Prayers for Bobby

Tonight I watched Prayers for Bobby on Lifetime. If you don't know Bobby & Mary Griffith's story, click on the image.

I don't think this television movie will win any major awards but its message is so important, everyone should watch it. I will probably never be a parent but I know that many of you are. If nothing else, this film will remind you that your children are always listening. They hear every word you say -- your commentary on the news, your remarks about a passerby, your feelings about someone else's child, the neighbor ladies and their new baby and even your tolerated [whisper] gay relatives. If you think it doesn't affect them and the choices they may make, you're wrong.

["Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers (Massachusetts 2006 Youth Risk Survey).
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth who come from a rejecting family are up to nine times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers (2007 San Francisco State University Chavez Center Institute)."]

The film is sometimes simplified in its dialouge and most definitely edited by Lifetime's standards vs. a feature film but its message is clear and resoundingly critical in light of these statistics.

It made me cry and forced me to put a mirror up to my own youth. One I've long since forgotten. I often joke that I blocked out most of my childhood and without my sister's memory, I'd have few childhood memories. I may not be proud to share that with you or consider it ideal ... but at least I'm here to tell you.

Let every word empower everyone you love.