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My friends were talking about this independently of the boards, and they all agreed that guys like that should die slow, horrible deaths. I, too, was very condemning. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that the damnation of the sick is extremist and puritanical. I firmly believe we are not victims of our past, but we are made up of it. So while I become extremely angry at those who follow through with child ****--to destroy someone's innocence and traumatize them for life is inexcusable, no matter your past or your problems--I have every sympathy in the world for those silent martyrs who have an unfortunate sexuality, are powerless to change it, are unable to publicly confront it, and thus must repress a part of themselves and suffer silently until the respite of death takes them far from the judging eyes of this world.
There are such huge stigmas in the US around any mental illness. People use terms like 'psycho' or 'skitzo' as joking terms when they want to call their friends crazy. Our society teaches that the physically ill are to receive our sympathy, kindness, gifts and good wishes, in a safe and comfortable bed until we are better, while the mentally ill receive our fear, revulsion, and punishment, locked away from the rest of society like criminals. Why do we treat the one and torture the other?
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