Stop the Hate

Raymond Chase.
Seth Walsh.
Asher Brown.
Billy Lucas.
Tyler Clementi.

These young men’s names have been in the news recently because they all committed suicide after being bullied or harassed in some fashion about their sexual orientation.

Having been bullied a lot myself as a child, I clearly remember what a terrible experience that was. When I went to school in England, I was bullied because of my race. At home, in India, I was bullied, because… I don’t even remember why anymore, but I still remember it being a dreadful experience. But I simply cannot imagine what these young men went through. One’s sexual orientation, like one’s race, is something you are born with and you cannot change it. The thought of these young men being harassed and bullied about it breaks my heart!

Here are some related links:

Tyler Clementi's Suicide Sparks Outrage At Rutgers

Billy Lucas, 15, Hangs Himself

Parents: Bullies drove 13-year-old to suicide (Asher Brown)

Family mourns death of bullied, gay CA teen (Seth Walsh)

Gay R.I. Student Commits Suicide (Raymond Chase)

Sarah Silverman Addresses Gay Teen Suicides

An Important Message - From Ellen DeGeneres (Gay Suicide)

Neil Patrick Harris' Message to Gay Youth

I am just astounded by how much hate there is in the world. We are more connected to one another via the internet, various forms of social media, cell phones, and not to mention, good old fashioned snail mail, and yet we seem to be more divided than ever. What scares and repulses me the most is how certain groups of people are actively propagating messages of hate. (I’m not going to supply you with links to hateful messages or people.) What is equally unsettling is that the media also propagates messages of hate which then percolate into the consciousness of the people who consume and internalize their message.

One surprising propagator of hate is Perez Hilton. His site routinely derides and viciously scoffs at various celebrities. And he is gay. Does he not experience any cognitive dissonance when he publishes messages of hate while being vehemently against people who promote hateful messages against the LGBT community? Granted some may argue that his site is all in good humor and he’s well within his rights to criticize celebrities who open their lives up to public scrutiny. But if you read his posts consistently, as I did for a time, you will notice that it goes beyond criticizing a celebrity for a bad choice of dress or life partner. His commentary is just plain hateful.

Even the laws that govern the people of this country are not free from hate: Proposition 107 in Arizona and Proposition 8 in California to name two of them. When our law makers start writing hate into the rules that govern us, it really starts to make you wonder what on earth is going on?!

Some typical arguments that come up when talking about gay marriage include:

Same sex marriage is against God’s will.
If you feel this way that is your opinion; however you have no right to legislate your religious beliefs into law. We are not a nation led by religion.

Same sex marriage destroys/threatens the sanctity of marriage.
Really?! How can two consenting adults who want their relationship to be recognized by the government so that they may have the same protections and benefits as heterosexual couples already enjoy, threaten you in any way? It does not lessen any privileges and benefits that you receive from a heterosexual marriage. Allowing same sex marriage will in no way affect heterosexual marriage!

Homosexuality not natural.
There have been studies that show biological differences between the brains of homosexual and heterosexual men (Gay men, straight women have similar brains). Biological, quantifiable, reproducible, SCIENTIFIC evidence. You can’t change your race. Nor can you magically change your sexual orientation.

Homo sapiens come in many different sizes, skin colors and sexual orientations. These are biological traits that are a part of us. To hate someone because they are black, brown or white, is to hate yourself. To hate someone because they are homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual, is to hate yourself. We are all humans and we deserve respect. We need to stop the hate.

When I started this blog, I didn’t know what to write about, but I knew that I wanted to use this blog to talk about parts of my life and to talk about issues that were important to me. However I was, and still am, committed to putting good energy into the universe. There is already so much hate and disregard for each other that I did not want to be another voice contributing to those hateful messages. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel very strongly about the topics I write about, but I want to contribute something meaningful and thought provoking, even if no one ever reads this.

Hopefully, we can eventually stop the hate one voice, one heart and one mind at a time.