A couple of interesting things happened. The first (which had Twitter all a twitter) was the end in of DADT. For those of you not aware, this is the ruling "Don't Ask Don't Tell", which forbade gays and lesbians from serving openly in the US Armed forces. As of 12:01 am on September 19th, this rule has been abolished. In my opinion, this ruling goes a long way towards the eventual ending of discrimination based on sexual orientation. I can imagine there are a lot of differing opinions out there, so to quote Forrest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that."
At the other end of the spectrum, 14 year old Jamey Rodemeyer committed suicide. Jamey was cyber bullied due to his sexual orientation. Some of you may know that I have a long history of depression myself, so this sort of news is especially difficult to hear. Sexual orientation aside, no human being deserves the abuse this young man endured. Yes, teenage years are difficult, and "kids will be kids" but this is just plain unacceptable in my opinion. There are no "quick fixes" for this problem, but it makes you wonder what sort of values are being taught in the homes of the kids who think it is cool or even okay to treat another human in this way. If you're able to volunteer time or money, consider giving to your community mental health organization, or to your local Boys and Girls Club. The Boys and Girls Clubs of America provide education & career programs, character & leadership programs, health and life skills, and many other programs for kids in all walks of life.
Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now,,,:-)
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