This entry is about a month late, but as I talk to people I realize it’s a story that needs to be told:

On February 12 of this year, Lawrence “Larry” King, a 15-year-old student in Oxnard, California, was shot in the head in a computer classroom by fellow classmate, 14-year-old, Brandon McInerney.  The alleged reason: King asked McInerney to be his valentine.

Somehow, somewhere, Brandon McInerney got it in his head that when a gay person asks you to be their valentine, it’s appropriate to kill them.

I’m sure there are a lot of things that factored into this – my understanding from reports that I’ve read is that Brandon had some difficulties in his home life – but it can’t help when we throw insults around that include the words “gay,” “fag,” and “homo.”  It can’t help when we make gay jokes or spread rumors about another person’s sexuality.  It can’t help when we condemn with the Bible and picket signs but we don’t listen or even give a clear understanding of why we’re doing what we’re doing.

And it can’t help when we do nothing.

I guess the reason this story resonated so deeply with me is because I’m growing weary of people who don’t do anything.  I’m finding more and more people in my life who don’t want to get involved – they don’t want to take a stand.  They don’t want to show up when they’re invited to be among people they don’t understand.  They don’t want to listen to someone who might have a view point different from their own.  They don’t want to step outside of what’s comfortable to them to be in a place that’s uncomfortable – and the result is ignorance, apathy and brokenness.

How many more dead kids will it take before people realize that doing nothing is making a statement… “I don’t care.”

DO SOMETHING!

Find someone different from you and get to know them.  Go to those places where you might be challenged and… be challenged.  Give up one social night and spend it working on becoming a better citizen.

Get to know a gay person.

I'm going to close with a clip from the Ellen Degeneres show that was aired two weeks ago today (February 29):