Only thing that does matter is whether what was done to Fred Martinez was a crime and a horrible thing or not. I don’t particularly care if Fred was a follower of Navajo beliefs, Christianity, Zen, or any other religion. It’s irrelevant. We shouldn’t be wandering about judging other religions. I admire the article for the way it talks of the way Navajo beliefs are good, because they sound wonderful. I don’t like that it subsequently demeans Christianity. Let’s rise above such drivel, people. There are good Christians and bad Christians, same with anyone else.

What is relevant, and what the article should talk more about, is that he was attacked for being different, for being himself. That is what we exist for, isn’t it? We progressives are the last refuge of the different, of the judged, of society’s separate. We protect people like Fred, remember them, and fight for them. May he rest in peace.

I for one wholeheartedly support the movie/documentary, because we need things like this to educate people and show them the world. It’s a big world, people need to see it.

But, yeah, that sucks that kids born at the very end of the last century still use “gay” as an insult. I blame the South Park lads, mostly.

My sweet Sprout, now 10, is a free spirit. He’s artistic, loving, not very gender-aware and the only child of older parents. He loves to dress in costumes and play Harry Potter or James Bond and he skips unselfconsciously everywhere he goes when he’s happy. He goes to a small private school, where everyone knows him and he’s unremarkable, but his public school “friends” in the ‘hood call his behavior and dress gay.

It crushes him, not so much that they think he’s gay but that “gay” is an insult.