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For anyone who has been following the Constance McMillen story, (that Mississippi teenager whose school chose to cancel the Prom rather than allow her to attend with her girlfriend) I was just reading some recent coverage (McMillen: I Was Sent to Fake Prom) and read this in the comment threat:
My Name is Austin. I’m 15. I myself have dealt with hate for some time. Its sad to me that the majority of you all are only increasing the amount of hate in our world. Most of you are no better than teenagers. Callings names, pointing blame, fighting. It’s childish. Fact of the matter is, Constance was not treated fairly. Point blank. No arguments. You can’t debate that one. But the problem won’t be fixed by a bunch of adults fighting online. Fighting fire with fire only creates a bigger fire. Someone stand up and be the bigger person, the bigger community. If you’re going to call someone crude, vicious names, you can’t expect them to do any different. Please, for the future, lets not act like children. My love goes out to Constance and the countless others facing hate.
I’m sure I could applaud Austin for the maturity in this post. I’m sure I could ponder the reasons why the anger that sometimes looks like hate might be necessary, or symptomatic, or powerful, or counterproductive. Or any and all of those things.
But really, it just made tears well up.
Because I would like the world much better if our youth didn’t need to learn how to turn the other cheek toward large injustice and be the better people by the age of 15.
I have that very article open in another tab, but that comment is a few pages back by now I suspect.
Heartbreaking, isn’t it? To be so sick of it at such an age.
Although, I suspect part of the reason for the fighting it that there *are* people denying she was treated unfairly. As you say, not all anger is hate.
Oh, from what I saw of the thread, there was a lot of white hood kind of accusations flying around.
(And really, I know my response to it was rather infantilising, and 15 is not SO very young to have strong opinions about social justice, nor to express them in a reasoned way. But… that was my response.)