I don't think that I've acted (and I certainly hope that I haven't) in a way that would make someone question that position. What makes today seem all the more important is the recent spate of gay teens who have committed suicide, including Tyler Clementi, a freshman at Rutgers University who was outed and harassed by his roommate. Each and every suicide is a tragedy, however, Tyler's case struck me because it happened on a college campus. I can't imagine the impact an event like this would have on me as a professor if this happened to one of my students.
Why does this kind of harassment happen? We fear that which we don't understand and we get an inflated sense of superiority when we feel we can dominate over another group. We find a group that is defenseless against weaponry and we dehumanize and enslave them; later, when they fight for equal rights, we beat them down. We don't understand those with mental disorders so we institutionalize them, putting them out of sight. Someone lacks certain abilities and we marginalize them. A person's love interest seems "unnatural" to us and we bully them.
The cruel mistreatment of people based on their complexion, mental state, or physical or mental abilities now seems foreign and totally inappropriate to most (hopefully all) of us. However, many still stand blithely by while those who are gay or lesbian are mistreated, marginalized, and even bullied.
No more. Many are speaking out. For example, more and more are "coming out" as allies. And because of the recent tragedies several celebrities have spoken out. I found Ellen's message particularly poignant.
So, is one blog post by one guy who calls himself an ally going to change the world? No, perhaps not. Do I need to do more to stand up for equal rights? Certainly. At the very least I wanted to use today as an opportunity to state where I stand.
As I thought about all this, I couldn't help but think of words from a certain song. Let's all sing along...
