(no subject)
My brother had such a hard time with my sexual orientation
He would just ask me why and why can’t I just not be like that
He would be angry with me because of it
But he has been very different towards me in the last year
We are slowly starting to build a relationship
And I knew he wasn’t as bothered by it because he tried to talk to Kristin when she came over for Easter
But I was talking to my mom today and she showed me an essay thing he CHOOSE to write for his journalism class
He interview a kid he used to make fun of
He even told the kid his sister was gay
So there you are walking home from school after a long day of harassment from fellow students. You think you are finally safe and almost home, but then a car comes speeding up to you and out comes the six classmates that had harassed you earlier that day. Before you can say a word, you are pelted in the face with a Lysol can severely fracturing your cheekbone. Could it get any worse you ask yourself? You are quickly answered with a punch in the nose which breaks it and with the punch comes a steady stream of scarlet blood pouring onto the pavement.
This is a true story of a recent assault of an openly gay student from Pueblo, Colorado. He did not do anything wrong at all. He did not touch or even talk to the students who beat him. It was just because they knew he was gay. Should being gay be a crime? Should people have to pay the price of physical and mental harassment just because of their sexual preference?
Tyler B an LN student who is openly gay does not think so.
“I feel safe at LN but, at middle school I was assaulted.”
He believes the source of less harassment in high school to be because students are more mature and more understanding.
Then we go back to the story of those six kids who assaulted the openly gay freshmen in Colorado. What could cause those kids to hate him enough to cause him harm? Is it because they just do not understand and are afraid of what they do not understand or is it because they truly hate people of a different sexual orientation?
At LN however, Tyler said he has not encountered any problems with physical harm, but he did say,
“It’s inevitable, but everyone is going to be made fun of for something.”
He also explained to me that there have been teachers who have acted differently to him once that had found out he was gay, but most of his teachers are understanding and easy to talk to.
So why is it that we constantly hear of gay students being beaten up and assaulted by their fellow students? Does having a different sexual preference constitute mistreatment and abuse? What if students started beating up basketball players just because they are athletes and that is who they are? That would be crazy, right? Well, what is so different about being gay, and just being yourself? If someone is gay they can not help it. It is just who they are. So why should it not be just as outrageous as if an athlete was assaulted just because he played sports.
“I’m just a normal kid, I’m not special or different in any way,” says, Tyler.
Should he be treated any differently?
He would just ask me why and why can’t I just not be like that
He would be angry with me because of it
But he has been very different towards me in the last year
We are slowly starting to build a relationship
And I knew he wasn’t as bothered by it because he tried to talk to Kristin when she came over for Easter
But I was talking to my mom today and she showed me an essay thing he CHOOSE to write for his journalism class
He interview a kid he used to make fun of
He even told the kid his sister was gay
So there you are walking home from school after a long day of harassment from fellow students. You think you are finally safe and almost home, but then a car comes speeding up to you and out comes the six classmates that had harassed you earlier that day. Before you can say a word, you are pelted in the face with a Lysol can severely fracturing your cheekbone. Could it get any worse you ask yourself? You are quickly answered with a punch in the nose which breaks it and with the punch comes a steady stream of scarlet blood pouring onto the pavement.
This is a true story of a recent assault of an openly gay student from Pueblo, Colorado. He did not do anything wrong at all. He did not touch or even talk to the students who beat him. It was just because they knew he was gay. Should being gay be a crime? Should people have to pay the price of physical and mental harassment just because of their sexual preference?
Tyler B an LN student who is openly gay does not think so.
“I feel safe at LN but, at middle school I was assaulted.”
He believes the source of less harassment in high school to be because students are more mature and more understanding.
Then we go back to the story of those six kids who assaulted the openly gay freshmen in Colorado. What could cause those kids to hate him enough to cause him harm? Is it because they just do not understand and are afraid of what they do not understand or is it because they truly hate people of a different sexual orientation?
At LN however, Tyler said he has not encountered any problems with physical harm, but he did say,
“It’s inevitable, but everyone is going to be made fun of for something.”
He also explained to me that there have been teachers who have acted differently to him once that had found out he was gay, but most of his teachers are understanding and easy to talk to.
So why is it that we constantly hear of gay students being beaten up and assaulted by their fellow students? Does having a different sexual preference constitute mistreatment and abuse? What if students started beating up basketball players just because they are athletes and that is who they are? That would be crazy, right? Well, what is so different about being gay, and just being yourself? If someone is gay they can not help it. It is just who they are. So why should it not be just as outrageous as if an athlete was assaulted just because he played sports.
“I’m just a normal kid, I’m not special or different in any way,” says, Tyler.
Should he be treated any differently?