The world Nex Benedict deserved isn't hard to create. It just takes love...

[Jessica_Rose]

The world Nex Benedict deserved isn't hard to create. It just takes love and respect.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/the-world-nex-benedict-deserved-isn-t-hard-to-create-it-just-takes-love-and-respect/ar-BB1jfyIp?ocid=windirect&cvid=89a738a953ad4604b71d7f209bcb95e0&ei=58

Opinion by Sara Pequeño and Rex Huppke (3 March 2024)

Nex Benedict will be 16 years old forever.

And while we wait to learn exactly what caused the Oklahoma teenager's death, we know many things with certainty:

Nex's final days on this earth were plagued with bullying that targeted the teen's gender identity.

The state of Oklahoma and, in particular, the state's school superintendent, have dehumanized transgender youth by implementing policies and making statements that make life harder on a small percentage of kids known to be at higher risk of bullying and suicide.

There may be no straight line between Nex's death and the bullying or the grown-up state officials whose actions have created a permission structure that allows such bullying. But isn't the fact that this 16-year-old endured bullying right up until the last day of life reason enough to condemn the circumstances that let any of it happen?

Here's a simple fact that won't change, regardless of a final autopsy report: It's not hard to imagine a world in which Nex felt safe.

In fact, that's a world far easier to create than the one we're living in, the one where adults spend hours and days and years building laws and permission structures that encourage others to bully children who want nothing more than a chance to live as their authentic selves.