Early this morning I lay awake, unable to sleep, as I reflected on an incident I observed yesterday . . .
As I was cleaning up from a mother/daughter activity, I occupied a room with a group of boys and their leader. As I washed dishes, I bristled as some of the boys referred to one young man by a feminine derivation of his name. I cringed as they poked fun at some of the “less cool” kids.
The group was then asked to divide into two ‘teams,’ and two outgoing young men promptly nominated themselves as ‘captains.’ As they took turns picking from their peers, my heart ached. At first, all eyes were hopeful, but as the sorting started, three boys stared down at the ground with somber expressions. They knew, and I knew, that they would be the last selected. And although we had hoped for a different outcome, we knew this from the beginning. It broke my heart to see the humiliation in their faces and to know that, at that moment, they probably wished that would have just stayed home.
It was their pained images that occupied my mind in the middle of the night.
I honestly cannot understand why taunting occurs. I cannot fathom why capable, confident young people fail to see beyond themselves into the hearts of some of their less fortunate, more awkward peers who desperately want and need to be accepted and befriended. I cannot comprehend how any of this can happen in a setting that is designed to be a safe-haven from the storms of the world.
I pray that I may know how to be a part of the solution.
