Do you happen to remember what TV station? If it was, say, 700 Club, that might give some of us insight as to the possible bias present. OTOH, if it was something a bit more gay friendly, such as CNN, that would be something else.
Do you happen to have any of those letters still, and would it be possible to see the relevant parts of those letters which discuss this matter?
In an analogous (I think) vein, one could write a Letter to The Editor about how the local church is siphoning funds away from the poor by purchasing a pipe organ. In reality, what could be the case is that the fiscal budget was tailored to allow funds to buy said pipe organ (which is 50 years old), and a measly sum was being appropriated from that “poor” fund to the organ fund, while a sum of the celebrant’s (generic word for priest/pastor/whatever) salary had been given to the “poor” fund. Truth technically, but incredibly (and, one might even say, deliberately) misleading. Similarly, a church could say that they were increasing the amount of money they were giving to the poor 3%, a large and generous sum. It could be revealed, however, that every other portion of the budget had been increased 15%, or something like that. Misleading in that it purports to show how wonderfully generous the church is but fails (purposefully, IMO) to note that other areas of the church are receiving much larger increases in funding.
agentfront comes in again with the age-old questions (you sure you’re my age?;)):
“Why does a religion that claims to be good and right hurt people like this?”
It isn’t the religion but the people who believe they espouse the beliefs of that religion. CF any number of Poly’s posts on people who claim to do things in the name of God, but who in fact do not (including one on this very page). CF also Falwell, Graham, Robertson et al, as well as anyone who believes they have a stranglehold on The Truth of The Wor(l)d. Religion, IMO, does the most damage when it goes unchecked and unmonitored … rather like government. Considering the hierarchy inherent in the church and the form many governments take, this should not be surprising to many of you…
The religion, after all, is about love. Love does not involve condemnation.
Having read this thread with rather great interest, I’ve been searching out other materials on this topic. (As an example of some things I’m reading so far, has anyone read When the Drama Club Is Not Enough by Jeff Perotti and Kim Westheimer? What do you think?) So far I see many leaning towards the idea of having Gay-Straight Alliances or similar extracurricular groups in schools and promoting dialogue in large doses. I like these ideas because while they show a clear commitment to making schools safe for gay teens, they don’t force anyone to change their religious beliefs about homosexuality either. Nobody has to attend a Gay-Straight Alliance meeting if they’re morally opposed to homosexual acts, but it does show homosexual teens that there is somewhere that they can turn to if they need assistance. In dialogue, you don’t have change a person’s mind about their religious beliefs, but regardless of religious belief, you can show them that it’s wrong to make hurtful comments about people due to their sexual orientation.
Also, I have an anecdotal aside: In my high school, we once did discuss the sexual orientation of a writer while studying them in English class. Specifically, the instructor quickly mentioned that the author may have been gay, and attempted to quickly dismiss it by saying “but that’s okay” or something like that. A student immediately spoke out about how it was not okay to be gay and derailed the class discussion for a time until the instructor said something to the effect of how they weren’t making a value judgment on if it was or was not okay (and a few students piped up in agreement that the instructor wasn’t making a value judgment), and finally the class discussion moved on. (I’m sorry that I’m not clearer on the specifics, but this was 7 or 8 years ago.) From this I wonder that while it might be nice to be able to discuss sexual orientation as it relates to literature, how many times it would turn into a discussion on homosexuality and derail other discussions?
Okay, once again with the trying desperately to get this thread back on track.
I’m a gay man, in a good stable long-term relationship, and I feel this issue needs to be addressed. I have time that I can dedicate to this cause. I have computer skills out the USB port, I have a certain flair for language, I’m presentable and personable. I feel this is the most important issue that the gay community needs to address, and I’m interested in doing something to help these kids.
What can I do? Where do I start? Today, tomorrow, next week, I want to start helping these kids. How do I go about it in a way that’s effective, legally astute, and that doesn’t leave me open to accusations of pedophilia?
We know they need the help, we know what kind of help they need, we are willing to give them that help… now how do we get it to them?
You know, there are quite a few things that can be done outside the school system.
I get the impression, from what I hear, that most gay youth support groups in the US are started by students and run through schools. Most of the groups I’ve attended up here have been run through social services, or through sympathetic private organizations. Most of the people involved are teachers and social workers, but other people can get involved, too.
I know people, too, who’ve set up peer support message boards. As for accusations of recruiting of paedophilia, you’re going to get those accusations from the religious right, regardless. I mean, it’s a scary risk, but I think that these days, making false accusations against us is hurting the religious right more than it does us, and the only people likely to take them seriously are people who already believe we’re paedophiles.
We could also do something about media censorship. Straight relationships (sans sexual componant) are considered acceptable material for children, but gay relationships aren’t. Canada Customs tried to ban a book called Belinda’s Bouquet, in which one character had two mothers. There hasn’t been a gay cartoon character in the US since Bugs Bunny (in drag) tried to seduce Elmer Fudd, and the legions of gay Japanese cartoon characters are all censored by American translation houses. Gay people are still considered a “delicate subject” to be talked about on TV only in time slots when kids aren’t likely to be watching (Sesame Street notwithstanding).
Just some suggestions for places where the school board is less than responsive.
When I was in high school (my good, non-harassment high school, not the first, horrible one) we were always having speakers come in to talk to us about different things – including representatives of local gay rights groups and a gay, HIV-positive AIDS-awareness activist. I don’t know how other school organize things like that, but I know mine was not opposed to having interested community members volunteer to come in and speak about different issues. They didn’t let just anyone off the street come in and yak at the kids, but they didn’t mind people offering.
So that’s one option, although it’s not right for everyone (talking to a bunch of teenagers about homosexuality is not for the faint of heart!) and I’m sure there are plenty of schools that wouldn’t have the nerve to allow it. But even in communities where the schools won’t help, there are often more open-minded youth programs operating that could use volunteers, discussion group coordinators, and guest speakers. Working through some sort of established, reputable organization where there’s supervision by other adults would do a lot to protect against potential accusations of pedophilia.
I get so annoyed when I see homosexual and transgendered characters being edited out of tv shows brought here from Japan.
Here are some examples.
Sailor Moon: Kunzite (malachite in america) and Zoicite are two male villians in love. In the American version, Zoicite suddenly becomes female. Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune are two female sailor scouts in love with each other, raise a child together and sacrifice themselves to save each other. The scene in which they die for each other is very touching and moving. In the American version they are cousins. Fisheye, a male villian, dresses as a woman and seduces other males. In the American version, they make him female, yet keep in scenes where he is running around topless. (I’m sure that confused a few children). Countless other examples abound.
Card Captors: Not only did they change this from a show centered around a young girl into a young boy, but they also cut out anything homosexual. The original main character, Sakura and a boy both have crushes on an older boy named Yukito. Yukito has a relationship, however, with Sakura’s older brother. (Can’t remember his name.) There is also Ruby Moon who cross-dresses and kisses other males. All of this was cut out of the American version.
I could go on and on.
An interesting note is that while they cut out the homosexuality from the TV show, they left it in the comics. I brought home the graphic novels (comic version) of Card Captors for my little siblings.
It was seeing gay characters act together in a loving manner that changed my own mind about homosexuality.
Heh, I know what you mean. I did it; we went to a “special” school - not as in “special needs,” but as in “kicked out of their regular school system for thuggery and generalized fucked-upness”. That was an… experience. But a rewarding one, truly. I don’t know how many minds we changed but we may have chipped away a bit.
Yup. One giant robot eating another giant robot’s biocybernetic guts, or a boy crushing another boy in a giant robotic hand (in Evangelion) is perfectly fine, but a boy saying “I love you” to another boy is traumatic and obscene.
And, of course, you’ll get accused of “promoting the homosexual agenda.” And (though it’s easy for me to say), in your shoes I’d say, “Of course I am! The ‘agenda’ is that we deserve to not be harassed and beaten up, to be able to get a job and not be fired from a job for our love life off work, to be able to rent an apartment without being discriminated against, to be able to visit the person we committed for life to in the hospital and know that when we die the court will uphold our will leaving all we have to him/her, even the right to have our marriage recognized by the law – all things you don’t give a second thought to. If you got fired for dating a woman, were told you couldn’t visit your wife when she has your baby because you’re not her blood relation, and your uncle who hates you could tie up your will leaving everything to her in court because he wants your life savings, you’d be mad too!”
When i started this thread, Nickelodeon special on gay parents: Would you let your kids watch? , I never imagined that anyone could have a problem with such a simple message as “Don’t be mean to kids that have gay parents” But there were many that did, many that protested because it was “just another example of gays pushing their agenda on everyone”. Nobody watched the show first to come to this conclusion. They had their minds made up long before that.
In essence, the people protesting were saying “It is ok to be mean to kids with gay parents” The idea that anyone could have been against this show still baffles me.
One thing I’d like to suggest is go to your local school board’s meeting. I’ve noticed that school boards tend to listen to the people who make the most noise. They have preconceptions and have heard misinformation, just like we all have. This is a chance for all of us to change those preconceptions and clear up that misinformation. Even if you don’t say anything in public, you can still talk to school board members one-on-one. For that matter, why not run for school board?
If not the school board, there are other ways to get active within the community. I’ve already given one talk to my church about bullying in general; for those of us who are active within our various religions, this is a prime opportunity. Also, try talking to leaders of youth organizations such as the Girl Scouts and even the Boy Scouts. Not all Boy Scout leaders agree with the national organization’s position on homosexuality (not that that’s stopped me from boycotting them); this is a chance to educate people about the reality of being homosexual, not the propoganda put out by people who oppose homosexuality.
Maybe this is off topic but I think your reply isn’t really on the mark. I’ve seen to many people in school who weren’t picked on even though they were poor, in the minority, or even disabled in some way. So why are some people singled out over others? Because they are perceived as being weak and unable to defend themselves. Sure, the bullies might use wealth as a weapon but that isn’t the underlying reason the person is being picked on. Not that it makes the person being picked on feel any better.
