I know that the world sucks right now for people like us. The mindless hatred, the constant misinformation spread about us with impunity, the almost complete lack of any support base for us. It get's to all of us sometimes. But the thing is, we have to live with it even as we fight for change so that future generations of MAA's will not have to suffer the same degree of hostility in society as we do now. We have to be strong for the good of our community and for the good of all the people in our lives who love us. If you killed yourself, the community would be that much poorer for it and your family and other friends would be devastated. Don't give the antis what they want. Don't ever believe that your life is without value or purpose, or that you cannot make a positive contribution to the world. Your attraction base is just one aspect of your being and it has no bearing on your overall moral character. Society doesn't understand us right now, so we need to understand ourselves and realize that most of us in this community are good people who would NEVER harm a kid in our AoA regardless of our opinions of the laws. We all have down periods like this. I am currently in pain because of a great personal loss right now (not related to my GL) and because of how many times this has happened to me before I felt the urge, however briefly, to end it all and not subject myself to more pain in the future. But this urge was very brief, because I realize that everyone's life is of immense value, and people in this community have a very important role to play in the future of this society in regards to its collective maturity regarding diversity of desire and the many different forms that love between human beings can take. Our pain may be great at times, in fact damn near overwhelming, but it takes a back seat in importance to how much we are needed in this world.

Please take it easy, Todd, and do not do anything that will hurt so many people. Do not let the hatred of the antis and the misunderstanding by society in general cause you to devalue your own life to the point where you no longer think it's worth living. We are here to remind you of your importance to the world and the great value of your life anytime you need to be reminded, and if you want to talk off the board, e-mail me at dissident57[AT]fastmail[DOT]fs.

I'll check the board again tomorrow for more news from you and to make sure that you are okay.