This month's Snarl is by Nicole:

^^^

DIFFERENT

There's a girl. Punk/freak/geek/whatever decor. She's minding her own business, just walking down the hall, smiling at her friends and even people she doesn't know, just to be nice. A passing boy student leers at her, making a comment on her fishnets. His friend joins in on the mockery. The girl just looks bored. Why? Because something like this happens to her every day. She's used to the verbal abuse (not just about her clothes but her academic achievements) that narrow-minded people spit out at her.

They taunt her. A girl walks by and whispers to her friend that the girl over there with the freak/geek clothes is a lesbian-- of course she knows for sure. She knows the girl in the freak/geek clothes intimately-- so intimately that she doesn't even know her name, just refers to her as the girl with the freak/geek clothes.

The freak/geek girl continues her journey to her honors class. She's a junior, but she's taking all college AP courses. She helps people whenever she can. She's a kind-hearted girl. A group of four boys walk by and tell the girl in a twisted tone that she has a nice outfit on. They laugh at her. The assistant principal walks by. He sees the girl and the four mocking boys. The assistant principal turns to the girl and addresses her by a name that's not hers. He takes away her Walkman and tells her she'll be able to get it back at the end of the day. He talks sternly. The boys laugh. They walk away laughing. The assistant pricipal tells the girl that she will know better next time. He professes that he's sorry he had to do this, and he hopes that she won't be lonely without her Walkman. how could she possibly be lonely with all her friendly peers around? After all, when she came back to school after the weekend, the word "dyke" greeted her on her locker. How thoughtful. At least they spelled it correctly.

What's wrong with this senario? Could it be that this girl is being subjected to a gross injustice? Not only is she insulted merely because of her appearance and intelligence, but she is insulted by the "authority" who is more concerned with confiscating Walkmans than he is at abolishing the emotional manipulation that students are put through every day. The girl goes to class visibly disturbed, on the verge of tears.

***

Even when you don't care what they think, it hurts. You want to know why they try to hurt you. It's frustrating you. They hurt you. They question you and are always testing who you are, hoping one day they can make you fall. So they can laugh. They hurt and then they laugh. hurtlaughhurtlaugh. To the people who strive to make me cry, I wish you peace of mind.

Let Nicole know what you think.