The Mentor thread

[reprise]

Well, it's not so much about being a mentor, as it is about creating a thread which can provide positive inspiration.

What started it all was this thread. Many people have given their (quite accurate IMO) opinions of the behaviour of "sir" on the bus in that thread,but as people have already pointed out, that thread might not be appropriate for the children themselves to read because of some of the language we use to condemn such behaviour.

As much as you can ever influence the direction of any thread you start around here, I'm looking for this one to be one in which people post their personal stories in a way which gives encouragement to young people only beginning to face the challenges which many of our community have already conquered.

So I'm asking us in this community who've experienced something bad as children for which we have become the targets of insensitivity and ridicule to compose a post which conveys the very same things you'd say to a child going through those same issues if that child was in front of you right now. The only thing I ask is that we do not derail this into a discussion of people's responses to disability, poverty, race, religion, sexuality, child abuse, whatever. I want this to be a thread in which children can find both understanding and inspiration.