On the Internet, everyone knows you're a miserable excuse for a human being

[n2doc]

A gay teenager has received an outpouring of support online after he detailed his father’s hostile reaction to him coming out - in which his dad allegedly described the situation as “worse than death”. Tyler, 15, posted screenshots of messages, which he says were sent to him by his father via Facebook messenger, on his Tumblr account. In them Tyler, who lives in Vancouver, Canada, had been told that he had brought “shame and embarrassment” on his family and should “stay away”…. He went on to suggest that his son’s sexuality was an inappropriate and ungrateful response to the sacrifices made by his parents in bringing him up.

By Jack Cluth
It’s difficult enough to be a teenager in this day and age. Kids today face so many more challenges than my generation did…and what we endured to get through our teen years was no picnic. The idea that a 15-year-old boy could face such horrific and heartless rejection from his father- one of the two people on the planet a child should be able to expect acceptance, support, and unconditional love from- hurts me to my core. The fact that Tyler’s father could only do something so cruel via text message (he still hasn’t expressed this feelings in person because Tyler apparently hasn’t seen him in months) is something unfathomable.

The idea that a father is more concerned about what people might think about him than about the well-being of his son says about all anyone could need to know about his fitness and worthiness as a parent and as a human being. His son has come to a place where he can admit what’s real and authentic about himself…and his father, who should be able to be counted on to be there for his son, is more worried about himself. I find that to be beyond distressing.

I’m not going to engage in public shaming of the father, in part because he’s done a bang-up job on his own, but also because I don’t know the entire story. Thankfully, this is a situation in which the good side of the Internet can- and did- come to the fore. The online tribe, often quite ruthless in its rush to judgment and determination to utterly destroy an individual for crimes real or perceived, in this case came to Tyler’s support. Turns out the Internet does have a heart.

Perhaps there is hope for humanity after all.

more

http://whatwouldjackdo.net/2015/03/on-the-internet-everyone-can-know-youre-a-miserable-excuse-for-a-human-being.html#more

[marym625]

1. I have no problem vilifying the father.

I don't care what the rest of the story may be. To say these things to your child is reprehensible.

I hope that his religious leaders call him out for his ungodly words.

[shenmue]

2. Good Lord

That father sucks.