If there’s one complaint I have about Brown, it is that it really has made me unaware of the real world’s views of homosexuality. Here, men kiss men. Girls kiss girls. They do it in the dining hall, give a small kiss in class, whatever. It’s no big deal. The teachers, cops, everyone not only accepts gay people, but they make them feel like they’re at home.
My hometown in NY isn’t as accepting as Brown is (for people who live where we live, you know what I mean) but it isn’t a shocking thing. I have friends who are gay, I know gay older people, and I’m sure, in suburban America as a whole, there is tons of closeted men (especially the ones who basically got forced into marriage due to societal pressures). So, as you can imagine, my life has basically gone by one principal: accept everyone, as everyone will accept you.
So I was shocked when I answered a simple question by this gay man who was in a dilemma. He was having sex with many men and was worried if he was going to get AIDS. I told him that if he feels like he needs to have sex with so many men, I would get some professional help in the form of a psychologist. But for now, be sure to use protection to reduce the risk of getting that awful disease. I considered my answer to be honest and respectful- I’m no professional, and this man may have just been asking this to “show off” his ability to attract men, but nevertheless he has every right to live the lifestyle he wants. I mean, who has the right to judge someone in the end?
The other answers were disgusting. I considered mine to be by far the nicest, and I’d say the second nicest (as sad as this will be) called him a slut and a whore and said he is sure to get AIDS. I call this the second nicest only because, of the 12 answers, this girl (as well as myself) were the only ones not to gay bash him or say he was sinning. Some of the other answers included were “get a bible”, “stare at girl porn to become straight”, and the most disgusting one was “just kill yourself. You’re a sinner anyway”. I have many friends, both straight and gay, who are religious and lead very sinless lives who embrace other people’s viewpoints and lifestyles. My straight friends at home are perfect examples. They might not be gay, but I’d be sadly shocked if I were to ever see any of them gay bash others.
I’m writing this blog post for two reasons. The first is because, when I started this blog, I wanted it to be used to just say my viewpoints and not hold in any strong emotions (like my disgust). The second, and more important, is that I want to remind my gay friends at Brown to be careful in the real world. Unfortunately, a lot of the world (and I feel like especially America) isn’t accepting of gay people and can be very cruel. While you should be proud of who you are, just make sure to watch your back. Brown has made all of us kind of oblivious to a lot of the prejudices in society as it is (to the most part) very accepting of various sexual orientations and practices, but not everyone is like that. Much love guys and I hope you can learn from these disgusting people.
PS. I reported the question to report the question’s answers. They originally told me they will not bring the answers down because of “people’s personal viewpoints”. I wrote back saying “a personal viewpoint is, for example, that McCain would have been a better president than Obama because I’m conservative. Not something like McCain would have been a better president than Obama because he’s white. There’s a huge difference and I urge Yahoo, as such a large company, to recognize the difference between opinion and sheer discrimination and cruelty. Lives have been lost over statements like this, and it is our human responsibility to stop this evil practice of letting people get away with disgusting comments, which are never right to say whether its in person, on paper, or on the internet.” The answers weren’t there two hours after I sent that e-mail :) I just hope they sent an e-mail to those people or blocked them or something.
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