On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes and at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools. RIP Tyler Clementi, Asher Brown, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase and Billy Lucas. You are loved.
Unfortunately, there are countless other LGBT youth who are hurting in major part due to not being accepted by their family, school, and society at large.
When I returned from the play therapy conference and caught up on my fb, twitter, and blog reading I came across this video you do not want to miss.
I have gay family members, friends, and coworkers. I've had gay clients. Having lived in Fort Worth for 3 years while attending college I know how brave Joel Burns is to make such a speech. I'm sure you can figure out what part he left out.
So what does this have to do with play and play therapy? As a humanistic play therapist I believe in the inherent worth of each and every person on this planet no matter age, race, gender, ethnicity, creed, and sexual orientation. It hurts me to know that there are so many that are needlessly hurting.
Two more things. I highly recommend the book, One by Kathryn Otoshi, a children's book about bullying that even we adults could learn something from.
I recently purchased this author's latest book, Zero, as mentioned in my last post. Zero is about the value of each person and learning that you don't have to be like everyone else in order to fit in.Mr. Burns relays what he would tell his 13-year-old self. I wasn't bullied, I'm not gay, but I did struggle and at times feel different as I described in this post as part of the I AM ENOUGH collaborative. I too would tell my 13-year-old self that it does get better. You are okay.
What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
I would tell my thirteen year old self to slow down & not grow up too fast, to be a kid. I would also tell her that it's not her job to be mom or dad, let along both. I would tell her boys aren't worth it and that in a year she should avoid the one who broke her heart. I would tell her to love herself unconditionally and through doing so she could build a much greater confidence in herself and not seek approval from others in places that would only bring her pain.
ReplyDeleteI wore purple on Wednesday as well. And I thank you for sharing that video, as I have passed it along to others who definitely needed to hear it. I also recommend the documentary "For the Bible Tells Me So." It's a very moving snapshot into the life of 5 Christian families who dealt with the effects of having a gay/lesbian/bisexual family member.