Tennessee had yet another teen commit suicide in the last week from being bullied.  His name was Phillip Parker from Gordonsville, TN, a town about an hour east of Nashville.  He was 14 years old.  14.  And his life is over.  All because other students couldn’t just leave him alone.  While acceptance of everyone would be great, it’s unrealistic.  But tolerance or apathy is mandatory.  You don’t like someone?  Fine.  Don’t talk to them.  Avoid them in the halls.  Don’t invite them to your awesome party.  But to bully someone so much for so long that they take their own life is completely unacceptable.  

As someone who grew up gay in Tennessee, I know how hard it can be.  And I even grew up in Memphis, the liberal end of the state, with the best high school experience anyone could ever ask for.  The hatred and bullying I experienced was all from church and fear of family finding out.  That alone lead me to a very dark and dangerous place.  The pain this child endured was obviously no longer bearable and he felt death was his only way out.  I want to wish the kids that caused this be haunted by what they’ve caused for the rest of their lives, but that wouldn’t be right either.  In the end, they’re kids themselves and likely can’t/couldn’t fathom the true consequences of their actions.  I do hope that it haunts them for many years to come before they are able to move past it and that they realize just what they’ve caused.  

This is a sad, sad day for the South, the LGBTQ community, America, and the world.  When are we going to realize that no matter how you feel about another person or group of people, they deserve respect.