Homosexuals Are People Too
Huan Vo
Everyone has heard, “Just be yourself,” at least once in their life, as it advises them to let their true self glow and outshine the fragile shell. But for one reason or another, when gay people decide to come out, to be their true self, they face harassment, hatred, and disgust.
“I went to school alone and went home alone most of the time in high school,” Johnathan Fisher, computer science major, said. “Occasionally, someone would stop me and throw slurs at me, but I just ignored and walked faster.”
“It’s weird to be gay in high school. It’s like you’re on this side of the spectrum and the guys in the football team are on the other side,” Jeff Westman, communication major, said. “They get kisses and flowers, and I got a knife to my neck once. It’s weird growing up as a gay person.”
They eat, they sleep, they go to school, they go to work. The lives of gay people are not so different than that of straight people.
“We’re still the people who have an everyday life. We’re not alien or anything. We just try to be honest with ourselves,” Phillips Wade, biological major, said. “I came out three years ago, and the acceptance from my loved ones made it easier for me.”
Gay people, especially teenagers, face daily bullying, leading them to decisions that end their life in hopes of breaking loose from the fear of harassment. Justin Aaberg. Billy Lucas. Cody Barker. Asher Brown. Seth Walsh. Raymond Chase. Tyler Clementi. Jamey Rodemeyer. They will be missed.
“What happened to those teenagers was tragic,” Marie James, nursing major, said. “Fortunately, it gets better as you get older. Fewer people give me the weird look, and more people accept me for who I am.”
Building a barrier to shield themselves from the unknown, or from the ones that are different, is human’s nature. It’s tough for some individuals to accept the unshakeable truth that someone is gay, but it’s not impossible.
“When I learned that my brother is gay, it was very tough for me and my parents,” Lisa McCarthy, sociology major, said. “It felt like we drifted apart from each other, but eventually I came to realize that I’m his sister, and I love him.”
Gay or not, everyone does dream, hope, and fear. There is no side, no clique, no monster, no weirdo.
“We’re all the same,” James said. “We all try to be ourselves.”
