Lets start with love and see what happens!

On Saturday April 14th my family and I attended a vigil for a young man we did not know, his name was (is) Ryan Keith Skipper. This is probably the first time we have done this kind of thing. From my perspective as a mother I can feel the pain this family has. But my pain will be short lived because my loved ones are safe for now. When I think of my children I always first think are they safe? This protective instinct was born with them. It took me by surprise when my first child James came to us 27 years ago. There are so many things we as parents do to keep our children safe; put them in car seats when they are babies, we teach them about strangers when the are young children, we tell them not to put harmful substances in their bodies when they are teens and young adults. When they go out on their own as adults we hope and pray they use good judgement and keep themselves safe. This was not to be for Ryan, he was attacked and brutally murdered because of his sexual orientation. There are people in our society who believe Ryan provoked this attack simply by being who he was. I read a quote this morning from a woman commenting on Ryan's vigil, this is what she had to say among other things " No homosexuals means no homosexual haters". Does this also mean no Blacks, Hispanics, Jews, women, children, homeless people etc... you get my drift. Violence committed against another person simply for being who they are is the lowest place for humans to go. What was particularly striking was the small number of community and religious leaders present at this gathering. Are they so fearful of being associated with a "Gay" event that they cannot come and speak out or at least show their support for this grieving family. The silence is deafening! We must all speak out and not tolerate this kind of violence but also the casual remarks and slang we hear every day. We must educate our chidren in an atmosphere of mutual respect and acceptance. Let's start with love and see what happens. Your friend in PEACE, Marianne