Normal

Yes, I know.

You and I, we have suffered through so many speeches,

Dusty, crumbling words about bullying, discrimination, how kids can be so cruel.

But we know, you and I, that we would never commit such acts;

We would stand up to those bullies who get their kicks

From kicking others to the ground;

We will protect the innocent.

We will be their sanctuary.

We will be their herald of justice.

We will stand up for what’s righteous.

We will be their aegis.

We will don our armor and fight like Hectors.

Because we promised to be protectors.

At least that’s what we tell ourselves.

But as I stand, smiling politely, nodding my head,

I can’t help my lip curling up in disgust,

I can’t help my skin from crawling up my spine,

I can’t help my stomach churning as I digest that last sentence you said to me:

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re one of the normal people here!”

You are no savior.

You are no messiah.

You’re not even a decent human being.

So cut your self-righteous delusions,

Thinking, “I would never do that,”

“I would never judge someone based on appearances,”

“I would never make someone feel bad about himself,”

“I would never treat someone like she wasn’t an actual human being.”

But here you are.

Scoffing in disgust,

Looking down your nose,

Speaking about people two feet away from you as if they were sub-human.

Here you are repeating the same mistakes that thousands, millions,

Countless people have made, over and over again.

You haven’t learned a thing, have you?

But maybe, just maybe, you just didn’t realize what you were doing,

Didn’t realize that you were giving in to all the things were told to fight against,

Didn’t realize that you were just like all the others.

So no, I’m not one of the normal people here.

And maybe it’s because I don’t spew projectile daggers out of my mouth,

Or because I don’t mutilate others' self confidence on a daily basis,

Or because I actually listened to all those lessons they preached to us in school.

But if this is what being normal means,

I don’t ever want to be normal.