Walters responds with politics, not with compassion
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, addictive tendencies, stress and other mental health issues, you can call or text 988, Oklahoma’s Mental Health Hotline, or call 911.
Wednesday evening, the Oklahoma medical examiner’s office ruled that Nex Benedict died by suicide. Nex was the 16-year-old gender-expansive Owasso High School student whose death came a day after they were in a physical fight in a bathroom at the school. Friends have said Nex frequently was bullied at school. A summary of the autopsy report concluded they died from diphenhydramine and fluoxetine toxicity.
Losing a child is a sad and painful time for family and friends. Expressions of sympathy and love are needed in times like this. One would expect the state schools superintendent would rise above his tired script of blaming one group or another for what ails Oklahoma’s education system to focus in this moment on healing for Nex’s family and the Owasso school community. Instead, Ryan Walters turned it into a political statement:
“The loss of our student in Owasso is tragic for the family, the community, and our state. The LGBTQ groups pushing a false narrative are one of the biggest threats to our democracy and I remain, more than ever, committed to never backing down from a woke mob.”
How does a 16-year-old LGBTQ+ individual represent “one of the biggest threats to our democracy?” What is the “false narrative” the “woke mob” is pushing? That the ignorance, fear and otherness about the LGBTQ+ community you’re peddling empowers youths under your purview to do the same?
In 2024 America, all children should be living in communities where they are loved, have opportunities to thrive and live with dignity. But Oklahoma Republican politicians are bent on making the state unwelcome for LGBTQ+ kids and their families. Most of these kids have heterosexual parents. Are these parents expected to not care about the wellbeing of their kids because a Republican-led Legislature is making laws that create hostile environments for their children? In the growing anti-LGBTQ+ legislative climate where related bills target speech and expression, curriculum and school activities, how are we to help these kids grow into educated adults? What’s next, passing laws barring them from the workforce?
If Walters can’t say something with compassion after the tragic loss of a child, then he should say nothing at all. This is a time Walters should pause to realize he has an opportunity to lead with compassion and work with the family and the school to foster a more inclusive environment.
Studies show LGBTQ+ youths are at higher risk for suicide because of how they are mistreated and disparaged in society. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study says more than a quarter of high school students identifying as lesbian, gay or bisexual say they attempted suicide. The CDC also says kids who are transgender or those who don’t conform to any gender are at “greater risk for poor mental health, bullying and violence than their non-LGBTQ+ peers.” These are America’s kids, including children in Oklahoma. Since Nex died, the Rainbow Youth Project, which is dedicated to preventing suicide among LGBTQ+ youth, reportedly saw a staggering 238% increase in crisis calls from Oklahoma.
Children are feeling unwanted, the loss of belonging — a good reason to reconsider diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Training in these areas is sorely needed for students, teachers and administrators. The alternative is to saddle Oklahoma with a generation of bullies and bigots. Meanwhile, Oklahoma remains at or near the bottom of national education rankings.
Nex’s suicide should be a sobering warning to Walters and all those in authority who are passing laws creating policies that strip protections from the LGBTQ+ community. You are perpetuating conditions for what the CDC says is “a serious public health problem.”
Clytie Bunyan is managing editor for opinion and community engagement.