I'd like to write something passionate and eloquent about some things that happened this afternoon, but in all honesty, I'm just too much of an angry-sad-disappointed blend at the moment. So, I'll just tell you about it instead.
As I mentioned a while back, a group of us at my law school are engaged in organizing opposition to the military recruiters at our school. We are opposed to them being able to come in and use our resources only to say some qualified students need not apply thanks to Don't Ask Don't Tell. Anyway, our Student Bar Association president stopped by at lunch to see my pal Becca and I to let us know the petitions she had hung for us on the mail room door had been ripped down...twice. She was fairly angry, as were we. Becca re-hung the petition prior to our afternoon class. That petition was gone by 4pm.
While I am amazed that in this day and age people still think it is okay to not hire qualified gay folks, I accept that not everyone shares my opinions. I can't accept this kind of blatant act of hate in our school. I see a lot of things up and about with which I disagree, but I can't comprehend the hatred it takes to destroy their postings, particularly in an academic environment where we're supposed to be learning how to uphold the law. Perhaps I spend too much time with like-minded people to the point that I've forgotten just how hateful the world can be. I was tormented in high school. I got death threats at UK as their first out gay newspaper editor. Honesty seems to have a price for some of us, and at some point you try to isolate yourself for comfort.
Isolation is not an option any longer. To the coward who is so afraid of those of us who won't be silent, please know that the petitions are going back up. They will keep going back up. We aren't going away any time soon. Learn to live with us, because you're the ones who are a dying breed, not us.
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5 comments:
I know what you're talking about. When I was at Cleveland State, I posted flyers for their gay-straight alliance and sure enough, many would be torn down the next day. Sometimes the same day. Lord knows what would have happened if I caught someone in the act...it would NOT have been pretty.
Don't back down though. It can get tiresome, but people need to get the message. A couple times, I'd staple a second piece of paper behind the flyer saying, "If you can read this, go to hell," or "Congrats, if you're reading this you just committed a hate crime, now smile for the hidden camera!"
We talked to administration about it, threw some weight around, and eventually got them to install a locked bulletin board in one of the high-traffic areas. So yeah, it probably won't hurt if you mention this to someone in charge and see what they can do.
funny that this entry only gets one response but the one about Dakota gets 4...
My (former) university, Carleton, actually has a ban on blood drives on-campus because Canada Blood Services discriminates against gays. It pisses me right the hell off because it perpetuates the stereotype of HIV as a "gay disease".
Well Anon, in all honesty, I'd rather read lies about Dakota too, and would were it not for the fact that I was living all this JAG fun! :)
The week of tabling and such went great, by the way. I think we did some good work educating the student body on discriminatory practices of the military. Yay!
Hang in there my dear, you're doing great work. Americans need to unit against the war in Iraq.
MJ
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