Safe Haven

 Now, Steven Deacon Greydanus is going backwards, from mistreating people he disagrees with politically, to publishing pro-homosexuality propaganda. Then again, everything is political now. It’s not enough to disapprove of Donald Trump’s personal conduct; we apparently have to disapprove of Supreme Court decisions that left-wingers don’t like. More to the point, the alleged mistreatment of sexual minorities is either fabricated, or exaggerated. We don’t have to join in various celebrations just to affirm our commitment to nonviolence and basic human respect, because well-adjusted people can respect others without necessarily agreeing with them. Maladjusted people need endless affirmation, because the voice of conscience is so loud. It’s funny that so many worry about what “conservatives” will do with government power, but they don’t seem like they are as afraid of words, debate, and disagreement. Hmmm. Coercion is the last refuge of cowards. Speaking of cowards, that’s what I call ...

 The people with the tough, hard exterior are just scared. Scared to love, and scared to be loved. I can see right through them. Kids are like this, too. Growing into adolescence, you can’t show fear, or vulnerability, or need. Especially boys. The only trouble is, if you do enough bad things pretending to be hard, you become that. If you don’t break out of that, you’ll hurt yourself and others—maybe badly—and wonder how it all went so wrong. I taught a kid like this once. He probably should have graduated the other day. We’ll call him “Matt.” I should say, I attempted to teach him. No fooling, he tormented me. When you’re young, testing boundaries is part of the deal. But in strong families, with luck, you get to test your own boundaries while you grow up. If not, they test them on the green and profoundly disabled teacher. This sad story wasn’t my fault, objectively. I know that. But I still think about that kid. I question everything I said and did. On the other hand, the next t...