On the same day that the state medical examiner discovered that 16-year-old Nex Benedict had died by suicide, supposedly after being bullied over their gender fluidity, Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters spewed stigmatization online.
Walters was responding on X to a blog by Chasten Glezman Buttigieg, husband of U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. Chasten had criticized Walters for appointing Composites of TikTok’s venomously anti-trans leader Chaya Raichik to the state library advisory committee in Oklahoma. As a parent and former teacher, Chasten argued that he prefers educated professionals over those with limited class experience and education degrees.
“Well @ChayaRaichik10 knows the difference between a woman and a boy,” Walters responded on X on Wednesday evening. “You, your spouse, and the whole Biden presidency seem to struggle with that.”
Walters posted that he immediately criticized the LGBTQ community in an extremely ridiculous statement about the health examiner’s decision in Benedict’s death shortly after publishing an equally absurd speech:
“The loss of our student in Owasso is horrible for the home, the society, and our state. One of the biggest challenges to our democracy is the support of LGBTQ organizations, and I’m more than ever committed to not back down against a woke mob.
Compare that to the statement made by another Republican attorney general of Oklahoma, Gentner Drummond, who appears to have a heart: “My heart is broken over the tragic demise of Nex Benedict.” I’m also more concerned about how bullying contributed to this terrible loss thanks to the Medical Examiner’s finding of death.
Oklahoma’s wayward nonbinary state lawmaker, Rep. Mauree Turner, suggested that her colleagues bear some responsibility for Nex’s dying on Feb. 8 following an encounter in a women’s toilet they had to use under a state law.
“Whether or not it was a suicide, the rhetoric that we share on this House floor, the bills that we write—not even the bills that we pass—but the bills that we write, have a very detrimental effect on the youth of Oklahoma,” Turner said.
Benedict had been examined at a hospital emergency room the day of the bathroom incident, and he had been released. They fell to the ground and passed away the following morning, and it was not immediately clear whether it was the result of the injuries sustained in the altercation. Benedict has been the subject of numerous memorials and rallies, most recently one outside the Oklahoma capitol on Thursday afternoon. One sign made reference to Walter’s statement.
“I am the Woke Mob”
In the meantime, the U.S. Department of Justice has initiated an investigation into bullying at the school. At the first Owasso School Board meeting since Benedict’s death, an indication of the extent of the issue was held on Monday evening. Suzy Eubank, one of the six speakers during the public comment section, described herself as “a proud lesbian mother” whose teenage son had been bullied at Owasso High in the year since they moved to the town.
“Where do I begin”? she asked. “Him coming home telling me he was called a fag today, that he was called gay for having an earring,” you ask? A kid has been telling my son to call him ‘daddy,’ that my child was his bitch.”
She described her greatest fear as a bullied child’s mother.
“You are scared to death…they’re going to take their own life because they’re called gay and faggot and they don’t understand,” she said.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Report for case 2400956 has a check mark next to SUICIDE under MANNER OF DEATH. DIPHENHYDRAMINE AND FLUOXETINE COMBINED TOXICITY is used as the CAUSE OF DEATH.
Benedict is identified in the space designated DECEDENT by the birth name that the couple had already given them instead of the one they accepted as truer to who they were. A single letter entered in the box marked SEX added an additional official cruelty.
“F”
Ryan also posted a video of himself on Newsmax saying, “I actually would like a little more prayer in school and a little less preferred pronouns,” and blaming Chasten Glezman Buttigieg for the day the report was released.
Walters reportedly paid a public relations firm thousands of dollars for his access to right-wing national media outlets. By denouncing the Democrats as the evil incarnate, he was using this opportunity to further his position on the far right.
“Their goal is to create social justice warriors in our schools,” he said. “They want to replace parents. It’s a Marxist theology that they’re pushing, to say, ‘We want to break down the family, we want to attack faith.'”
On Friday, President Biden released a statement on Benedict’s death that could have been rightly said at Nex’s graveside.
“Jill and I are devastated by Nex Benedict’s recent passing. Every child deserves to feel safe and supported in their communities and school, and have the fundamental right to be who they are. Nex Benedict, a kid who just wanted to be accepted, should still be here with us today.”
He continued, “Some of the bravest Americans I know are nonbinary and transgender people.” But nobody should have to be brave just to be themselves.”
He closed by saying. In honor of Nex, we must all reaffirm our commitment to fighting discrimination and ending the suicide crisis that affects too many transgender and nonbinary children. Nobody should be subject to the bullying that Nex did because bullying is hurtful and cruel.
Instead of responding to those sincerity words, Walters responded by saying that “JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris have chosen to accept the lies of the most radical groups in their party. Their party has found a new low of exploiting a child’s death”.
Please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing or texting 988 if you or a loved one are having suicidal thoughts.
