This past weekend I witnessed something that made me disgusted and sick to my stomach.  It also made me start to think.  I was at a bomb fire with a bunch of kids from my school that claim to be the "rednecks."  One kid there was playing with a crate which I didn’t think anything of because I thought he was making wood for the fire.  To my horror this young guy in my grade designed a cross with the wooded slants and stuck it in the fire to be burnt.  As soon as he stuck it in the fire all the other guys starting shouting about how the south will rise again and keep saying the n word repeatedly.  At that point I wanted to leave because I didn’t want to be around people like that.  then at school after telling this to a close friend he told me a different story about a young guy at my school and this year on the anniversary of Jena 6 he came into school with a noose around his neck and whenever a person who wasn’t white passed by him he would raise the noose.  Seeing and hearing about how close minded people are in my school scares me.  I guess the main point of this email is that I want to make changes.  I want to try to make a difference for the better and open people’s minds up.  Not just about racism but about other important issues.  Most people in my school hate anyone who isn’t straight.  This causes anyone who is gay to be scared because people will beat them up for it.  No one who isn’t white or straight is not accepted.  When did my generation become this.  These are just some of my recent thoughts.  I would like to start receiving your emails again because I want to get involved with society.  My parents have always been involved with protests for equality and equal rights and I want to be like that.