Being normal is overrated.

I will share what being “not normal” is like, which is a nice way of saying “crazy.”

People like me are very sensitive souls. We may have been raised in a family where one or both parents may not have been “normal.” We may not have been taught appropriate coping skills to survive in the world. The world experience is harsh and we may feel overwhelmed. We sense that we don’t belong. Others bully us.

This society is very hard on people who do not conform.

In older days, many such people were institutionalized. Today, it is the opposite extreme with little or no adequate structure provided. Such people are left homeless, on the streets, to fend for themselves. They are abused or, at their wits’ end, they abuse others.

Someone once said that how we treat the most vulnerable citizens in our society is an indication of how civilized the society is.

If that is true, what does that say about us?

Laurianne Anctil, Lewiston