A child committed suicide, but that will not stop the Left from hoisting up her body as that of a martyr, so long as it is for the cause.
On Wednesday, police reported that Oklahoma teenager Dagny Benedict’s death was deemed a suicide by a medical examination. She has traces of two drugs in her system, which led to her early death.
The original story was that Benedict and a friend were in her high school bathroom when she was brutally attacked by three female classmates. She died the very next day after being discharged from the hospital.
Due to her self-identification as non-binary, “Nex” Benedict has been hailed by LGBT activists as their version of George Floyd. Her “murder” was immediately deemed a hate crime and used to demonize conservative legislators and figures like LibsofTikTok owner Chaya Raichik, who helped expose a radical school librarian in the state.
Even today, in light of this new evidence, President Joe Biden claimed that Benedict’s suicide was due to her being bullied because of her gender identity: “Nonbinary and transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know. But nobody should have to be brave just to be themselves. In memory of Nex, we must all recommit to our work to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis impacting too many nonbinary and transgender children.”
The Left chooses to ignore bodycam footage in which Benedict explains to an officer what actually happened the day before her death. She said she and a friend were bullied previously by the same three girls “because of the way we dress,” and never mentioned her gender identity.
Benedict admitted that on that day, when all five children were in the bathroom, “They had said something like, ‘Why do they laugh like that?’ and they were talking about us in front of us, and so I went up there, and I poured water on them. And then all three of them came at me.”
The officer responded that because she initiated the altercation using physical force, “The way the courts are gonna look at it is it’s a mutual fight. … So both parties are victims, but both parties are also suspect in this. … You’re an offender as well.”
The Left is correct in saying that Benedict was a victim. However, they are incorrect about what she was a victim of. In fact, she is the perfect and most tragic example of the crisis that Gen Z is in.
Gen Z is the most phone-addicted, unhappy, and mentally unstable generation at the moment. A survey by the McKinsey Health Institute showed that Gen Z spends the most time on social media, with more than half spending over an hour a day on it. Gen Z also expressed the lowest levels of emotional, mental, and spiritual health.
Gen Z also shows record-high numbers of members identifying as LGBT, far above older generations. According to a Gallup poll, 22.3% of Gen Z identifies as LGBT. Gen Z women have bought into it far more at 28.5%, compared to 10.6% of Gen Z men.
Unfortunately, young people who identify as LGBT are also the most prone to suicide. A study by the Trevor Project confirmed that 41% of LGBT youth have seriously considered attempting suicide. 14% did attempt suicide.
According to that same study, nearly two in three LGBT youth reported mental health decline when hearing about anti-LGBT legislation. This is because 85% of them frequently pay attention to what the media says about such things.
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Dagny Benedict was a victim of the negative influence of social media and the social contagions, like gender ideology, that are intentionally spread across it. Most members of Gen Z are susceptible to these things, but LGBT youth are particularly at risk.
The deaths of children like Benedict are not caused by discrimination, but by the perpetual propaganda of victimization and gender confusion that is thrown in front of them daily. If LGBT activists really cared about Benedict, they would look in the mirror first.
Parker Miller is a 2024 Washington Examiner Winter Fellow.