Scar #2

Warning....heavy discussion follows.......In my Juliana Coles online class we were tasked to create a piece about a second scar for our Bride of Frankenstein chapter.  My scar has to do with bullying. Understanding the parameters of bullying was not something that I undertook until I was an adult. When being bullied one does not have concern for the bully.  The bullied just want to escape the living hell that the bully doles out.  I lived the life of the bullied when I was younger, especially in middle school and at times thought about death.  What a horrible position to be put in at such a young age!  Thankfully I did not act on that.

Our society has not until very recently been accepting of differences.  We seem to be getting better in some areas but we still have a long way to go.  Discrimination based on color, abilities, sexually, disabilities, age, and all the other differences that exist comes from lack of education.  Narrow mindedness is the root. One learns to be a bully through narrow viewpoints.

So when we were tasked with this scar project I thought of the It Gets Better Program.  Dan Savage and his partner started this program to help others who were experiencing the pain of being bullied because of their sexuality.  It is true, it does get better with age.  However, it took 63 years for it to get better for me. At age 63 and for the past 21 years my relationship was considered to be a second class one.  The American government did not recognize my relationship with my partner, husband, to be legitimate.  Finally this week our relationship was recognized.  My partner was given  permanent status in the United States.  It is unbelievable how a stamp of approval can change everything in a matter of seconds.

Scar #2 is my way of dealing with bullying....be it from an individual, an institution, or a government.  It is my attempt to try to make sense out of the senseless.