Ifferjenn Independent

Billy Lucas, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, and Tyler Clementi. If you haven’t heard these kids’ names in the past few weeks, go look them up. These kids were all bullied over their sexuality, perceived or otherwise. And they all took their lives because of it.

Partly I wonder what is going on with kids today, though I’m not going to say it’s just the kids that are doing it. There are adults involved here, and in most of the cases I’ve heard, the kid who was being bullied had parents who spoke up and asked for help. Teachers, administrators, and whoever else didn’t do anything or brushed it off. And the parents of the bullies? I’m sorry, I don’t accept the argument, “Kids will be kids.”

You know what, parents should be parents. Step up and discipline your child. I’m sure you’ll be much easier on your little snowflake than the judicial system will be. And you’ll certainly be easier than the stigma and guilt your child will have for the rest of their life, knowing that they were responsible for another life ending.

For you kids out there…anyone who is getting picked on or bullied and thinks that life will always be like this, I’ll echo Dan Savage’s rallying cry: It gets better. I used to be the odd kid. I’ve always been a little shorter, a little plumper, a little weirder, and a little more on my own. And I’ve been to that place you’re at, where you think that it’s just easier to quit. But it gets better. I can’t begin to tell you how much better my life is now than it was then. But I want you to see that time, when your life will be this good.

For those of you on the other side, think about what you can do to pitch in. I do recommend the It Gets Better Project as a starting point, not because I think that Dan Savage is an amazing person (I don’t think that), but it is a start. If you have kids in school, talk to your school district about their bullying policies. If they don’t have policies, ask them why not! If you don’t get an answer, keep asking. We are all better than this.

Yesterday was one of those days that happens at least once every winter. The weather forecasters said we’d get SNOW!, and so many people panicked and canceled things for the day. And here in Massachusetts we got literally millimeters of snow. Hardly worth any fuss at all, really. Certainly not worth canceling school the night before, in my opinion.

Not that I’m bitter about NOT getting my auto-call from the school, ignoring my alarm, getting up late, rushing around to get out the door, driving Ethan to school, and luckily bumping into a janitor who told us school was canceled. Then driving back home, getting Ethan settled, and running even later to work. Nope. Not bitter AT ALL.

But aside from my not-bitterness, there is a point here. I live in Massachusetts. Worcester gets an average of 67.2″ of snow a year, ranking number 22 on the Top 101 Cities with the Highest Average Snowfall. Snow is not an unusual occurrence around here. By freaking out over a potential storm, you’re going to get people all worked up, then angry that nothing happens. When an actual storm shows up, people won’t think about what they should be doing to stay safe, and will get themselves into trouble.

Remember the story of the boy who cried wolf? We had to buy it for Ethan for Christmas to remind him to always tell the truth, so let me refresh your memory. A little boy thought it was great fun to see the adults panic whenever he said the wolf was coming, so he kept doing it. When a wolf finally showed up, no one believed him, and the entire village wound up getting eaten by the wolf.

Hmm… Perhaps we should remember that story the next time we think there might be SNOW! coming.

And fix the auto-caller so I know there won’t be school, please.