This reading really made me think
about how harmful people’s word and actions can be. I for one, think of myself
as tolerant of other people’s sexual orientation. Everyone should have the
right to be who they are express themselves without the fear of ridicule. Unfortunately
not everyone in the world feels the same way it would seem. What some teenager
might think is a funny joke to say “Wow that is gay.” to anything he does not
like, may seem somewhat harmless to the teen, but it can be very harmful. If
they word “gay” is used synonymously with “bad” as in “that is gay” meaning “that
is bad” then it automatically makes a derogatory statement on someone’s sexual
preference.
What one teen may think is a
harmless joke, can really affect the way a homosexual person may feel about themselves.
For example a homosexual may be a great, moral, mature person, but for some reason
a homophobic person would slander them and use gay as a negative word. It is
2012, it is time to get with the picture, freedom and equality should extend to
sexual preference. Homosexuals should have every right that heterosexuals do. A
person should be judged on the content of their character and not on their
sexual preferences.
Bullying is a huge problem in
schools and it seems like recently schools have started to take a stand to stop
bullying but it will never truly end. Kids will be kids, and it seems that what
people fear the most are what they do not understand. We need to educate the
teenagers and let them understand that you can be homosexual and be a great
person to, you don’t need to be afraid or lash out against them. You can be a
hetero sexual and still be great friends with a homosexual. Children who use homophobic
slander should be taken into an office and lectured on why it is unacceptable
to use derogatory language like that. Teachers should be rewarded for speaking
out, because as it stands, it seems like there is a problem with teachers
ignoring the problem.
This seems like a problem that has
been going on for ages. It is 2012 and the time to start putting an end to
this. We need to educate our children in the schools, and just let them know
that it is not ok to make fun of someone for their sexual preference. Teach
them that you can be hetero sexual and you still respect a homosexual person
for being who they are, and judge them on their character and not on their
sexual preference.
The statement you make saying "kids will be kids" and that's the biggest fear is the biggest problem and reason why children are still using these hurtful words. Many parents just say oh well kids are gonna be kids, when they hear children say these things or they think it's funny because young kids are saying it. But what needs to be happening is parents and teachers correcting this behavior. And that's what's not happening. These children don't really know what the words mean, they're only saying them because everyone else is...
ReplyDeleteGreat blog Nate. You made a good argument for the rights of GLBTs to have the freedom to be who they are. It is nobody's business to try to tell another person what sexual orientation they should be, when theirs is not questioned.
ReplyDeleteWhen you said "What one teen may think is a harmless joke, can really affect the way a homosexual person may feel about themselves" I really could understand that. Michaelson schows us how just a few words can really put someone into a depressed state. Following all that the person could end up abusing alchol, drugs, not going to school, etc. These problems need to be addressed more in schools.
ReplyDeleteThe last few sentences that you wrote just sum up what needs to happen in our schools. As you said, it is already 2012 and we are still prejudiced against people because of their sexual orientation. You would think by now, we would have realized how wrong and hurtful that can be. It seems like we need to be oppressing some kind of group of people. It's an ugly injustice.
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