Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

The recent tragic double suicide invovling two teenage girls in Minnesota is more than just a story of bullying and how two teens decided to end their lives. Yes, there have always been bullies at school, and yes, every now and then a teenager does take their life.

But more can be read into this terrible event.

The fact is that it is a reflection of the hatred that is sweeping America today. No, this crime was not racially motivated or religiously motivated nor was it a case that involved sexual orientation. But it did involve appearance and other factors of intolerance. At least one of the girls had a weight problem, at least one of them had red hair, and at least one of them had just moved to the area from another state. So what has this got to do with the plague of hatred that is sweeping the USA?

If an investigation were done into the taunters and their families, no doubt one would find that the young people who bullied these two girls so badly that they chose to end their lives, came from a home where one or more parents hated someone because they were different -- hated the immigrants, hated black people (though these girls were white), hated Muslims or Jews or Catholics or Mormons, hated liberals or conservatives, hated Democrats or hated Republicans.

Hate, hate, hate. We can't respectfully disagree anymore, we have to hate and spew venom and hurtful things.

We parents need to start talking with our kids about love, acceptance, and tolerance instead of teaching them vile. Pastors, teachers, and other role-model shapers also need to start practicing more "like" and less "dislike."

Hopefully, no more kids will be driven to double suicide because they did not fit in with their peers. We adults need to show more "random acts of kindness" to encourage and shape our young people.

David Shipp

Nevada, Mo.