Thug on the bus? No.

There are violent protests in Cairo.

There is death in Benghazi.

There is one stupid movie that is probably a proxy motive.

There are extremist Christians and extremist Muslims playing their parts.

There is at least one U.S. presidential candidate commenting before facts unfold.

And there is a mother in Des Moines, Iowa, who is worried because her 13-year-old white boy plans to ride the city bus home from school today for the first time. 

She realizes that her worries are perfectly silly, and minuscule, but this is the thing. She's not worried he'll get lost. He's a master at bus routes. She worries because her son has moved into the scrubby teen boy age. His hair is long and covers much of his baby face. He wears undead t-shirts and clunky sneakers. He doesn't talk much, even if you hazard him a "hello." His own mother mostly doesn't know what he's thinking, let alone other passengers on the bus. She's worried that others will think he's a hooligan.

When Trayvon Martin was shot and killed in a Florida suburb while returning home with a bag of Skittles, I heard my friends-of-color talk about their fears for their own teenage sons, for how they might easily be mistaken for a thug. I saw the statistics that backed up this worry. (Statistics, by the way, that are on my side.) I'd never considered this fear before. But as my son grows older and loses his obvious adorability, as he fumbles to figure out how to chat casually with people around him, as he tries his hardest to appear bad-to-the-bone, as he seeks to sow his wild oats -- and yes, for him, taking public transportation is his version of freedom -- I worry. 

I worry because the world seems too quick to shoot accusations, and so slow to listen. So quick to hate, and so slow to listen. So quick to call a press conference and slow to . . . let's all say it together: listen.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were killed in Benghazi, including the ambassador and the staffers, and the Libyans who were injured while trying to protect them. And I urge all of us, including all candidates for political office, to get the facts.

I can't help but to offer kudos to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama for their spot-on handling of this delicate situation. My thoughts and prayers go to all public officials, citizens, and candidates.

If you happen to see a kid on the bus with death mask images on his t-shirt, don't worry, he's harmless. Like most everyone, he wants to go home.

With love, T