We were reminded this weekend by Sam Smith’s acceptance speech that even though the Oscar’s were #SoWhite, our society is still #SoStraight. Especially our little, humble state.
A not-so-surprising news flash, Wyoming is conservative (and I don’t mean like that dress your grandma wants you to wear to church for confirmation). Laramie provides that little bit of blue to spice up the flavor of Wyoming, which in all honesty provides as much spice as a pinch of salt. I’m not opposed to the conservativeness of Wyoming, but I do take issue when that conservativeness interferes with the social justice every person should be shown. This issue surpasses a school issue and hits home. When conservative parents don’t accept a homosexual child.
There’s a difference between acceptance and tolerance. So many people think that if they can tolerate homosexuality, they’re doing life right. I tolerate people who say biased statements; I accept people who constantly work at showing other kindness. Even when I know those people fundamentally disagree with the people they help, I accept that they move past their biases to offer genuine help and acceptance. Maybe get past the tolerance and just accept people. We’re all trying to do the best we can with what we were provided.
Fact: people are born gay. For many this may be a mind-blowing fact. Before you begin sending me hate mail for advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, read a scholarly article on homosexuality (like this one), then come talk to me. I warn you, I don’t listen to yellers nor screamers.
Now that some knowledge has been dropped in terms of science, let me drop more knowledge. Members of marginalized groups probably wouldn’t choose to be marginalized. Why? Because getting screwed by social constructs kind of sucks. So why would anyone ever assume another person would choose to be gay? I may be wrong, but no one would ever choose to be told how terrible they are because of genetics. Being born gay is like being born of color or a woman, we literally have no control over it. People can disagree with me, but they would be wrong.
I’m not saying this to make people angry, but I’m saying this to get people thinking. Too often we don’t think before we act or speak, and that doesn’t only hurt the intended person. Homophobia, sexism, racism, whatever it is, hurts everyone. We need to be more proactive in terms of speaking out against social injustices. It starts with us.