-By Jake T. Snake
A friend sent me this excellent article on Friday, April 24th by Charles Blow in the New York Times. I found it to be one of the saddest things I have ever read. That two boys of this age would be driven to a place so desperate that suicide seemed the plausible next step is just horrific. What is sadder to me is that taunting and bullying of students perceived to be gay or lesbian seems to be both widespread and permitted. This is the consensus among the youth who come to the LGBT youth center that my agency runs. I take everything reported by teenagers with a large grain of salt, but their stories of active neglect on the part of school staff are so consistent and from so many different adolescents that at the end of the day I can't arrive at any other conclusion but that they are telling me the truth. Some students even report that teachers join in with their peers who are tormenting them to encourage them to stop being so "faggy". Hell, I remember priests doing this in high school. I was just hoping things had gotten better since the 1980s. As to the priests, projection, much?????
Some of the youth who come to our center volunteer their time to do presentations on Homophobia and Heterosexism in the community. It probably will not suprise you to learn that our local school districts are not having them come in to present. After the youth offer their services the silence is often deafening. We are permitted to present to groups of "high-risk" kids, because they are already tainted, but we could not possibly expose the homecoming queen to your perversions. The good news is that there are enough aware fellow students that Gay-Straight Alliances are popping up in many schools to offer support to GLBT students. We have also met many wonderful supportive parents and community members since the center opened. We feel good about the small difference we are making, but it is a small difference.
These two boys had not identified with any sexual orientation as far as we know. Homophobia killed them nonetheless. I admire Mr. Blow's courage in talking about homophobia in the African-American Community. It is a subject that must be approached in order to change what happened to these two boys and address the rates of HIV among men of color who have sex with other men. The incidence of HIV among MSM of color is out of control and it is long past due that the sociocultural pieces of this were explored. I do not necessarily agree with the assertion that the African-American community is "more" homophobic. I don't believe that these sort of complicated dynamics can be neatly quantified in this way. I will say that the rates of HIV infection among MSM of color point out that homophobia is having a substantial impact.
At the end of the day this is the crux of the issue for me. What costs are we incurring culturally, by holding on to outmoded ideas like Homophobia and racism. In an era when the CDC is estimating the cost of 1 HIV infection at a million dollars in treatment and lost productivity, how many more do we want? How many more suicides, how much more substance use? How many of our friends and family robbed of their possibilities? How large has the "white, straight burden" grown and how large does it have to grow before the costs outweigh the benefits. I believe we are there. I also believe I am in the minority. Beliefs create realities. Homophobia, especially when coupled with racism is creating a nightmare for all of us. If you doubt that Homophobia is more virulent than ever surf over to some of the right wing sites and read their thoughts on "gay marriage". Vicious and evil doesn't begin to capture the flavor. Arguments straight out of the Strom Thurmond playbook. I refuse to link to them, I haven't developed the stomach for it that Thers has.