Monday, October 25, 2010
GLBT Supporters
Last week at school, we had a day contributing to the support for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders where many agreed to wear purple to school to draw attention to the issue. This has been a constant conflict that a lot of students see everyday at school. However, I feel many students want to show support for the GLBT cause, but some will not associate with it for fear of being mistaken for a gay, lesbian, or bisexual person. They know how quick to judge others are, so they become nervous to identify with a belief that they actually support. This was the reason my friend at school gave for not wearing purple when she, in fact, does stand for gay rights. Admittedly, I have seen a person wearing a shirt supporting GLBT rights, and quickly assumed they were gay without actually knowing if they are. This should not stop someone from defending gays. If this stops a person from encouraging gay rights and standing up against anti-gay violence, they should think about how a GLBT feels. They need support from not just gays, but from straight people also. For example, the majority of political figures in America is straight, and if these leaders don't sympathize with gays, then they will never gain the right to marriage.
Having said this, I think it is selfish to not stand behind this issue if you are a supporter of GLBT just because you think others will mistakingly judge you for being gay.
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I really enjoyed this post. I agree that people should not be afraid to support GLBT because people would think they were gay. I think the Day Of Silence is another day that reminded me of this purple day. Maybe it was because I was out of town a couple days the other week but I did not hear about the wear purple day. I think that sometimes people just aren't aware. I agree with your post and am glad you brought up this discussion.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's not a positive thing that people don't stand behind their ideas because they are afraid of being judged, but I don't know if "selfish" is the right word for it. It's almost a fear that people have of being labeled as something they're not. And this fear is justified, as shown by your example of you yourself assuming that someone was gay without knowing for sure.
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