A Moment, Please, To Remember

Not only did the Oxnard kid who was killed have the guts to go to school dressed in a way that displayed pride in the face of serious adversity, he fought back with the only thing he had -- himself.
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

I had a reminder this morning, of why I care so much about who gets elected this fall. Why I care so much about the political landscape of this country.

Because I care deeply what kind of world my kids are growing up in. What kind of country they are growing up in.

Recently, it was reported by the LA Times, that Larry King had responded to the taunts of teasing by his male classmates by flirting with them.

Not only did this kid have the guts to go to school dressed in a way that displayed pride in the face of serious adversity, he fought back with the only thing he had -- himself.

He was the kind of kid I'd love to know. Someone brash, and loud, and unafraid to take whatever gets thrown his way.

There are a lot of Larry Kings out there.

I watch my oldest son, desperately wanting to be popular, to be seen as cool, and cute, and important. I see a very lonely kid. A kid struggling to fit in, to make sense of the world, to have the world make sense of him.

And still love him.

I imagine Larry had similar struggles.

It breaks my heart.

I'm concerned for my son. I want to give him the best tools to go out and face the world, whatever his gender identity and sexuality might be. He may be straight. He may be gay. He may be 12 and struggling with a narrowly defined world boys must live in to be accepted.

I don't know. Neither does he.

But as I read the LA Times piece, I was reminded of why I care so much about the political landscape of this country.

I want him to be safe.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE