Oct 03
This week my friend Andrew Kotzen told me about a counter protest to the Westboro Baptist Church’s protest of Emerson college’s production of the Laramie Project on October 2nd. The counter protest was entitled a “Celebration of Inclusive and Safe Communities.” I was majorly excited especially since I had already planned a G.S.A showing of the movie version of “The Laramie Project” on Friday the night before the march and just could not wait! I announced the march at assembly on Thursday and it seemed to spark interest. People really wanted to go! And let me just tell you this… it was amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. About TWENTY FIVE Walnut Hill kids made it and we made such a difference. We volunteered to hold signs and talked to people and gave interviews (I know I gave about five) and stuck together giving our full support! Hundreds and hundreds of supporters dressed in white gathered and marched around the block cheering and chanting “LOVE IS LOUDER!” I felt so complete! I was so happy! Here I was fighting for love with people whom I love. It was epic. The response we got was also amazing! So many people honked and waved and hollered and gave us thumbs up and smiles. We were really a part of history just like the woman who organized the event told us at the end. The WBC didn’t even show up! But that didn’t matter; we had done what we came to do. We came to celebrate love and acceptance in a peaceful and inspiring manner and we did just that! I’m just so proud of the G.S.A members who came and showed interest and I’m so happy that I’m getting the opportunity to do what I want to do and try to make a difference. The sign that I was given said: I’m marching in the memory of Raymond Chase, Age 19, Rhode Island. Although the circumstances surrounding the suicide of this openly gay sophomore in college aren’t sure yet, what is sure is that he is the FIFTH out of the SIX gay youths to commit suicide in the past THREE weeks. This link only shows 4 of them http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316782/US-gay-community-reeling-epidemic-suicides-teenagers.html BUT HOW SCARY IS THAT!? I just don’t understand. These people took their lives because people couldn’t accept who they were and could not stop harassing them for whom they loved. It’s just so upsetting. And tonight I found out that a close family friend of mine was actually really good friends with Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers student who jumped of the GW Bridge after his roommates secretly taped him with another man and posted it on the internet.http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/09/rutgers_student_commits_suicid.html My mom said she was talking to this family friend, and that he sounded so sad. He said he felt like he had lost a son. Tyler had been in his orchestra for 7 years and our friend said that Tyler was a brilliant musician and a wonderful wonderful human being. And now he isn’t on this earth anymore… :( God, that’s just so sad. But we can make it so that his death is not in vain. We can use him for motivation and propel this movement forward. We cannot give up! We need to let these gay youths know that “it will get better!” (http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/22/showing-gay-teens-a-happy-future/)
I love being a straight ally for the gay rights movement, and I will never stop. This means a lot to me. Honesty and truth and love. To be honest, people just need to get over themselves, and realize that not everyone in the world is going to be like them - that people are different and that’s what makes this world so wonderful. Difference shouldn’t inspire such unease and/or hatred in people. It should inspire admiration and respect.
LOVE.IS.LOUDER.
