Roughly a month ago, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden were heartbroken over the death of an Oklahoma teenager who was nonbinary.
Biden led the liberals’ charge against conservatives, including some leftists who blamed Libs of TikTok for the tragic death of Nex Benedict, who passed away after getting in a fight at school.
Yet now details have emerged, and as has been so often the story in the Trump era, the narrative was concocted, overblown, and misleading.
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To recap, as NBC News reported last month, the teen died shortly after a fight at Owasso High School on Feb. 7. Nex allegedly told police about being jumped by three other students. The teen’s mother told local media Nex had previously been bullied because of gender identity.
The initial narrative blamed the other teens, but the facts disputed that with the revelation that Nex committed suicide, the story shifted to the lack of acceptance of Nex’s lifestyle in a red state.
In response, Biden said in a statement, “Every young person deserves to have the fundamental right and freedom to be who they are and feel safe and supported at school and in their communities. Nex Benedict, a kid who just wanted to be accepted, should still be here with us today.”
“We must all recommit to our work to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis impacting too many nonbinary and transgender children,” he continued. “Bullying is hurtful and cruel, and no one should face the bullying that Nex did. Parents and schools must take reports of bullying seriously.”
“My prayers are with Nex’s family, friends, and all who loved them — and to all LGBTQI+ Americans for whom this tragedy feels so personal, know this: I will always have your back.”
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It may feel personal for that community, but as conservative RedState columnist Chad Felix Greene reported recently, the tragedy is more nuanced than the media led the public to believe.
Greene noted that Nex’s death was a suicide. But not necessarily because of bullying at school.
Nex officially died because of a combination of diphenhydramine, known more commonly as Benadryl, and a medication for bipolar disorder.
But the troubled teeanger had bigger problems, leaving behind handwritten notes that were “suggestive of self-harm,” authorities said. Nex had a history of bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and cutting.
Connected to that, apparently, was the fact that Nex’s father, a convicted sex offender, was out of prison and had been rearrested for failing to notify authorities of a location change.
Nex was the one he had abused.
According to an affidavit filed on July 17, 2019, Benedict’s father, James Everette Hughes, was charged with sodomizing his nine-year-old daughter. On November 27, 2019, Hughes agreed to take a plea deal to charges of second-degree sexual assault. He received a five-year prison sentence in Arkansas.
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“Bullying from other students may have impacted her more deeply than she let on, but from the evidence she provided, her pain was much, much more profound,” Greene observed.
“Despite media headlines, there is no evidence she was specifically targeted for her gender identity. … Alleged anti-LGBTQ legislation or alleged anti-LGBTQ rhetoric by Republicans or conservative figures outspoken against progressive LGBTQ activism in schools was simply not involved.”
Nex “was fighting an internal battle, suffering with serious mental health issues, depression, and anxiety,” Greene continued. “She engaged in self-harm, experienced mood swings, and, per her grandmother’s 911 call, had to be carefully monitored for potential overdose concerns.”
“We don’t know if she was aware of her father’s release or his arrest in January. Her suicide notes only tell us, from vague reporting by the police, that her family and her personal experience influenced her decision,” Greene added
“What we do know is she did not deserve to become an icon for a social justice movement determined to use her name and her face to push political outrage and policy demands. The girls she started a fight with did not deserve to be targeted with online hatred and vile accusations from the media, with even the President releasing a statement implicating them indirectly in a hate crime.”
“None of this should have happened,” Greene concluded. “The media took a deeply traumatized young girl and exploited her suffering for their own political purposes, lying, fabricating, and continuing to twist the story into a narrative they could use to push their own agenda.”
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