In September Jamey Rodemeyer, a 14-year-old boy from New York, took his own life as a result of continuous homophobic taunts from three fellow students. Jamey received comments and abuse about his weight and sexual orientation at school and online. And he is the latest in a string of suicides by teenagers, abused or ridiculed because of their sexuality.
So, I’ve heard that society is slowly progressing; that we are becoming a lot more accepting of people’s sexual-orientation. I also heard Santa was real. Confirm?
The number of people afraid to come out, for fear of being hated or prejudiced against, is sickening in today’s society. It seems that for every equal right the LGBT community gains, there are several hate crimes and tragedies accompanying it; the recent homophobic murder of Stuart Walker, a man from Ayrshire, only proves that.
What about Fifa’s announcement that they’re to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a state where homosexuality is illegal and punishable by up to five years in prison or lashes. Why should the World Cup be held in any country that abuses and disregards the most basic of human rights? When Fifa President, Sepp Blatter, was asked about this he said “I think they should just refrain from any sexual activities” and proceeded to give a little laugh. The fact that Blatter thought there was something to laugh about only lends weight to the theory that ignorance is still rife everywhere.
Even today’s politics is still plagued by homophobia. In Russia, Prime Minister Putin, backed by President Medvedev, is currently trying to pass a discriminatory legislation against gay, lesbian, bi and transgender people. This legislation could see the rights of these people vanish. If the law is passed, it will silence the LGBT community; stopping any person being allowed to publicly voice anything to do with their orientation, as well as forbidding them from publishing a book or article relating to it. These men are in positions of authority; they shouldn’t be using this power to further bigotry, but rather to educe positive change.
Now, look me in the eye and tell me homophobia is dead?
I know I go on about this a lot; and I’m aware some people may see my reaction to hate crimes and even small, backhanded remarks I am sometimes subjected to as over the top. But are they really over the top? Are you so naive that you think the world will heal itself? Is wanting to help people, wanting them to see that suicide is not the way out, such a bad thing? It only takes one person to start a movement. Imagine what millions could do.
After hearing about Jamey’s suicide Lady Gaga said this: “Bullying must become illegal. It is a hate crime. The past days I've spent reflecting, crying, and yelling. I have so much anger. It is hard to feel love when cruelty takes someone's life.”
Nothing will change if people continue to be indifferent to homophobia; simply saying “that’s a tragedy, isn’t it?” will not alter the fact that hatred still has hold over the world. Stand up, speak up, make a change.
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