Why I'm Not Wearing Purple

Years ago, I was a blogger.  A "real" one.  Paid posts, free stuff, Alexa ratings under 50K, all of that.  And I got burnt out.  The post I'm sharing today was written three years ago, but it stands as true for me today, as it did then.  I felt I should share. 

"It's October 20th.  

Today is the day that we're supposed to wear purple in memory of the recent rash of suicides in gay males due to bullying. 

I won't be wearing purple....and I want to explain why.

It has nothing to do with religion.  Without getting too personal (not for YOU, but for me) my spiritual views offer no constraints on homosexuality.  

It has nothing to do with my personal feelings on the LGBT community as a whole.  I'm as gay friendly as one can get and still be hetro.  

Then why?  

Because I find the whole thing hypocritical.

 I don't think that the issue at hand should be the sexual orientation of the recent victims.  I don't think we should care at all if they were gay, or if they were men.  

What we should care about is that there are still people out there, for whatever reasons, that are, dare I say, evil enough to drive someone to the point of not wanting to live any more, with their words and actions.  What we should care about is that there are still people out there that honestly think they have no one who cares, no one to turn to, that there is literally no point in remaining alive any longer.  

THAT is what we should be focusing on.  

Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the US.  It's the THIRD leading cause in youths from 15-24...and between 15-25 of those are directly connected to bullying.  Now, those figures are based on 2006 and it's widely reported that suicide rates have been climbing steadily since then.  

And let me tell you, throwing on a purple shirt isn't going to save anyone.  Sure, it might drawn attention for a bit.  It might make society's thoughts linger on the stories circling the net.  But, in a few weeks, something new will grab our attention. At least today we can feel like we helped. 

And how did we help?  Because we had the spine to let someone chose the color of our outfit for one day?  Is that really accomplishing anything?  No....but it makes us feel better about ourselves. 

So, screw the purple shirt.  Do something that might actually make a difference.  Work for a suicide hotline.  Mentor to a lost kid at your local school.  Stand up to bullies, of any age.  Let the broken know that someone is here for them....and let the truly wicked know that we will not tolerate them. 

Be the change that you wish to see in the world."