My
Social Justice class keeps coming at me like a whirl wind. This week we were talking about homosexuality
and the strife they have to endure. Now
that I am older I never really thought of any issues with homosexuality, other
than societies laws against them (such as no gay marriage in certain states,
and no rights to possessions for gay spouses), because I view them as normal
people in society. I have already
forgotten what it was like in high school and even my own viewpoints towards
the gay community.
Growing up with my friends, we always made fun of each
other if we showed any sign of femininity by calling each other “gay” or “fag”. I never thought anything of this because it
was just a norm in my high school. Now
looking back what if one of these young teenage boys that was having trouble
dealing with what his sexual preference was or trying to figure out what was
wrong with him, over heard me and my friends saying these kind of derogatory terms. When I thought this, I immediately felt sick
to my stomach. No one from my high
school killed themselves due to being harassed for being gay, but what if
someone did? What if that someone would have
killed themselves because of what he overheard from my conversations with my friends? To this day I wouldn’t have been able to live
with myself and now after taking this class I am having a real hard time
forgiving myself for my ignorant past.
It is so easy to say things that can hurt someone else
without even knowing it. Using the term “gay”
or “fag” as a joke is wrong in every way and as a society we must be conscious
of what we say. Homosexuals, Lesbians, Tran’s
genders, and many others are all human beings.
No one today should be judged for the color of their skin, what sexual
preference they are, what socio-economic status they belong to, or what culture
they are from. America promotes itself
as a diverse society and that we are all created equal, than why are there
still these prejudices’ that exist in our society. I myself will start being more observant of
these types of terms and start to fight against them when I hear them. Being guilty of this I am disgusted with
myself and I will devote myself to make a difference. Through word of mouth, through being
educated, through social interaction, we can make a difference. I will fight for the equal rights for
everyone till the day I die and I hope one day I can see an America united,
rather than an America full of separation and hatred. We as a society need change, until we make
that change, America will never be the country I can be proud of.
Gosh, we are so proud of the young man you have become!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI concur! Many times we are ignorant to how much power our choice of words carry and the affects it can have. I do think that by being made aware of this will people be more cautious and take a stand like you. In church they put a lot of emphasis on " There is power in the tounge"....I always took it to mean always speak positive not negative but. now I can really understand the meaning of the saying.
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Cade -
ReplyDeleteWow! This is a very powerful post. I've come to realize that no matter how much a person may tell you not to be so hard on yourself for mistakes of the past, you have to come to terms with it yourself. But, you're off to a great start. I feel that when we realize our mistakes, that is a sign of GROWTH, and the fact that you see that our society needs to make some major changes in how we react to people's differences means that you're serious about helping to affect change. We've all done things in the past that we're not proud of, and made some wrong/inappropriate judgments about the actions of others. But, it's a great day, whenever we realize that we could've caused the person to react drastically to our unkind gestures, etc. and know that we our (flawed) selves also need to change. Thanks for your honesty and this great post! :-)
Cade,
ReplyDeleteI also really appreciate your honesty. The truth is, nobody's perfect and we've all said and done things that we regret. Also, when guys say such things to each other it oftentimes isn't out of malice. It's not right, of course, but I think for some people what happens is they just say whatever their friends are saying without giving it much thought. It's like the word retarded...in middle school all my friends used to throw that word around so I used it for some time too. My mom heard me saying it at that time and then explained to me why it's wrong. Also, interacting with two of my cousins who are autistic from the time I was young helped me develop an understanding. I think, like you mentioned in your blog, it's important to have people educate youth about what's appropriate/inappropriate to say and why/why not. Many teenagers and people in general only use these words because they are unaware of the greater implications. It's important to have people point out to them, "Hey, maybe you shouldn't say that, and this is why." But props to you for making a conscious effort to avoid these words, and I agree with Shirley that recognizing that we need to change our ways counts for a lot.
Cade,
ReplyDeleteI would like to thank you again for thinking that lesbians are hot!! It just goes to show that women who are gay don't suffer nearly as bad as men. Why is that? Hot or not, freedom to express my sexual orientation has been big for me. I finally feel comfortable in my own skin. Great Post!!
See you soon...
When I read this post, it was like you were talking about my high school and my group of friends. Obviously its hard to admit that at one time I was included with any group of people that used such derogatory terms. I feel it is incumbent upon all of us to do our part in the education and ending of these terms. Thanks for the post!
ReplyDelete