  Like, "Be nice".  And "Be tolerant".  And "Be civil to people that you don't understand, or agree with".  
Essentially a college student was recorded while with his lover, who was also male.  He was recorded by his roommates without his knowledge, as he wasn't open to sharing that particular part of his life with everyone.  And they posted it on the internet, and it destroyed him, and he took his life.  For those of you that have already heard this story and a bazillion like it, it may just be another sad story for you.  But it hit me really hard.  
I've had terrible, and really mean things said or done to me in my lifetime.  And a lot of us look back on our childhood or teen years and wonder how we made it through.  So many feelings and so many attempts to adjust to life.  To learn how to get by; preferably unnoticed a lot of the time.  But you know what's a million times worse?  Having terrible things said or done to our children.  I can't imagine what those parents are thinking.  How broken they are about their son thinking that there was nothing he could do to take back that incident.  To go unnoticed again, or to face others, thinking that he would be hated and judged.  And for those of you that don't have any kids?  Imagine your nieces or nephews.  Or imagine your favorite animal, being teased by those mean kids that hurt it for no reason, other than to see what it would do.  And tell me it doesn't make you sick to your stomach.  Tell me it doesn't make you want to strangle each and every one of them.  Because they're just being terrible.  Or because they just want to see someone feel uncomfortable, and laugh about it.  
The sad fact is, kids are mean.  I don't think there's a kid out there that hasn't said or done something horrible to someone else out of self-loathing or retribution or whatever.  I remember how hard it was to be made fun of, and how, for some reason, doing the same thing to others made sense to me.  I don't get it now, but I know that it happened.  And I regret it.  There are a lot of kids out there that I was really awful to.  John Strandwitz?  David Iverson? And I have no one blame for it, but myself.  
However, as parents?  We still have a responsibility to teach our kids to be respectful of others.  I'm not talking about the "just because they're old, they need to be listened to" type of respect.  I'm talking about the fact that because it is another life form...vegetable, animal, and most definitely human, they deserve to be treated in a respectful way.  It doesn't matter if they are Gay. Or Mexican.  Or Israeli, or African American or Native American.  It doesn't matter if you've had Asian roommates that were weird and stinky...(yeah, that's a personal experience).  You teach your children that these others are individuals.  And just because they live differently than we might, that's their decision and they still deserve our respect.  And are still worthy of friendship.  
I've been around people in which the things they say about others are honestly terrible and cruel.  And they say these things around their children.  I don't know if it's because they just don't care and are hateful enough to pass that on through their kids, or if they assume that their kids are stupid, and aren't picking up and believing the awful things they're saying about others.  In fact, the sad truth is that there are quite a few family members of mine that I won't be around with my kids. Just because of the words that are casually tossed around during every conversation.  I feel that my children are hurt when they're in that type of environment.  Or worse, that they will think it's okay to hurt someone else. 
Anyway, that's that.  Teach your children that there are still a lot of places that being kind and nice and respectful will get you.  And places those attributes will help you avoid. Like jail.  Or hate crime lawsuits.  


One last thing.  And this is just ME saying how I feel.  So, I'm not necessarily including anyone else in my personal opinions.  But, I need to say this.  Here in Utah, there are a lot of individuals that back their own rants and ravings with "God's word".  And in reality, it's not the word of God, it's their own spin on a somewhat ambiguous scripture.  Unfortunately, it happens that many really terrible things are said and justified because people here are told by someone that they respect that it's "God's word".  
Well, I'd like to remind everyone that no where in any scripture that I've ever read, did it say it's acceptable to make someone feel bad about themselves.  Or to tell someone that they're "sick" or "wrong" or, for a better example, "faggy".  In fact, I think while a lot of us "search for deeper meaning", we forget the basics that were dutifully instilled in each Primary hour: Choose the Right, Treat others how you would like to be treated, LOVE ONE ANOTHER, Compassion is the pure love of Christ.  I honestly can say that no scripture I've ever read, and I have read all of my scriptures, fyi, does it give anyone the right to be a Douche Bag. So don't be.  And don't let your kids, either.