Everyone else’s advice is great; ignore them as the idiots they are, fight back, whatever makes you feel better. Looking back with my perspective of being out of high school for 17 years, I can honestly say that high school is really insignificant. All the PITA’s from high school seem to fade away in the light of the reality of working and making lives for yourselves with good people of your choosing. Hope this helps a little.
Well, the original anecdote was regarding a flippant remark about someone living in Kansas, yes, but the phrase has come to mean something different, i.e., Isn’t it enough that they are ignorant, loathesome bigots, and surely leaving them to wallow in their own unexamined lives is punishment enough - after all, what could we possibly do to pour salt on dear cruel Fate’s already-inflicted wounds? (This is not saying that all Kansans are bigots, but the particular person for whom the phrase was coined certainly was.)
Esprix
Fuck it - I like these ideas better! 
Esprix
andygirl: Some people suck. You knew that. …Sorry, don’t have a lot more wisdom to add.
<hugs>
Sometimes we have no choice but to keep seeking reserves of patience and calm inside ourselves, even when it seems like we’re a half-whisker from running out. People like this may be infuriating, but if you can find it in your heart, all they really deserve is pity.
And a supersonic pool cue to the back of the head.
[sub]Did I say that?[/sub]
Because we’re better than they are.
Violence begets violence. Violence begets hatred. Violence kills tolerance.
You want to make the world a better place, don’t sink to the behaviour of its worst inhabitants.
Better yet…subscribe them to the NAMBLA journal.
God, I HATE fuckers like that. I hate prank callers-“Oh, look at me, I’m sooo cool…blah blah blah…” I mean, what the HELL? How does this make them look good? Talk about waaaay too much time on your hands.
Get an answering machine and say, “Hi, we’re not home right now, come talk to our Doberman, HellSpawn…”
Or something like that…
Hey, know their phone numbers? YOu could always post them here…
Seriously, if they start bothering poor Quietgirl, dont’ let them get away with it. And remember, ALWAYS remember-it’s THEM, not YOU.
{{{Andygirl and Quietgirl}}}
Andy, the shit just keeps happening. Place and time do ameliorate it some, but nothing ever makes it perfect.
That’s the world we live in.
I gotta report to you, though, that it’s getting better. When I was a kid nearly 50 years ago, nobody would have been offended by gay-bashing: “It’s what they deserve.”
Twenty-five years ago, Stonewall was shocking – people actually proud of being gay, and trying to say it’s OK for them to show it in public?
The fight’s not over, by a long way. But take some solace in how far things have moved already.
{{{Andygirl and Quietgirl}}}
I’m so sorry this happened, andygirl. It’s stupid, vicious, indefensible behavior no matter how you slice it.
My inclination is toward reporting the harassment, with names, to the phone company, followed by filing charges. But that’s easy for me to say because I’m not the one who’d deal with the hassle and fallout. It’s more than vile that you and your family face this kind of harassment at all.
If it’s any consolation, the drunk little troglodytes have “loser” written all over them. Still chasing after high school prejudices? what a bunch of schmucks. With that attitude they’ll make plenty more immediate enemies to take their mind off you and quietgirl. Hostile, aggressive assholes never lack for enemies, even if they lack the brain power to figure out why.
My absolute best regards, comfort and good wishes to you and quietgirl. Your own fine characters and the love you share are the best vindication.
Veb
And just wait, andy-one day, they’ll say the wrong thing to the wrong person and end up regretting it.
What goes around comes around.
Thanks for the kind words, all. A few notes:
It’s been my experience that drunken cowards don’t, as a general rule, go beyond that subtle, insidious homophobia that’s a lot more common than having one’s brains dashed out on the sidewalk.
I should say that I’m not worried about Jennifer’s safety. She’s only ever gotten comments. She thinks I worry too much, anyway.
I don’t think violence is the best way. I think education is. Perhaps this bunch is past learning, but that doesn’t mean that their kids won’t be.
I wouldn’t worry. Someday the big progressive world will pass them by, and they’ll either figure it out, or they’ll just be out of it. You’re a semi-professional (IIRC) journalist and an Ivy League student, and they get drunk and harass people over the phone on the matter of the sexual orientation of their children. Yup, they’re gonna have the last laugh there. :rolleyes:
As I wrote this, I reflected on the fact that it’s rather nice being able to know that society will accept homosexuality pretty completely in my lifetime. I suppose back when the picture was pretty bleak, I would be more along the lines of “I know a couple ways to not leave bruises, if you’d like”. Hmmm… sobering thoughts indeed.
Oh Honey, that sucks. I’m sorry you all have to deal with that shit.
Take comfort in the fact that a LOT of women experiment in college, eventually they’ll understand.
or
Take comfort in the fact that their boyfriends/husbands will be forever entranced by girl on girl sex, yet they will never be able to please them.
or
Take comfort in the fact that they WILL feel guilty some day.
{{{you, your parents, Quietgirl}}}
Gack!!! They just did!
:: putting on my Angy Eyes ::
WTF is with these people? I’d love to see these dipshits face some sort of consequences for their juvenile and deliberately malicious behaviour.
I’m pissed. Fuckers.
(((((Andygirl & parents)))))
This must have been tough on your folks. I just gotta say, that if this had happened to me, someone calling and saying such things about my CHILD… I don’t think there’s anything that could hold me back or persuade me that there’s anything less important than making these assholes sooooo mutherfucking unhappy.
I’m so mad I’m shaking.
Living well is the best revenge.
andygirl,
if you and quietgirl would ever like to be in a crowd of openly bisexual/homosexual women and point/make loud rude comments and laugh openly at these girls who did this, please let me know. I’d love to be part of such a gathering. If not, well, I’d like to visit the gas station/laundrymat/employment/welfare office* they frequent and make them feel like cockroach shit. (Like they know me, if I’m an ass at the time who gives a shit?)
*Should anyone here, due to circumstances beyond their control work at stated places, not meant as a slam against you…you come here and are therefor destined for other places even if they are only in the mind. Those deemed to mentally stay in forementioned places…well…may a tornado scoop up the mental double-wide trailer you call home and set you in a place you could have never imagined…fluff girl on all male porn movie set would be interesting I think!
Andy,
High school girls can be stupid. The whole crowd-mentality and thinking everyone different is wrong and weird breeds stuff like this.
Just remember that you are way cooler than they are, and don’t think of them as anything more than a minor annoyance. They don’t deserve any more recognition than that.
Tengu, I am in your corner here. As a devout pacifist who took a LOT of beatings in the first 5 years of Jr. High and H.S., I’m here to tell you that violence returned would have been a waste of time. And, abhorrent.
** HOWEVER**, I’m firmly on the side of making them pay. Not as offered by some members posting here with physical or psychological threats. If it were to continue, Andy, I’d suggest calling the State Police. Local cops have a notoriously narrowminded view of gay rights, IMHO. Get a Digital Trap Order from the State Police, it will by-pass Caller ID blocks and record EVERY incoming telephone number, at the phone company. Then the police can easily see who is calling your parents. They would NOT have control of this device, it’s ordered by the Police and inspected by them alone.
Leave the law to the lawpeople. Seems to me that facing a vigilante mob is what many gays in our lives already have experienced, or at least dread. Why would anyone with a shred of self-respect wish to become a PART of one???
Andy, I feel awful for you and your parents, and for QuietGirl too. I’m angry for you. I’d just beg you to take decisive action that won’t land you in court. You, and your parents, have more rights than you might think.
Cartooniverse
{{{{{{Andygirl}}}}} 
At first, when I read your post, I was filled with anger and wanted to snap those girls’ scrawny little necks for you. but that soon changed to pity and compassion for those poor misguided teenagers. They must be filled with real self-loathing in order to act in such a contemptible fashion. Generally, I find that the worst haters and bigots are really just projecting their own extreme self-hatred onto the nearest targets.
The worst aspect of bigotry is that haters make their victims retaliate hatred for hatred. If they can make you act like they do, then they have won.
I think Cartooniverse’s suggestions make sense. Harrassment must be punished in order to show these girls what they did was wrong. If I weren’t an atheist, I would suggest prayer for their reformation and repentance.
Ooooh…sounds like they want you bad…
More seriously, I’m not sure which has me more angry right now: the gall of a bunch of drunken idiots in harassing people for “fun”, or the memory of my own high school experiences with similar idiots.
I’m not sure how helpful it is to pile more advice on top of what has come before, but here’s mine anyway.
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If this is something which you don’t think is likely to occur again, don’t retaliate. Anything which may suggest to them that their actions actually bother you will only serve to encourage them – and then they could very well escalate.
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Make sure that anything you do do can’t come back to haunt you or yours. As you say, June isn’t that far away.
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Don’t let them goad you into anything you may regret. Remember: they’re not worth it.
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If you really feel the need to teach them a lesson, do it later. Like after June. They’ll be less likely to suspect you, and you’ll have time to plan. I like the “phone numbers in bathrooms” and “subscriptions to questionable publications” strategy, personally.
-
I repeat: they’re not worth hurting yourself over.
Obviously, if they start throwing bricks through windows, then you may need to involve the police. And if they call again, keeping a log of the phone numbers (via caller ID) is a good idea too.
Hang in there. And remember, you can always vent here.