A teenage boy name Jonah Mowry posted the above YouTube video, in which he uses note cards to share the heartbreaking story of what a lifetime of being bullied has done to him. Jonah Mowry has endured unbearable amounts of pain and suffering at the hands of bullies, yet he is still alive today because he has been brave enough and strong enough to remember that life is always worth living. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about thousands of other bullied teens for whom suicide was the answer.
The issue revolving around gay teens being bullied has become a real ‘stumbling block’ for today’s society. People are SO blatantly unaware of how their words and actions can affect other people. A student a Rutgers University jumped off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate allegedly posted a video on the Internet of him having sex with another man. Today’s culture, although slightly better than the past, has still allowed for homosexual teens, as well as adults, to be singled out in society. As a result, suicide, pain and suffering exist. Being Gay is NOT a choice—most people do not understand this.
If you look up “homophobia” in the dictionary, it will probably tell you it is the fear of homosexuals. While many would take issue with that definition, it is nevertheless true that in many ways, it really is the fear of homosexuality or at least homosexuals. Homophobia is widespread in America, far more widespread than most heterosexuals realize. Homophobia is having drastic effects on today’s cultural society. In 1994, a U.S. Senate candidate was seen with supports holding signs that read, “Homophobia Doesn’t Kill.” By publically announcing this belief, they were also announcing their ignorance to the world because homophobia DOES kill.
Homosexuality is seen as unnatural when, in fact, homosexual behavior has been noted in every primate species, which happens to be mans closest living ‘relative.’ It seems clear that one reason gay marriage is opposed is because it threatens the heterosexual institution of marriage. Yeah. Just how that would happen can’t be explained. This reason is an emotional reaction rather than a logical argument. We see this to often in society, where people make decisions with their heart rather than their head. This is obvious through the two examples above. The outright fear of homosexuality ‘skews’ how our culture deals with sex and sexuality. This, although wrong, is a fact about today’s society.
I have surprisingly been lucky enough to never really be the victim of bullying, and I am also not part of the homosexual group. I like reading things that I do not have personal experience with because I like to do my best to expand my knowledge and try to understand others' perspectives. I do not believe that I am at all homophobic and I also have a few gay friends (as you saw since you commented on my blog post too) and do not have a problem with their sexual orientation. I think it is an unfair standard to judge people by.
ReplyDeleteI just watched this video and I am appalled by people's intolerance to accept something/someone that may be a little different that how they are. This is one reason that clearly displays why it is so important to at least try and understand both sides of an issue before you commit to an opinion. Even once you have ideas you stand strong behind, I think it's completely unnecessary to push your beliefs on someone else or judge a person with opposing views. We need to make people more aware of how seriously and personally people receive negative comments and that we really are not all that different at all. Nice work with this example.
ReplyDeleteYou mention that homosexuality "...threatens the heterosexual institution of marriage.", but from a scientific aspect it also threatens human existence as well. In order to reproduce, humans must mate between a male and female. That is of course with out science. I'm not up on my knowledge of creating offspring with out that so it may or may not be possible at this time, altho I'm sure it will be in the future.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, this video made me cry. An understanding on all fronts of sexuality is absolutely needed in our society. But I also think what Jonah's video is calling for is an action against bullying, in all forms. You mentioned that people often don't know how much their words can affect somebody, they just throw them out and not even consider the consequences. It's easy to say that we are against bullying but it's time to prove it and take action.
ReplyDelete