16-year-old nonbinary student laid to rest after death following beating in girls bathroom in Owasso, OK

[2PhiloVoid]

So, isn't "They can't do it. It is contrary to the most deeply held values of their religion." ironic because of the expectation that "religious values" might be assumed to include "...teaching kids to be respectful and polite" to people such as Nex Benedict rather than proscribed? At the same time, there is undeniably a bit of gentle mockery there.

You'd have to ask the originator of the statements under scrutiny here. I can't answer that for him (or her).

The question is, what are the "most deeply held values of their religion" a reference to? The idiosyncratic interpolations that some people make of various ideas from their churches? OR, more specifically, is it a veiled reference to the typically bug-a-boo passages in the Bible, like those from Leviticus or the book of Romans that cause everyone so much consternation.

See? Without that clarification, I can interpret the statement to insinuate some central content from the Bible that would, by most lights, be one that all Christians have to grapple with, even those existential ones like myself.

But even so, being that I'm very aware that the Bible HAS to be handled with cautionary hermeneutical measures that most folks simply don't feel they are obliged to consider, I don't want to have mock insinuations thrown around too easily that may insinuate any blame on my part by mere association.

Do you see where I'm coming from? First and foremost, in the case of the tragedy in Oklahoma which is the focus of this thread, we don't know if the kids who may have been doing some beating of the victim had any specific religious views. And even if they did, just by religious proxy, it doesn't mean that I share those beliefs or interpretations, or that all other Christians in some seemingly hyper-conservative state (such as Oklahoma) are all in accordance with those by proxy either.

Furthermore, we don't want to go down the rabbit-hole that that can take us in by citing Paul the Apostle in some way where people think they can point to his writings and cite specifically, "See, there, THERE is the origination of the problem .... it's in that darn Bible they have!"

 

[Belk]

They weren't beaten to death at all; just beaten into submission. They apparently killed themself. The beating didn't happen in a vacuum but as part of a history of harassment.

Side note: An elephant in the room is a metaphor for something that cannot be ignored because of its relative huge size to the space of a room. A pink elephant is a hallucination caused by alcohol poisoning. A white elephant is an item that no one really wants because it is expensive to keep and extremely inconvenient to own.

What to make of an invisible elephant in a room? You could ignore it because you can't see it but if it has any physical presence, then you couldn't ignore it because you would bump into it, smell it and hear it. I don't know what to make of your metaphor.

Further digression: Remember elephant jokes? How do elephants get in trees? Sit on an acorn and wait.

How do elephants hide in grass? They wear green sneakers.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Nex Benedict autopsy lists head wounds but says suicide was cause of death​

The report says the sophomore’s cause of death was a lethal combination of antidepressant and antihistamine, and notes “no lethal trauma” was seen despite listing several head injuries Nex suffered, including contusions, lacerations, abrasions and hemorrhages.

“Handwritten notes that are suggestive of self-harm were found in the decedent’s room by family and provided to law enforcement,” the report said.


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“The full report does little to fill in the gaps in information about that day or the more than a year of bullying and harassment that led up to it. It does not answer the questions of so many in Oklahoma and across the country,” said Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, noting that the autopsy report “does not change the fact that LGTBQ+ students in Oklahoma are not safe at school.”