Humble, mature, and surprising words from a former school bully to his victim: 'I'm here for you now, and want to know that you're perfect just the way you are.'
April 20, 2015
An ex-homophobe has offered up an apology to his former classmate - after coming out as gay himself.
Unsure of his sexuality at the age of 14, James was afraid of disappointing his father, who used to display anti-gay and anti-Democrat images in the family home.
As a result, James began to bully another boy at school, 'Nate'.
'He did nothing wrong to me, and yet I still felt so afraid of him that I resorted to insults,' James explained on Reddit.
Now, four years on, James has realised his homophobic bullying stemmed from a fear of his own sexuality - and now he’s speaking out in the hope of inspiring other young, scared LGBTI teens.
'If you're in my situation, please don't resort to verbal abuse over things that scare/ frighten you, be strong, talk to people in a civilized manner, and open up to them,' he said.
'I know I'm gay, I think I bullied Nate so much because I was afraid of being like this, I wanted to be the strong straight kid my dad always wanted.
'If you're in Nate's situation, please stay strong. 'You didn't do anything wrong, those who bully you or insult you are most often then [sic] not having an identity crisis.'
'I'm here for you now, and want to know that you're perfect just the way you are.
'Again I can't apologies [sic] to Nate now, but if I could I would want to tell him this; I'm sorry for all the verbal harassment I put you through, the truth is I always thought you were pretty cool and sort of attractive, and that frustrated me.
'You were always the stronger one between us both, you were proud to be you and always kept your head held high.
'Fight on, and live an amazingly happy life with whomever you love. My thoughts are with you, please... please stay strong.'
Speaking to Gay Star News, James explained his reasons behind sharing his remorse.
'During high school I met people in similar situations as my own, and I figured if they learned that they weren't alone, they may stop bullying others,' he said.
'I also had wishful thinking that Nate would read the post somehow, and figure out it was him the story was about, and would smile and say "I forgive you." But of course, it's nothing but wishful thinking.'
He added: 'If you're being bullied by someone over anything, your appearance, your sexuality, or preferences, or even your vocabulary please understand that we're all humans who make mistakes.'
'People are bullies because they feel they need to seek strength in others "weakness", it's most likely due to their own personal insecurities, and isn't any fault of yours.'
*******
As is always the case, the most homophobic among us are those of us dealing with our own demons...
"Fear Eats the Soul"
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