Valuing our Children

Federal News Radio Article on Hate Crime in New Mexico

This story sounds vaguely similar to the one that took place here in North Carolina last weekend. A gay man, who was having dinner with friends, left the restaurant and was confronted with a "gang", a threesome, if you prefer, who were hurling stones and derogatory names at him. After a short pursuit, they beat him into unconsciousness. The difference between this story and ours is that the perpetrators in New Mexico were apprehended and will face the court system. One of the alleged criminals is seventeen years old and will have to be tried as a child. The other two, however, are adults and will be tried as adults.

What is wrong with our society that a child finds a gay man so personally threatening that he has to take part in a gang beating of that gay man? I know that most often, the perpetrators of violence against gay people are suffering from their own misguided sexual identity issues. Rather than examining their own internal feelings, they beat upon an outside victim to exorcise their own demons. We live in a society that offers blessings from religious leaders and from the leaders of the ruling political party to abridge the rights of GLBTQ citizens. We have to stand up to these acts of violence and apply the strictest of penalties for the bias crimes that these beatings represent.

A counterpoint to this misdirection of sexual identity issues is the high rate of teen suicide in our country. Many of these unfortunate teens are people who recognize their own sexuality differences from the "norm" and kill themselves instead. They can neither accept nor kill off just that part of themselves that they deem abnormal, so they take their own lives. If these children were taught unconditional love—I love your soul no matter the condition of your being—then those kids might think twice before taking their lives. Where is the leadership that is needed to send this statement to our youth? Unfortunately, they are too busy working on legislation to deny gay marriage. Their priorities are such that they can’t show our youth that they are valued beyond anything else, unless, it is politically expedient. We as a nation can not seem to find the capacity to love our children no matter who they are. Aren’t we all our nation’s children at some point in our lives?

Meanwhile, the gang of six or seven cowards from the Chapel Hill incident are still on the loose. If you have any information that might help find their identities and bring about justice, please, call the police or a newspaper. We have to be more vigilant now than ever before.

Categories: hate+crimes New+Mexico children LGBTQ politics