Students Tell Of Tension On Gay Tolerance Day

[ruggerson]

So,I have an idea.

How about we organize non fundamentalist kids to come into school with t-shirts saying "Fundamentalists Are Mentally Ill" and "Crimes Against Reason" and "Talibornagains Suck" and see if the religious rightwingers like to have their kids subjected to it. Turnabout is fair play, no? Why lie back and take this shit from these monsters?
Give them a taste of their own medicine.

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsindex/20-ds3.htm


<snip>

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

By Kati Phillips
Staff writer


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A student-led effort to oppose homophobia at Homewood-Flossmoor High School may have backfired Tuesday when hundreds of students donned shirts with Christian and anti-gay slogans.
Student activists who wore shirts emblazoned with the words "gay? fine by me" said they were outnumbered by peers wearing hateful messages and were targeted for harassment.

The T-shirt drive was intended to create a safe place for gay students and to put a human face on gays, lesbians and their allies.

But student journalists covering the event described the atmosphere as "tense."

"It was crazy. There were all these students with gay shirts and God shirts," said student newspaper reporter Joe Maloney. "In my first-period class, debate class, there were way more God shirts."

Chelsea Lavin, a broadcast student, was more pragmatic."People that you normally would say 'Hi' to in the halls were wearing shirts opposite of you, so you looked in the opposite direction," she said.

Alissa Norby, one of the T-shirt day's organizers, said she didn't know whether to define the project as a success or failure.

"If I was still in the closet and came to school (Tuesday) and saw hundreds of kids wearing anti-gay shirts, I'd probably go home crying and begging my parents to let me transfer," she said

<snip>

[Occulus]

1. oh, man

"If I was still in the closet and came to school (Tuesday) and saw hundreds of kids wearing anti-gay shirts, I'd probably go home crying and begging my parents to let me transfer," she said

Not if you know your own parents will give you a boot to the curb if you tell them.

What that happened to me, I didn't have anywhere safe to go to, and ended up going to the home of someone I worked with whom I barely knew. The next day I moved in with someone I barely knew.

Talk about a shunning experience.

[atommom]

2. How sick, and how sad. I'm sure they'd be howling for someone's head

on a platter if the tables were turned. There are some good designs at evolvefish.com, for the brave...

[Solly Mack]

3. Their parents must be so proud of their little haters

This quote really got to me. I wish the best of luck to this young lady! May she continue to organize against hate and never allow the jerks to stop her.


But for now, she thinks the school will return to normal.

"(Though) it depends on what you define as normal," Norby said.

"If you mean go back to hateful people and judgmental people, with an undercurrent of racism, sexism and homophobia, yes, we'll go back to normal."

[bushisanidiot]

4. If it were me, I'd be glad to know who my enemies are so I could mock them

for their stupidity. otherwise, they just blend in with the rest of the normal population.

freeptards stupid enough to show their hate in public get what they deserve.

[Teaser]

5. You know, I used to be a pacifist...

but the last few years have really changed my thinking.

[frictionlessO]

6. Do not Give UP your pacifism!

I'm with you on how hard it is getting and there may be a day when we our finally forced by these Culture of Death freepers to give it up. That day is not here yet for you or me.

They want nothing more than you to get physical. As a pacifist you should know that by reacting in such a manner you are giving/enabling them with the attention they are addicted to. Don't do it, you are on a path of compassion and empathy and most people have serious struggles getting anywhere near it.

What I was told recently about similar feelings was something along the lines of "be glad that you still have the ability to reason in such a way in these days". Its true, its a gift to be able to put aside your most violent feelings and rise above.

Much peace to you and if you ever need support, PM me because I need it often as well.
:hug:

[Smarmie Doofus]

7. What state is it?

[ruggerson]

9. I think Illinois n/t

[dragon695]

8. My blood is boiling

Looks like Hitler is alive and well in spirit, this day being his birthday and all. This makes me so mad I want to scream. I can't even begin to tell you how pleasing it would be to permenantly scar those self-loathing pretty boy Christian faces. Boy, I just want to beat those christofascists to a pulp. I'll tell you, after all this recent christofascist bullshit, I've totally abandoned my pacificist ways. Being gay in a southern highschool in the late 90's was a fate worse than hell (about the time that the religious right really started to pump up the anti-gay rhetoric). Having to relive it in the recent years is just over the top. Like Mike Malloy, I just reached a point where I've had it and I'm not going to take it anymore.


So, here are some anti-christian slogans I might choose:

"The Romans had it right... bring back the lion's pit."

"Jesus is a homosexual."

"Shut your f**king pie hole and rapture on out of here."

"Jerry Falwell screwed his mother in the outhouse." (*)

"Hey Catholic Boy: Have you been molested lately?"

"Hey Christian Boy: I popped your little brother's cherry."

"Opus Dei? No, you mean Opus Gay."

"I took a dump on your ten commandments."

"F**k you and your little bible, too."

"Q: When's the buisiest time of the year for an Atlanta male hustler?"
"A: The Southern Baptist Convention"

I apologize in advance if this offends people, but imagine expereincing it everyday and you'll understand a partially what an openly gay student has to put up with in our failing public school systems. When I went through school, I was beaten on a regular basis, endured a few cracked ribs and broken noses, constantly picked on, marginalized by an ignorant and intolerant school administration, and if that is hellish enough, I was even raped by a gang of fellow students. Abu Gharib has nothing on what I went through! Of course, being in the south, things were covered up so as not to "cause" a scandal. You know the lines, "boys will be boys" and "no-one will believe you" and "you deserved it" and "aren't you into that kinda thing". So forgive me if I'm sounding harsh, but I about sent my monitor into the wall when I read this article.

* Where's Larry Flynt when you need him?

[newyawker99]

10. Hi dragon695!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast: