"Its Wrong To Be Homosexual or Bisexual"

[~*Triple Star On Broadway*~]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 12:06am

Today at my highschool I read an article in the highschool newspaper written by some "Popular" grade 11 (Im in 12) girl who thought she would make a difference to the school by talking about how wrong it is to be gay or bisexual.
I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say, enough is enough. Human beings are such awful creatures. They segregate and hate their kind for the simplest reasons that don't really effect THEM in anyway shape or form.
As a bisexual girl, I thought that for my teachers and editors of this newspaper to allow this sort of thing be printed in a HIGHSCHOOL newspaper is absolute ludacris in everyway. There are homosexual and bisexual.
My question is : WHO GIVES A FLYING ****? People are people. Homosexuals and Bisexuals are people. They are not aliens, they are not creatures from the depths of the earth. I needed to get this off my chest and ask everyone out here if they have experienced things like this before. I am horrified at this. I didn't start realizing the homophobia around my city until my 3 best guy friends came out of the closet. Because we are all involved in the cities best musical theatre company of about 30 teenagers, we support eachother in everyway possible. But at school, my friends are constantly confronted by peers in Christian Ethics exclaiming how homosexuals were never meant to be alive, how they don't deserve to breathe the same air. And whats worse, is the teacher not only don't do anything to stop it, they agree with it. I see how badly it hurts these guys. I can't stand it anymore.
ANYONE out there that has dealt with these kinds of situations, please let them be heard. At this point things are seeming neverending, like this awful phobia and lack of understanding is just polluting our world when there shouldn't be anything like this going on. I don't know how to go about handling it anymore. I already broke one guy in my classes nose last week for calling a good friend of mine a (and I quote) " A flaming gay that should be shot" Please help a friend in need.
Thanks for hearing me out.

[son_of_a_gunn_25]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 12:38am

Hey,
Remember this Judge not lest ye be judged. Tell them that. It is not their place to judge you or anyone else. They should know better. Its one thing for them to believe you're wrong but but it is another to harass you for it.
In this country, everyone deserves equal rights under the law. (I know many of you won't like this story because the priest doesn't believe homosexuality is right.) We were having a q and a session at our church and one of the questions posed to the priest was homosexual rights. His stance was (while he believed it was wrong by church teaching) in this country we have promises of equality for all. It isn't fair for heterosexual couples to get the rights and benefits while homosexual couples don't in a country where the church and state are separate. His belief was that government needed to get rid of the term marriage and use civil union for everyone regardless of sexual orientation and every couple regardless of orientation deserved the same benefits and rights. I know at least at my church we aren't there to judge, just to share the love, we leave the judgement to God because as humans we aren't perfect and we know it. Hope this story helps. While people have the right to believe you are wrong, they do not have the right to force you to live the life the want you to live. Free choice is a right that should never be taken away from anyone, regardless of what anyone thinks. (I know homosexuality isn't a choice, but to live the life openly just like hiding it is a choice.) I am not here to try to argue that point, I am just trying to tell you that it is your right to live as a homosexual. If anything in this post seems stupid to you or doesn't make sense please let me know and I'll try to elaborate or explain better tomorrow. I wish I could say what's in my head better and I know some of what I typed can be taken the wrong way, but I honestly believe you do deserve the same rights as anyone.

Updated On: 2/13/04 at 12:38 AM

[DonnaMurphyRocks]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 2:12am

That sounds a lot like my old Christian high school, which I hated. Just remember that as awful as it is to hear that stuff now, when you graduate you can be around more people of your own choosing. And even though it still will sometimes seem like homophobic people are taking over the world, THEY ARE NOT! As Sondheim says, "no one is alone."

Updated On: 2/13/04 at 02:12 AM

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 2:42am

son of--I think you spoke very well. =)

DonnaMurphyRocks is right--life will be so different (and better, ultimately) out of high school. While homophobia will never go away (and will likely blow up during what is about to become a very historical, emotional chapter in America's ongoing civil rights movement), college is a much more open environment (in general). In life, you can surround yourself with the people who support and love you.

I'm proud that you do not tolerate the exceedingly immature and unnecessary hate talk in your school. But, pick and choose your battles carefully. It's probably not worth detention or expulsion over some idiot's stupid comment. It's sickening that teachers don't protect all students. It's also sickening that a school paper would allow such a hateful viewpoint to be included--at least while not including the opposite pov.

I got into a bit of a battle with my undergraduate's newspaper. They were printing ads for that organization that was popular in the 90s that helped people become straight (I forget the name, but it's the same one with the "reformed gay man" who has since been caught going to gay bars!! lol). Anyway, I wrote in about how terrible it was for this ad to be included in the newspaper, comparing it to what it would be like if it were an ad to change the color of one's skin. It was a redneck college--who knows if my letters (which were printed with editor and other student's rebuttals to mine) made any impact in such ignorantly, thick heads. But, it felt good to say, "uhn UH. I'm not taking this crap lying down!" Well--not in those words. =)

[Dollypop]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 9:08am

After many years of prayer, the answer came to me: God made me gay and God doesn't make junk.

[robbiej]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 9:57am

Triple Star,

If you feel so strongly, write an op ed back countering this other girl's view.

I believe very strongly that this girl had every right to express her views in the forum she did, as long as equal time is given to the opposing viewpoint. We must never censor those who don't believe the same as we believe, but we have a moral obligation to use any means necessary to present our views in hopes of making a difference in society.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 10:05am

robbie, i wanna give ya a big ol' hetero kiss on the lips!

thank you for stating what i was going to try to say more eloquently and succinctly than i might have (and with much less attitude and profanity too).

[rlbgbc]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 10:18am

Wow, I applaud your maturity, RobbieJ. Sincerely.

As for me, I want this chick's e-mail address so I can write a scathing response back to her.

But that's just me, I guess.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 2/13/04 at 3:50pm

LOL...my school newspaper (which I am doing right now...1 hour after school. Why am I the only one that is dedicated to this paper??) has too much homosexuality. The students complain. This month we have a really awesome article by someone who is for gay marriage about the new ruleings. Right after he wrote this, we got a letter of how our paper is lowering it's quality just like our nation.

[innocentchoirboy]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 12:35am

this isnt a unique battle. i live in a fairly metropolitan area (Whashington DC) and homophobia is everywhere. a kid in my neighborhood got beaten up and left in a ditch, with fag written accross his forhead. he wasn't even gay. there have been three attempts at my school to start a gay-straight alliance; each one was shot down immediately, yet my very catholic friend waltzed into the principles office, suggested a pro-life club, and walked back out with the necessary papers signed, bypassing the normal procedure. we have three--THREE!!!--bible clubs. i've been told the following in the halls:

i'm going to hell
god hates my "kind"
Bush is finally going to screw those fags for good.
and other things along the same lines.

ya, it sucks. but you learn to get over it. it will still hurt, but you have to learn to live with the hate, because its not going away anytime soon. fight it! i'm going to actaully get the GSA started this year, and i have the school paper, two administrators, the marching band (people fear us) and a lawyer to get the job done. pick your fights carefully, and be an example. breaking someone's nose just tells people your the typical angry dyke. i know you're not, but that's how the homophobes twist it. don't take any hate pointed directly at you, and fight homophobia in subtle ways. faggot has slipped into people's vocabulary, and most of them don't even realize what meaning is coming accross. call them on it! i guarentee that a lot will make a conscious effort to stop. whenever you hear the word gay being used to describe an inanimate object, inform the person that what they said is silly: a pencil has no sex, much less two of them, and is even less likely to fornicate, and nothing about it suggests that the pencil will fornicate with other pencils of the same sex. see how stupid it sounds? people will get the idea, and start to watch their language around you, making your environment that much more enjoyable. homophobia sucks some major ass, but its a fact of life. learn to accept it, then fight to change it.

i thought that was controlled, didn't you?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 1:42am

applauds choirboy Updated On: 2/14/04 at 01:42 AM

[Right Said Rick]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 1:10pm

Excuse me but isn't this a question best left to the politicians to answer for us?

[b-waygirl]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 1:51pm

Excuse me, but haven't the politicians said enough crap already?

Updated On: 2/14/04 at 01:51 PM

[Right Said Rick]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 2:31pm

Pardon me, but if it ain't legislated for me then it don't exist. Lead on Mr. Bush, we'll find those pesky WMDs somewhere. Updated On: 2/15/04 at 02:31 PM

[TheGirlinTheFrock]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 3:05pm

I've never - and will never- understand why people make such a big deal about this (the homophobes i mean). If you don't believe in or agree with homosexuality that is FINE - BUT let people live thier lives out happily and dont interfere w/ them. And all this drama w/ the ppl against gay marriages is getting me mad. NO IS MAKING U GET MARRIED TO ANYBODY whether it be a person of the same or oposite sex!! UGH!! Don't you just hate ignorate people? cuz i sure do! I for one, hope people come to their senses and finally legalize it.

PS -- People in HS are idiots, ignore what they say.. i kno its alot easier said then done. However, i would not tolerate it being published in a school newspaper and the teachers allowing such a biased article.

Just a little story on someone speaking out in our school (totally unrelated to this topic tho -- but i think it proves my point):: a friend of mine has done her make up the same way everday for the past four years (im a senior now) and when we took our graduation pictures the VP told her that her makeup and jewelry was unacceptable and wud have to retake hers if she wanted it in the yearbook. She wears alot of necklaces and bracelets and has thick black eye liner and eye shadow. (just to give u an idea of what they considered "unacceptable"). When her best friend heard about this she started a petition and practically the entire school signed it for her picture to be allowed in the YR book. Another friend of mine also wrote an article about it in our newspaper. It turns out that it worked and her picture is now in the YR book and i cudnt be happier!!! Just to show u that standing up for what you believe in can have results and happy endings.

[~*Triple Star On Broadway*~]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 4:01pm

I don't think that RightSaidRick should be saying anything like this on this specific thread. Thank you for your comments, but like B-wayGirl said, Politicians have allowed enough crap already. So screw "politicians" cuz they don't understand any of this stuff....looks like you dont either RightSaidRick.

Homophobia is the stupidest thing ever. It shouldn't exist but it does. Its people that egg on this sort of thing and don't understand ANYTHING about it that make it worse in this world.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 4:26pm

*linking arms with rickie*

onward christian soldiers marching as to the voting booth...

[LadyGuenevere]

Posted: 2/14/04 at 5:26pm

Triple Star, it does suck that there is such homophobia.

But like racism, it will unfortunately live forever. You can try changing things (in fact- absolutely try!), but even if there is very little homophobia later- it will still be present.

Attitudes like yours may seem like it will help, but won't. I've gotten into fights with homophobic people myself, and let's just say that now they think that I'm a lesbian and they're more scared of gays than ever. I've tried to be a little more understanding (well, more of just not getting angry too quickly) and it's somewhat worked.

What am I trying to say?
Homophobia sucks, but I don't think that it will be eliminated completely.

Racism, believe it or not, is still definitely present.

And most high schoolers don't know anything, anyway.

And as for the politicans knowing nothing, that is such nonsense. I don't like a lot of politicians either, but don't tell me that they 'don't understand any of this stuff.' They've got their own beliefs, and whether it be right to us or not, they know it. That remark just...ugh.

[Right Said Rick]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 7:27am

All I'm saying is that aren't politicians the best arbitors of morality? They have all the life experience to make an informed decision on how we can best live our lives. How can you question what someone like President Bush has to say on the subject? After all, he risked his life to protect the homeland back in '72.

I don't see any of you people risking your lives in the National Guard. Keep in mind that the Guard back then wasn't like the cushy Guard of today. Contemporary Guard service will ensure you plenty of travel to interesting and exotic places like Iraq or Afghanistan where you'll get free accomodations and three square meals a day. All of it on Uncle Sam. Plus you'll clear a few hundred bucks a month, that ain't a bad thing.

Back in President Bush's days of service, the National Guard was nothing less than a seemingly endless series of early morning calesthenics, fire drills and drinking contests performed the last weekend of every month. The mind-numbing monotony was occasionally broken by random, unsanctioned six month absences from duty. I mean, how could you possibly plan a meaningful socal calendar around that schedule?

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 12:31pm

Well, ***onBway, this seems to be a fairly common high school scenario. Unfortunately, there's no way to have it all. If the "popular" kids (and when it comes down to it...are they "really" polular, or have they just laid claim to the title? It seems to me that the so-called "popular" kids are frequently disliked by just about everyone but their own little clique.) Anyway, you have to find your niche with people who matter to you, and don't worry about the rest. The key concept to remember is that words will only hurt you if you let them. My daughter (who is straight and has been going with a guy not from her school for 2 1/2 years) went to the prom last year with a girlfriend whose male date had baled on her at the last minute. She said that at least two dozen people came up to her at school, including many who had never spoken to her before, and said, "I didn't know you were a lesbian." She figured it was none of their business, one way or another, and let people think what they wanted. Is/was there gossip? Sure. But it didn't last that long because she didn't react to it.

Kids (and adults) who torture others for being different (Bwaytheater11's teacher comes to mind) have more problems and issues, as a rule, than the people who they are ridiculing. It's as if they need to know someone else down to assure their precarious social position on top of the heap. You need to evaluated if these are people whose opinions matter to you. If the answer is no, hold your head high, brace for the onslaught that will come (and go), and know that you are the better person. I'm not saying it's easy, But it IS honorable.

Oh, and BTW, Rick...I actually like your post, but think you should cut and paste it over to the National Guard thread so it doesn't get lost.

Updated On: 2/15/04 at 12:31 PM

[innocentchoirboy]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 3:32pm

Rick, i couldn't disagree with you more, but i'm glad that you put so much trust in our government. you are the reason america is still here, for we, the dissenting faggots would have torn it up years ago.

Bush Quotes for the day:
"See, we love--we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. they act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love."

"Families is where our nation finds hope, where wings take dream."

"I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully."

"It's clearly a budget: it's got a lot of numbers on it."

TED KOPPEL: "So he's your lightning rod?"
BUSH: "More than that, he's my sounding rod"

"I want everybody to hear loud and clear that I'm going to be the President of everybody!"

"[waves hello]" to the blind musician, Stevie Wonder.

"I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family."

"I want to thank you for taking time out of your day to come and witness my hanging." (at the dedication of his portrait)

really, Rick, what do you feel about homosexuality and homophobia? yes, you are a dedicated american, and put your trust in the people we elect, but surely you have your own opinions. what are they? the national guard is wonderful and all, but unless we're talking about homosexuality in the national guard, it's pretty much irrelevant to the thread.

I'm taking my boyfriend to prom this year. God only knows how it will turn out. if you have stories about positive homosexual prom date...things...then please pm me. i need all the moral support i can get. and some kevlar

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 4:25pm

rick, thank god for brave souls like yourself who are willing to put themselves out there in supprt of our commander in chief during this difficult time (particularly your reference to the early 70's era national guard binge drinking requirements as most people have no idea how hard it actually is to funnel a six pack of milwaukee's best). i find your faith in our elected officials inspiring and in honor of your display of said faith i plan to begin lobbing unfounded and purely speculative rumors about nearly any politician i decide is not mambo-worthy. thank you for your inspiration. i hope that someday i might capture one iota of your eloqunce here on the boards as well.

your fan,

papalovesmambo

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 4:26pm

Some people are just totally against homosexuality. I don't think there's anything wrong with it. There are, however, people (including teachers) who find it very wrong. One time, I was at my friend's sleepover, when (it was in 6th grade) we were talking about who we "liked" and I didn't want to tell my friends that I had a crush on the same boy since first grade. So when I didn't tell them, my one friend said I was a lesbian because I was "embarrassed, so I just made something up". Uhh!

And teachers are so horrible too. In 6th grade, we were talking about homophones and homonyms and stuff like that, when my teacher was like "what does the prefix homo- mean?" And so somebody said what it meant and my teacher got into this big discussion about how homosexuality is wrong and that "normal" people like the people of the opposite sex. I went up to her after class, and I was like "How dare you say that? Homosexuals are people too." She couldn't respond, because she knew I was right.

[innocentchoirboy]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 5:22pm

ew. who wants to be normal? normal is icky and for looser conservative republicans and Catholics (i can say that. i am one. catholic that is). i've learned that you can never be truly happy in life if you're always worrying about the homophobes. if they beat you up, they beat you up. press charges and get on with your life. just like the whole 9/11 mall attack thing, you can't let fear of one thing that could happen at anytime ruin your life. sometimes you have to accept risks. and sometimes, it's just fun to piss off Rick And PLMambo and make fun of G.W. some more!!

"Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?"

"I'm going to work with every Cabinet member and set goals for each Cabinet."

"I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial profiling, which is illiterate children."

[LadyGuenevere]

Posted: 2/15/04 at 5:29pm

"looser conservative republicans and Catholics "

Thanks alot for just dissing a conservative republican and Catholic whose only Democratic belief is gay marriage. Like we're all the same.

I'll be happy to show you some liberals who are AGAINST it.

Watch the statements.