This is about a statement put out by the White House.
It is about a young person that was beaten in a school bathroom and later died.
His name was Nex Benedict.
He was beaten because the ignorance and hatred of some moves them to violence.
Woe to those who speak and act with violence.
Consider Aktion T4,
…a Nazi involuntary euthanasia program that targeted individuals with disabilities in Germany and later expanded to other territories occupied by Nazi Germany during World War II. The program aimed to eliminate individuals deemed unfit to live according to the Nazi ideology of racial purity and eugenics. It resulted in the killing of thousands of disabled people, including children, through methods such as lethal injection, starvation, and gas chambers.
These horrific trails begin with one person.
Were it presently legal to murder folks in this camp, ones they deem “dirty,” some would go on a killing spree, like the Nazis before them.
I’m afraid the movement begun in 2015/16 has unleashed terror like we have not seen in some time.
It is a terror that unfortunately has not ended and will not end for sometime.
Since 2013, an organization called the Human Rights Campaign Foundation or HRC, per a November 2023 article:
has recorded the deaths of 335 transgender and gender non-conforming victims of fatal violence–including at least 33 deaths in the last 12 months.
These hate crimes I condemn in the strongest terms.
I condemn them in the name of Christ our Lord.
The statement below from President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden is from my perspective one steeped in the Catholic Church’s teaching on human dignity.
Nothing about the violent rhetoric and violent deeds against innocent souls is related to Christ and the Gospels.
Violence and aggression against them is violence and aggression against Christ.
It does not matter if they are straight, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or others with the diversity of names they bring with them.
Woe to those who cannot see and hear past the myriad of “skin tones” others simply carry.
They fail to see what is predicated of they and them and she and he and all the other word tools we use to describe each other.
They fail to recognize the beauty, the truth and the goodness of every human being on earth.
Since their sight is severely diminished, what they see fails to capture the person’s “being” and their human and moral right to live in the world free from violence, hatred, and aggression.
This is a tragedy history will never forget.
In their binary world, filled with zero sum games they call “biblical,” there is no room for an enemy to be right.
Joe Biden has reneged his right to speak on political and moral issues since he supports the legal right to terminate a pregnancy, they say.
The usual suspects. Hard-core Catholics and evangelicals.
If he is wrong there, he must be wrong elsewhere. If he is wrong there, he cannot be right elsewhere.
If this is their position, then so be it..
Live and let live..right?
Well, yes, as a general norm.
Here is the problem.
These people I call out do not “let live.”
They “let die.”
What follows is the statement from the White House:
Jill and I are heartbroken by the recent loss of Nex Benedict. Every young person deserves to have the fundamental right and freedom to be who they are, and feel safe and supported at school and in their communities. Nex Benedict, a kid who just wanted to be accepted, should still be here with us today.
Nonbinary and transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know. But nobody should have to be brave just to be themselves. In memory of Nex, we must all recommit to our work to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis impacting too many nonbinary and transgender children. Bullying is hurtful and cruel, and no one should face the bullying that Nex did. Parents and schools must take reports of bullying seriously. My prayers are with Nex’s family, friends, and all who loved them – and to all LGBTQI+ Americans for whom this tragedy feels so personal, know this: I will always have your back.
To LGBTQI+ young people across the country – you are loved exactly as you are. If you’re feeling overwhelmed or alone, you can call or text 988, the National Crisis Hotline, and dial the number ‘3’ to talk to a counselor who has been specifically trained to support LGBTQI+ youth.
What people need to do, is just walk away from any who are forcing an agenda. If you’re an adult, be who you want to be, but don’t expect me to acknowledge something that isn’t right in my heart. I won’t discriminate anyone, but I will also not acknowledge anyone’s delusions.
If someone doesn’t like it they can simply move on, I won’t challenge you and I shouldn’t expect to be challenged by anyone else.
It’s not discrimination if we politely disagree and we afford each other the same and equal curtesy.