Gay High
Anyone that knows me well knows that I am all about gay rights. Marriage, adoption, partner beneifts, etc., etc., etc. But the gay high school thing is bothering me. Never in a million years did I ever think it would.
Yes, gay students are tormented, ostracized, harassed, made to feel less than equal. BUT... so are fat kids, kids with glasses, nerds, short kids, skinny kids, tall kids, kids with braces, poor kids... so do we start making separate schools for everyone? Or do we instead take that money and start promoting tolerance beginning from the day these children set foot in the public school system? Do we spend money sending these kids away, or do we set consequences for intolerance? "Oh, you don't like that Bobby likes other boys, and you've gotten in trouble for beating him up? That's okay honey, we'll just give him his own school so you won't have to deal with your prejudices and learn how to treat other people?" Does anyone realize how ridiculous that sounds? How about "You beat Bobby up because he's different than you? Guess what - you're suspended and will be brought up on harassment and assault charges."
Everything I've read about the horrors that a gay student has gone through at the hands of other students... guess what? As the fat, four-eyed nerd, I went through it too - every last bit of it (well, I was never called a fag - being fat comes with its own set of slurs), and the idea of a "Fat High" is utterly ridiculous to me. So why should "Gay High" be any different? Makes sense, right? But I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that this bothers me.
Posted by beenie at July 30, 2003 12:27 PM