Beautiful Nex Benedict…
To come from writing about Tennessee passing a bill allowing anti-LGBTQ couples to foster/adopt children to this news is unbearable. Ignorance and hatred is out of control in this country. It makes me wonder: could we even begin to drive hatred back into the darkness where it belongs? If those announcing their prejudice and hatred towards others were shunned from society, would it have any effect? Instead of acknowledging, arguing, or attempting to reason with them, just pretend they don’t affect us? It would definitely save us from the stress and mental anguish.
I’ve been debating, and attempting to educate, people on social media since 2019. It took me until last year to admit that my pursuit of peace, through logic and rationality, was an absolute waste of time and energy. Not to mention the stress and mental exhaustion it caused! In the end, regardless of what I said, what facts I provided, or how many videos I played for them, not a single heart or mind was changed. It’s impossible to engage in an intelligent debate with someone who denies proven facts. They always came up with an excuse for everything!
“Fake news!”
“AI generated.”
“That’s a deep fake.”
“Trump derangement syndrome”.
I argued with one woman who claimed that the media was lying that there was any violence on January 6th. I showed her video evidence—because news reports were useless and easily laughed off as fake news. I told her that I was glued to my television, watching the entire event as it happened live (I even checked Fox News a few times and they were also on the scene broadcasting live). She was not persuaded in the slightest.
Don’t even get me started on the many COVID, masks, and vaccine debates.
I veered off track, but it’s relevant in the sense that trying to reason or educate close-minded people is a useless task. I think people that hate derive pleasure from seeing people get so worked up about it, it gives their views oxygen (and daylight). Instead, if we just ignore them and remove them from our lives and our thoughts, they may start to feel a little lonely and ineffective. If their hatred isn’t hurting the “others” or pissing off the Libs, then what’s the point of being so open about it?
Donald Trump didn’t cause people to become racists and bigots, they already were racists and bigots. However, society didn’t tolerate their views, so they stayed quiet if not in like-minded company, or hidden behind a monitor.
What do you think? Is it possible to make them feel ashamed enough to keep their mouths shut once again? Or has the damage been done, making the situation irreversible?
The more we acknowledge these people, and let them see they’ve caused us to feel hurt or angry, the more emboldened they feel by the reward our reaction bestows upon them. Something has to be done.
Enough of me going off on one of my (many) tangents. This is about Nex Benedict and how they suffered—the emotional pain they endured. Looking into their eyes I see an amazing human being with a beautiful soul. It’s sad that constant dehumanization by the Right has caused the inability of so many not to recognize that.
Nuria Martinez-Keel wrote the following article for the New Jersey Monitor. I hope Nex’s death isn’t in vain and it results in changing the heart of at least one person out there. You can help by sharing this post so others hear Nex’s story.
From New Jersey Monitor:
Oklahoma nonbinary student Nex Benedict, whose death sparked nationwide outrage over anti-LGBTQ+ bullying, died by suicide, according to a state Medical Examiner’s report released Wednesday.
Benedict, 16, died Feb. 8, a day after getting in a fight in a girl’s bathroom at Owasso High School in a suburb north of Tulsa. The student’s family has said Benedict used they/them pronouns and did not identify as strictly male or female.
Benedict’s cause of death was from consuming medication, according to the medical examiner.
According to a 2020 study:
Transgender youth face a considerably higher rate of suicidal thoughts and attempts, and school belonging is a statistically significant factor to that risk
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There are resources for those considering suicide. 988 is the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. LGBTQ+ youth can also call the Trevor Project lifeline 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386 or call Rainbow Youth Project at 317-643-4888.
Nex Benedict visited a hospital after the fight, where they informed a police officer the conflict began because other students were making fun of Benedict and their friends, according to body camera footage Owasso police released.
“They were talking about us in front of us, and so I went up there and poured water on them,” Benedict said. “They came at me. They grabbed onto my hair. I grabbed onto them.”
The student’s mother called 911 the next day to report Benedict was having a medical emergency. They were later pronounced dead at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa.
Vigils honoring Nex Benedict took place across the country, as the events leading up to their death prompted anger and devastation nationwide.
One in 5 transgender and nonbinary people age 13-24 attempted suicide in the past year, almost twice the rate of cisgender youth, according to a 2023 national youth survey by the Trevor Project.
“LGBTQ young people are not inherently prone to suicide risk because of their sexual orientation or gender identity but rather placed at higher risk because of how they are mistreated and stigmatized in society,” the organization said in the survey results.
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Anti-transgender legislation and rhetoric is further contributing to increased suicide and bullying risks among transgender youth, said Nicole McAfee, executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Freedom Oklahoma.
Also in Civil rights/Activism:
Republican-run states throughout the U.S. have pushed to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors. In Oklahoma, Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed bills that prevent transgender children from using school bathrooms that match their gender identity and prohibit transgender girls and women from playing on female sports teams.
Rep. Mauree Turner, D-Oklahoma City, who is nonbinary, said news that Nex Benedict died of suicide was “jarring.”
Turner, who uses they/them pronouns, said Oklahoma saw a 300% increase in mental health hotline calls following Benedict’s death last month.
Rural Pride Oklahoma plans to host a rally from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at the state Capitol, they said.
“I’d encourage folks to come out to the rally because I think, for me, what I tend to do in moments of deep despair is isolate,” Turner said. “And I think it’s evident that community is what we need right now. Isolation is a tool of oppression. And I think that’s what folks in the Legislature want. So I think showing up in an act of solidarity not only for Nex but also for ourselves is really important too.”
The loss of Nex Benedict is “devastating,” Owasso Public Schools Superintendent Margaret Coates said in a statement. The school district has counselors available for students who wish to speak with one, she said.
The U.S. Department of Education’s civil rights office launched an investigation into the Owasso school district following Benedict’s death.
The student’s family also has been independently investigating, attorneys representing the family said in a Feb. 21 statement.
“The Benedicts know all too well the devastating effects of bullying and school violence, and pray for meaningful change wherein bullying is taken seriously and no family has to deal with another preventable tragedy,” the statement from Biby Law Firm reads.
The law firm didn’t immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
Injuries from the fight were not part of the cause of death, the medical report shows.
Police observed “many indicators” the student died by suicide but did not wish to confirm it without a medical examiner’s report, the Owasso Police Department said after the cause of death was released Wednesday.
A more detailed medical report will be available March 27, the medical examiner’s office said.
Editor Janelle Stecklein contributed to this report.
Oklahoma Voice is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Oklahoma Voice maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janelle Stecklein for questions: [email protected]. Follow Oklahoma Voice on Facebook and Twitter.
Excerpts or more from an article that was originally published on Arkansas Advocate is included in this post under a Creative Commons License.
