Journalism / Ending misconceptions of, prejudices towards, and fear of homosexuality...
Close your eyes and imagine with me. I am your best friend and have been so for as long as either of us can remember. We have grown and are still in the process of growing up together in a small town or rather a large town; it is up to you to edit the story so that it fits you. Now imagine me starting to draw into myself, afraid of the world, only confident and happy around you. Eventually I build up the courage to tell you that, well…I’m gay. What do you do now? Are you afraid to be near me or to breathe the same air as me? Am I not, in truth, the same person that you befriended all those years ago? Perhaps you are the kind of friend who understands, and does the best they can to make me feel better about myself? You help me through the persecution and hatred that is displayed towards me. I just hope that each and every one of you is willing to be the second type of friend. The first is no friend at all.
Now open your eyes. Welcome back to the real world; the world where it isn’t okay to be different. Well, I’m going to step up right now and fight for the people who are different. What is my justification for speaking out for the gays in our society? People are needlessly suffering just because of the way that they choose to live their lives. The fear of, misconceptions about, and prejudices against homosexuals must stop!
Three reasons that support . One being that not allowing gays to marry would prove to be unconstitutional; Two, no one has the right to tell you who you can spend your life with; and Three, regardless of societal and religious morals, marriage should be left to the person to decide.
In the United States Constitution, contained in the Equal Rights Amendment, Section 1, it states this
“Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.”
This means that our government cannot instigate any statutes against us solely based on gender. The same should apply to not only heterosexuals, but to homo, bi, and transsexuals. Also, found in the Ninth Amendment is the following:
“The enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.”
This outlines the fact that the government cannot make decisions for us. Gays must be granted the privilege of marriage. It is commonly misconceived that homosexuality is all about sex. Such detractors are incontrovertibly incorrect. Anyone can have a civil union, but some of us value tradition and legal binding.
My second point is that no one can tell you how to live your life. The Fourteenth Amendment declares:
“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the Privileges or Immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the Equal Protection of the Laws.”
Paragraph II of the Declaration of Independence states:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness…” The Pursuit of Happiness. We are “endowed by God” to pursue our happiness. If marrying someone of the same gender will make a person happy, neither government, nor anyone else, can stand in the way.
A major fallacy today is that, “There aren’t very many gay people, so it must be wrong.” Well firstly, there are not as few as people may think; and those who are gay deserve the same rights and privileges.
Recent national surveys of about 10,000 subjects conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control report at least 3% of men saying they have had sex with another man.
According to leaderu.com nearly 10% of the population is openly attracted to the same sex. The keyword here is “openly”. The number of the “secretly” homosexual populace is, well, obviously, unknown. However, according to connexion.org at least 1/3 of all High School Football players have had same-sex relations. Take Corey Johnson, co-captain of a high school football team in Massachusetts. In the book “Survivors” author Denise Willi writes “Corey’s troubles began in the sixth grade. That’s when he realized he was different from his male friends. They were attracted to girls. He wasn’t.” Corey was tired of slurs against gays; so he decided to fight back by telling his truth. He began with his immediate family but found the courage to tell his football teammates and coach. And astonishingly, they accepted him for who he is and he became the first openly gay high school football co-captain in the United States. Homosexuals are definitely out there and people need to realize it. These misconceptions can and are causing damaging consequences to many individuals and therefore must be corrected.
The third point. The vast majority of religions frown upon homosexual behavior. It is commonly said that gays, lesbians, and bisexuals will go to hell. I know this because I used to belong to a denomination and was disassociated due to some of my beliefs. This branch of Christianity is so strict anyways that when you add homosexuality to the plate, you lose! I held several authoritive positions in the church but nevertheless was pulled aside and berated due to my open-mindedness. I told the leaders that I believe that homosexuals can live happy lives and have happy after-lives with their families and friends in heaven. I was then told that this is not possible and that “these people” would never be with their family in eternity.
Many religious activists often say
“God created Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve.”
In reply to this I would have to say that I believe God created Adam, Eve, and Steve so that Adam could choose between Eve and Steve. And of course, we cannot forget Eve who could choose between Adam and…Adrienne. It is my personal conviction that God loves each and every one of us regardless of if we are gay, bi, straight, or just plain weird. Society and even God has no right to tell us how to live our lives. We have brains and the general ability to use them in whatever manner we choose.
Suicide rates are ascending drastically, especially in youth. The reason that gay youth choose to end their lives and self-mutilate themselves is that they are afraid to come out. They believe that the people around them will discriminate and hate them. They don’t think that they have any support. These are heart-wrenching delusions. In fact, there are tens of thousands of support groups throughout the country. Some of these include, LGBT, GBA, The Rainbow Connection, the Trevar Hotline, the Laramie Project and Glaad.
Matthew Sheppard. We all know his story. He was taken to a desolate, non-residential area, tied to a fence post naked, and berated severely. He didn’t die from the beatings alone; He was left for three days without food, water, or human companionship. He died as a martyr to the homosexual cause. He was physically harried just for being gay.
I have been asked why I am so devout in my convictions. Friends and even family thought that since I supported homosexuals openly, I was straight. Boy were they wrong! It came as little surprise to some, but most of my acquaintances were shocked. Many members of my family have told my grandmother that they love me, but they cannot accept who I am. I had to deal with my own mother telling me that she thought that I was just going through a phase. My aunt told me that she wishes scientists would figure out a way to “fix” me and the people like me. My grandmother acted as if my pain was hers and it made me feel even worse; thinking that in my unhappiness; I am actually hurting others.
I was afraid to tell anyone because I didn’t want to be discriminated against. I didn’t want something similar to what happened to Matthew Sheppard to happen to me. So I began to try and hide my fear and other emotions. It didn’t work too well so I started making my emotional pains; physical. I cut myself just to see the blood. I imagined that as the blood was purged from my body, so were my troubles. Of course they didn’t go away permanently. They came back time and time again. I began growing restless. I even started fantasizing about methods of killing myself. These got more and more graphic until I went to the doctor. Would you believe that I had actually gone because I had a sinus infection? After receiving a prescription my grandmother told him that she had sensed how unhappy I am. Before that time, I had not shown anyone the cuts on my wrists and thigh. I showed them to the doctor and my grandmother and was then sent to a behavioral institute and to tell you the truth, they don’t do people any good. They drug a person up and make them zombies. People all around the world are going through the same things. We fear what will occur in our lives so we find a way to deal with the pain ourselves.
I am openly gay and essentially happier because of it. I cannot help who I am attracted to. I have tried; but I hurt myself even more on the inside. Of course I am still depressed because that is something that will stay with you for your entire life, but I am getting along better in the sense of accepting my own homosexuality and being accepted by others. I will be who I am, not who someone else wants me to be!
Close your eyes one last time and picture this: I am your best friend who is gay. You put your arm around me and I put mine around you…and we walk off as such…Best Friends.
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An interesting and thought-provoking essay on homosexuality from a probing young mind who is sure to grow into an opinionated and well-informed social and culture commentator.
Obviously there were some strands of this need refreshing and polishing but you are learning about the subject. I like this piece, though and I think that you should perhaps not get too deeply embroiled in the subject. It can be dangerous letting curisoity get the better of you with work like this. Still, it was an enjoyable work and impressive for someone of your age (patronising or what?)
Mac Mac
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As a debate piece, where you would be standing before another person who disagreed with you, this sort of informative speech would work. As a literary piece, however, it needs more. With it in mind that this is a “journalism” piece, the criticism that I can offer has to do with two things. One: You need to watch your grammer. Sentences cannot be run on, or fragments, and commas need to be placed in the correct places. Please read your piece over and check for those things. Secondly, I am not compelled by your piece because it appears more like an informative speech set for a live debate as opposed to an informative piece of writing. You need to add more to it, and it might help if this piece is less formal. I admire your ideas and agree with them. While you do inform your readers in your piece, it could help for you to expand upon the reasons for your ideas even further. Nice job with this piece, overall, though.
This was a really great piece and I truly loved how you ended it!
You really (reallllly!) know your constitution and made some very passionate arguments with equally as great back-up for them!
(Were you a poli. sci. major in school by any chance????? (;o)
You also made a very interesting point when you wrote about the majority of religions believing that if your sexual orientation is different then you will also be, “going to hell.”
To all of them I say great!....I’ll go to hell if you’ll be in heaven!
That way I’ll definitely be far farrrr away from you!
Thanks so much for sharing this writing!
If it’s o.k. ....may I also copy it and bring it to class next week for my Social Work Policy course??? Thanks again!
You have an argument for civil unions with full legal rights; however, you have not sufficiently argued about legitimacy of gay marriage. The huge majority of marriages in America are through the Christian religion; the Christian religion does NOT accept the legitimacy of homosexuality; therefore marriage cannot be performed for same-sex couples (note: I am not a Christian; I adhere to no religion-just stating facts).
I do not understand why you would care about marriage as long as you have the full legal rights concerning property and taxes etc? Who gives a flying-f*-at a-rolling-doughnut about marriage? It is generally a pretty screwed up institution anyway; and divorce is so easy what could it possibly mean anymore?
Stick with full legal rights under civil unions, and remind people of all the famous gay and lesbian people who helped civilize this country, and how fundamentalist reactionary politics is a step back in the directions of the dark ages…
Best of Luck
It definitely seems like you did your research and argued your points well. The quotes and outside references give the piece credibility.
I agree with your overall concept of why gay marriage should be legalized. However, to make a stronger point, it would be beneficial to include personal stories because readers would be able to relate to them more. It’s nice that you listed plenty of stats, but it would be a major improvement to hit the reader emotionally.
For example, in high school I read a true story about a gay teen boy who came out, and his father literally kicked him out of the house at that moment. While quickly packing his belongings, he went to grab a picture of his family. Sadly, none were nowhere to be found.
His father was in the backyard burning all the family photographs with him in them.
See how that hits the reader emotionally?
Gay marriage is a sensitive issue to many, many people. So in order to change minds, you should let the people you are trying to persuade understand how negatively it affects gay youth.
Overall, your essay was good. You are headed in the right direction. I hope things work out for you. =)
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