I must say, I was shocked and appalled by the intolerance that some of the people faced based solely on the matter of sexual orientation. I knew that America was far from being totally accepting of homosexuals, but I had no idea that the extent was this bad. I suppose this brings me back to the movie Brüno and the counseling that he went through to “stop” being gay.
It constantly amazes me that there are people out there that believe that being gay is a disease or phase that will eventually go away. It also makes me sad that a person’s way of life has to be such a source of controversy. A person’s sexual orientation is a part of their identity and we, as humans, are putting them in a terrible position by throwing them in the middle of all this political tension. They have enough to deal with as it is, obviously. I felt a great sadness for Johnny when he explained that his “parents not only threatened Jon but also began threatening” him as well (Anthology 875). I understand that this happens, but I have never really come in close contact with any really traumatic experiences like those Johnny, Anthony, and Vincent went through. Reading their stories made the struggles faced by those who are merely not white and straight so much more real and accessible. I now better understand the “struggles to gain acceptance, recognition, and attention” in an environment that is so intolerant (Anthology 880).
I have come in close quarters with less traumatic experiences dealing with a family finding out that their son is gay, however. It was less dramatic, but it still brought to my attention the issues that they face because of people unwilling to accept that being gay is simply a way that some people live their lives. My best friend in high school was unaware that her brother is gay. I knew because his friends knew and, not realizing that she didn’t know, brought it up one day. Shocked, she asked me to explain, and I told her that I knew because some people at school knew. She decided to talk to him about it and work things out and told me later that he admitted to her that he is gay. I asked her what she thought and she told me that she didn’t actually believe him. A couple weeks later, her opinion was unchanged. Trying to be patient, I felt the need to talk to her about being more supportive and accepting of her brother. My best friend is very reserved and has acted in ways that help her to fit in smoothly throughout all of high school. I understood that she wasn’t going to accept the information so easily, but I still felt that I had to explain to her that she was not doing the right thing by not accepting her brother for who he was and by setting him apart because of his sexual orientation. Emily is a very accepting person; she has friends who are gay and doesn’t think twice about it, but when faced with the facts that her brother is gay, it is obvious that we all have a long way to go when it comes to accepting those that are different from us. And it makes me wonder: would I feel that way if someone in my family were homosexual? Johnny seems to think not: “I am assuming there are only a handful of families who would genuinely be unaffected by it and even supportive” (Anthology 879). I like to believe that I fall under that handful, but based on what I’ve seen from my best friend, I worry that it would matter. I guess I’ll never know, but I still continue to try my best to be as accepting and understanding of people who are different from me as possible.
I find that barriers based on ethnicity and sexual orientation are based on nothing more than petty ignorance. These families lack exposure to diverse groups of people and it is clear that their intolerance stems from fear of change. My friend in high school had a strange fear of change: when he was little, he freaked out whenever the seasons changed from warm to cold weather because he had to change out his entire wardrobe. We all fear change in a small way. These families changed their way of lives and it was probably hard for them to adjust, but at the same time I have to be harsh: we live in a world that is shaped by people who come from different backgrounds, ethnicities, and who knows what else. Until we learn to start accepting these differences, we are in for some serious problems. As a world, we need to start becoming more open-minded and accepting to those who are different and I wish that people could just start learning that there is nothing wrong with being different and indeed, this is something we should start embracing. “Race matters. And it doesn’t” (Anthology 866). It matters in that it is what defines us as people, but it also doesn’t matter because we shouldn’t set each other apart based on race or anything else like that.
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