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Student Advocates Acceptance |
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Written by Shane T
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Tuesday, 17 July 2007 08:49 |
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We live in a world where we grow up being taught that it is only acceptable for a boy and a girl to be together. So how do you think you would feel if as you grew older and more mature you started noticing people of the same sex as you, rather than the opposite? I can only imagine how hard it would be to come out as homosexual in today's society. I think it is so wrong to look down on those people, or to make fun of them, just because they have a different sexuality than you. There is nothing wrong with them or their brain; they're just different than you. I've heard some people say that they think there is a cure to being homosexual. I can't believe anyone would think that. It's not a disease, or something that you catch from someone else; it's something that they don't have control over. In saying that, I also believe that homosexuality is not a choice. Almost everyone that I talk to says that a person chooses to be gay or straight. That, again, is something that I believe to be very wrong. If people made the choice to be homosexual, there wouldn't be anyone who committed suicide because they were too afraid of what people would think of them, and kids wouldn't be afraid of being disowned if they came out to their parents.There is also the religious aspect to the argument, where people say that if someone is homosexual, they are automatically sent to hell. To me, that seems extremely unfair. So what are homosexual Christians supposed to do? The answer that I constantly get to that question is, "Just don't acknowledge that they're homosexual and live a 'normal' life." Excuse me? So they're just supposed to never find a partner, or marry someone of the opposite sex, have kids, and pretend they're "normal?" I don't think that's right, or fair. I wouldn't want to believe in something that would condemn me over something that I didn't even choose. It is fact that as many as 7.2 million Americans under the age of 20 are homosexual, and of those that have already come out, 28% of them felt compelled to drop out of school due to the constant verbal assault that they experienced after people found out. Now, if you think that is terrible, this is even worse: According to pflagupstatesc.org, every day 13 Americans from the ages of 15-24 commit suicide, and homosexual youths make up 30% of the completed suicides. I don't understand why we would put so much pressure on those people, that they would feel that they have to end their lives because of their sexuality. Would it be so hard to just accept them as human beings who have feelings just like everyone else? Being homosexual doesn't make a person inhuman, it makes them just a little bit different than the rest of the world. And for living in a society that tells you to always be yourself, it's a hard price to pay.
The preceding is an article written by Ms. Megan Chase of Woodlan Jr./ Sr. High School that was published in the January 19th issue of The Tomahawk a student newspaper. It is reprinted here with the permission of Ms. Chase. Mrs. Amy Sorrell was placed on unpaid suspension for “not protecting the students from something that was potentially harmful” after allowing this article to be printed. Mrs. Sorrell was then banned from teaching journalism and transferred to another school. |
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The Rainbow Reader |
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Written by Shane T
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Wednesday, 04 October 2006 20:11 |
- About Rainbow Reader:
- The Rainbow Reader published its first issue in June 1997. A staff of volunteers produces this GLBT (gay male, lesbian, bisexual and transgender) newspaper for the Fort Wayne, Indiana area.
- Subscription fee is $20/year (12 issues) or $40/2 years (24 issues) to have the Rainbow Reader mailed to your home.Checks can be mailed to the Rainbow Reader at the Up The Stairs Community Center's address: 514 East Washington Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46802.
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- Materials of interest to the GLBT community -- letters, articles, artwork --
- are welcomed. Written work should be submitted on diskette (ASCII, MS Word, Microsoft Publisher), as an e-mail attachment, or typed single-spaced. It should include the author's name and phone number (name not published without permission). Material must conform to our mission statement:
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| | "The Rainbow Reader is a monthly newspaper for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community and their allies, offering a positive educational resource of information to help improve the quality of our lives in Fort Wayne and the surrounding area." | |
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Contact: Mail address: 514 East Washington Blvd., Fort Wayne, IN 46802
- Donations: As a UTSCC-sponsored group, the Rainbow Reader newspaper shares the center's 501(c)(3) status and donations are tax deductible. Make checks out to "UTSCC" and earmark them for the Rainbow Reader.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 14 June 2008 17:29 |
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