ON TAKING NEGATIVE ACTIONS AGAINST OTHERS

I am utterly sickened, saddened and heartbroken over recent events involving Tyler Clementi. Clementi was a young student at the age of 18. From the little bit that I have seen, he was a young soul who was getting ready to step out in life and take his place in this world. And because of the actions of a couple others, Tyler decided to take his life. Because of their actions to humiliate him, for reasons that only they know, a young man’s life is now gone.
I will not go into any specifics on the happening around this story. However, I will say this, because of Tyler’s lifestyle, who he was, two people decided to take horrific and devastating actions against him, for their own benefit. It is wrong! There is no other way to say it.
And I am in no way trying to take away from the loss of Tyler’s life by saying what I am about to say. What is going on to so many is going on in our world in so many different forms. Another one of these examples of taking negative actions is with a church, who have taken it upon themselves to make examples of fallen soldiers. They have decided to protest at the funerals of these men who have lost their lives in war. They are causing pain to others because of their own beliefs. They are protesting while family and friends are grieving for the loss of a loved one. Because of this church, others are having to deal with so much more. They are having to go through extra pain because of these people. This is a severe form of disrespect. It is absolutely horrible what they are doing. To me, this ties in with the story of Tyler. I could go on and on with giving examples. They are out there. You can find this info. I encourage you to do so to know what is going on in our world.
I can not fathom what is takes for someone to take an action towards another that will in any way harm another person, animal or our world. I cannot understand why someone would want to do so in the first place. It sickens me to know that there are people in this world who CHOOSE to hurt another for their own purposes, whether those reasons be entertainment, cruelty, or to make a point in favor of their own beliefs. In the end, these are simply different levels of bullying. It is not anyone’s place to try to force others to view the world with their own eyes. If you have the right to openly believe in whatever it is that you do, so does everyone else. And while it is a blessing to have our rights, we also must know that with these rights, comes responsibilities. Especially, the responsibility of knowing when and how to use these rights. We must realize that we are only causing more pain, more sadness, and more negativity in this world when we harm others in any way. . We must realize that through our negative actions we are taking the world one step further away from peace.
There are too many negative actions going on in this world that are affecting others in pain, devestation, oppression, etc. It has got to stop! Period. If you are a person who is purposely hurting others for your own benefit, at the least, SHAME ON YOU!!! Think about what it is that you are doing to others. Put yourselves in their shoes. Think of how someone might try to hurt you and make an example of you simply because of who you are. And think about this. If you are able to do these horrible and tragic things to others, it can be done to you. I know you would not want anything bad to happen to you or anyone you care about and love. So don’t do it to another. You do not just affect one person when you take this action, you hurt so so many more. There are friends and family and many others who surround this person you are hurting. You are affecting them. And in the long run, you are also affecting yourself. Because what we do, as one person, also affects our entire world and all that dwell here. And if you are thinking about taking a negative action towards others, refocus your energies and choose a different path. Choose a path of compassion. One of peace. One of light. One of hope. One of love.
And to me, what is worse than anything else is the fact that so many just stand aside, watching, doing nothing, as people are being hurt. This is something that I cannot and will not do. I will not be silent. Yes, I am not out there protesting, but I am taking a stand against these forms of hate that are happening. Think about it people. If this is being allowed to happen and nothing is being done about it, it will just continue on. It will allow these cycles of hate, oppression, racism, cruelty and sadness to continue on. Stand up and break the cycle. I understand that this is a scary thing to do. But if we as a people do not stand up against what is being done to us and others, the end results are much worse than scary. I use to be afraid to speak up at this level myself. But in the process of learning to be more vocal about the rights of everyone and everything, I learned that I am also speaking up for my own rights in the process. In the end, we all benefit. We all will have at least that much more peace.
I wish to end this on a more positive note by way of showing support. For those who have been on the tragic end of the negative actions of others, know that you are not alone. Know that you have support out there. Know that you are beautiful as you are. Know that you have a right to be who you are. Do not let others actions bring you down. Don’t let them darken your doorstep or put out your light. Keep that light going and let it shine for all the world to see. If you do let others get the worst of you, you let them win. Stand up proudly, raise your head high, and say I am here and I am me and I am proud. Take your place in this world and know that you have a right to it. And in the end, if you are reading this, know that someone cares and that you are loved. Yes I said loved. By me. I may not know you. I may not ever meet you. But, because you are a part of this world, I have unconditional love for you. I am not ashamed to say so, as you should never be ashamed of being a wonderful person you are. Stay strong! Be you! Be proud. And share your light and beauty with others. It will only help bring about paths for peace and love. Through this sharing, you give hope and love to others. And you will receive this same hope and love.
I will leave it at this.
Peace always,
Chieko Ross

P.S. if you have a problem with anything that i say here, say it to me and no one else.
written by Chieko Ross 10/7/2010 ©