Bullying

Jamel Myles killed himself a couple of days ago. Or, as the new vernacular goes, his will be listed as a death by suicide. It didn't have to go that way. Jamel was in the fourth grade and had just come out as gay. His family was supportive, but his classmates were not. I honestly thought we, as a society, had moved past this kind of prejudice. The kids I know are accepting and loving and would have supported Jamel... at least I think they would. I hope they would. But children can be mean. Adults can be mean. Heck, we're learning now that a lot more people wanted to be mean, but were just hiding it until some jackhole, flag-humper gave them permission to be outwardly hateful to those who are a little different from themselves. And so, a fourth grader kills himself. The press and some politician, some celebrities and some random neighborhood busybodies will lament the bullying, as I will here. But it won't do any good. As long as our society says it's ok to harass trans-children when they need to use the restroom, or shout down Muslims when they're trying to pray, or shoot unarmed black men while they're handcuffed and lying in the street, or to grab at women without their permission; nothing will change. We've brought out the worst of ourselves.

So You Think You Can Dance had a beautiful dance routine choreographed by Travis Wall. It'll probably get him his thousandth Emmy. I wounder if Jamel Myles had seen it, would it have made a difference?