Theatrical_Muse posting:
Topic #144: Have you ever rebelled?
Yeah, I've rebelled. It got me suspended from school.
Last year someone painted the word "Dyke" across my locker. The school, and their "no tolerance" policy left it there for a week before they painted over it. I'm not a lesbian, but that's not the point. The point was this stupid guywho had nothing but an empty head and a cruel heart, decided that it would be alright to brand my locker with that label. His sister came to me later, when she realized he was the one who painted it. She was scared and told me that it didn't really matter because I wasn't a lesbian. She didn't get it either. To me, it wasn't about what some stupid high school kids were saying about me, I could care less about that. It was a statement, that labels and hate were ruling our world. To try and make her understand, I made her read the lyrics to the NOFX song, Re-gaining Unconsciousness.
First they put away the dealers, keep our kids safe and off the street. Then they put away the prostitutes, keep married men cloistered at home. Then they shooed away the bums, then they beat and bashed the queers. Turned away asylum seekers, fed us suspicions and fears. We didn’t raise our voice, we didn’t make a fuss. It’s funny there was no one left to notice when they came for us
With that in mind, I decided something needed to be done. So the next morning I showed up to school wearing a tee shirt with "Dyke" painted across it. I wanted to show everybody that it wasn't alright them to label someone like that. Of course, the faculty didn't quite grasp my vision. The principal told me I had to take the shirt of, or I would be suspended. So I took the shirt off. In the middle of the hallway. Yeah, they suspended me. But I made my point. I'm not saying I changed the viewpoint of every single kid at Tree Hill High, but if what I did resonated with even one person then it was worth it.
Yeah, I've rebelled. It got me suspended from school.
Last year someone painted the word "Dyke" across my locker. The school, and their "no tolerance" policy left it there for a week before they painted over it. I'm not a lesbian, but that's not the point. The point was this stupid guywho had nothing but an empty head and a cruel heart, decided that it would be alright to brand my locker with that label. His sister came to me later, when she realized he was the one who painted it. She was scared and told me that it didn't really matter because I wasn't a lesbian. She didn't get it either. To me, it wasn't about what some stupid high school kids were saying about me, I could care less about that. It was a statement, that labels and hate were ruling our world. To try and make her understand, I made her read the lyrics to the NOFX song, Re-gaining Unconsciousness.
First they put away the dealers, keep our kids safe and off the street. Then they put away the prostitutes, keep married men cloistered at home. Then they shooed away the bums, then they beat and bashed the queers. Turned away asylum seekers, fed us suspicions and fears. We didn’t raise our voice, we didn’t make a fuss. It’s funny there was no one left to notice when they came for us
With that in mind, I decided something needed to be done. So the next morning I showed up to school wearing a tee shirt with "Dyke" painted across it. I wanted to show everybody that it wasn't alright them to label someone like that. Of course, the faculty didn't quite grasp my vision. The principal told me I had to take the shirt of, or I would be suspended. So I took the shirt off. In the middle of the hallway. Yeah, they suspended me. But I made my point. I'm not saying I changed the viewpoint of every single kid at Tree Hill High, but if what I did resonated with even one person then it was worth it.