THIS is what intolerance looks like, imagine how it feels...

[TheAmbivalante]

71. I can imagine what it felt like...

... picking up a piece of paper. Recognizing your father's handwriting. A note from dad. Maybe he was writing to say that he had been too judgmental. Or maybe there had been harsh words in the heat of the moment.

And a note is usually a good thing. A way for someone to communicate clearly--to organize their thoughts. And maybe to open up a little. Maybe a first step toward patching things... trying to reconcile feelings.

Maybe this was a note from dad saying that he didn't agree with his son's "lifestyle" but loved him just the same.

Then to read this.

There's a feeling in the world that is uniquely painful. And it comes from the ones you love and trust most.
The combination of despair and betrayal and emptiness. Feeling lost. Cut off.

Alone.

Hopefully, few of us will ever feel what this young man did.

And no one will feel that being a strong father means a perverted belief that a loving god is actually a vengeful one, one that would sanctify profoundly hurtful acts like these.