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GLBTQP Harassment- My actual paper

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by crimsonarcher, Jun 3, 2008.

  1. crimsonarcher

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    I know it's long( at least 9 pages), but i decided to put it up here in case anyone is interested to read it. I'll salute you if you read the entire thing!


    Imagine driving by a country road in Laramie, Wyoming, to see what seems tbe
    a scarecrow tied to a fence. However, it’s a real person, beaten and unconscious. This
    is Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, that was brutally beaten by two men, Russell
    A. Henderson and Aaron J. McKinney, for being gay. After being severely beaten to the
    head, Matthew was tied to a nearby fence in very cold weather, and was left there. He
    was declared dead five days later in the hospital. This incident is one of thousands that
    have occurred to GLBTQ individuals. GLBTQ (gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and
    questioning) individuals have been victims of intolerance worldwide because of various
    reasons, ranging from religion to abnormality, ever since they were acknowledged.

    The most known reason for gay/lesbian harassment in all of history is religious
    views against them. Many religious groups often call homosexuality a “sin””(Carreon).
    Christianity, for example, cites verses from the Bible that justify their opinion. However,
    Christianity isn’t the only religion that denounces homosexuality. According to Imam
    Rashed, “The Koran teaches that sexual relations between men, or between women, are
    not acceptable. to say such a thing is not harassment“(Hutcheon). Muslims also see
    homosexuality as sinful, and therefore, the predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle
    East, such as Afghanistan, are mostly anti-homosexual. Religious views are often the
    number one reason of intolerance towards the GLBTQ individuals.

    Another reason that intolerance occurs to GLBTQ individuals is how
    “abnormal” they look in our society today. Being different in today’s society often brings
    intolerance:

    Gay, Lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning(GLBTQ) youth face

    tremendous difficulties in a society where heterosexuality seems to be the only

    acceptable orientation. Homosexuality is regarded as deviant, and variation

    from cultural concepts of “normal gender” often evokes hostility or violence

    ( Earls).

    If someone wasn’t heterosexual, then they’d be considered abnormal and forced to live
    in a society where you’d be harassed, hurt, or even murdered. Hate crimes towards the
    GLBTQ are based on the differences of sexual orientation. “Homosexuals are often
    characterized by hate groups as sexually promiscuous people who spread the AIDS virus
    throughout the world”(Able 17). Due to this stereotype, homosexuals are seen as the
    culprits and are persecuted. In today’s society, those who are not heterosexual are more
    susceptible to intolerance from many hate groups.

    Harassment of any kind can lead to hate crimes, and GLBTQ crimes are no
    exception. Hate crimes occur because of the attacker’s hate of the victim’s gender, race,
    sexual orientation, and religion. A certain incident that happened in the United States
    opened the eyes of many Americans, even worldwide, to the real dangers of gay/lesbian
    harassment.

    On October 17, 1998, in Laramie, Wyoming, Russell A. Henderson and Aaron

    J. McKinney robbed and brutally beat Matthew Shepard, a gay college student.

    After the attack, they tied Mr. Shepard to a fence in subfreezing weather. He died

    Five days later. The attackers allegedly targeted their victim because he was gay

    ( Able 15).

    This incident affected many people, and also made them realize the real troubles that
    GLBTQ individuals face very day. However, as bad as it sounds, some people actually
    rejoiced his death. Reverend Fred Phelps of Kansas has gone to funerals of GLBTQ
    people, with members of his church, and protested homosexuality in general with his
    infamous slogan, “GOD HATES F***!”( “Anti-gay violence“).This angered many, but by
    the Constitution, protesting is perfectly legal under freedom of speech. Even today, he
    still goes to GLBTQ funerals and protests in them. Looking back, in the Holocaust,
    thousands of homosexuals were killed, and were also stuck with a pink triangle to show
    that were gay, or at least perceived to be(“Anti-gay violence“). This shows that
    homosexuals were also persecuted alongside the Jews. Closer to home here in California,
    26-year-old Satender Singh was harassed due to his sexuality at Lake Natomas by a
    Russian-speaking group(Carreon). The attacking group is thought to be part of the Slavic
    Evangelical Church, which participate in anti-gay protests in the Sacramento area
    (Carreon). Since he was perceived to be gay, Singh was punched once in the face, falling
    backwards, which cracked his head. This ruptured a part of the brain stem that controls
    most of humans’ functions. He died four days later( Carreon). Satender was a victim of a
    hate crime only because some people didn’t like how he was acting in the park. Also in
    California, 15-year-old Lawrence King died after he was shot by a classmate on February
    12 who shot him based on his perceived sexual orientation in Oxnard, CA (Raja).
    A fellow student went as far to shoot his classmate just because he was perceived
    to be gay. It should be clear by now that harassment should be taken seriously, because
    people are dying now due to sexual differences. It may even be happening to someone
    right now, somewhere in the world. Gay/lesbian harassment can and/or will undoubtedly
    lead to hate crimes, which will make GLBTQ acceptance even harder to gain.

    As with any form of harassment, the results can be just as deadly as the incident,and GLBTQ incidences are the perfect example. In terms of GLBTQ harassment,
    homophobia directly influences GLBTQ youths’ rates of suicide, substance abuse,
    teenage pregnancy, violence, and HIV-related behaviors( Earls). This means that with
    every incident that occurs to any gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and questioning individual,
    the more depressed they become, turning to substances for relief, or even resort to
    suicide to escape their problems. School is usually seen as a safe learning center, but
    that’s not the case for some GLBTQ students. GLBTQ Students who experience
    verbal/physical abuse at school have poor grades and truancy, which forces them to repeat the school year( Earls). This can hurt a GLBTQ student’s chances of succeeding in
    school. Also, the harassment towards one gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and questioning
    student can affect the people around them as well. Some GLBTQ youth usually commit
    suicide( or at least attempt to) because of early awareness of sexual orientation, stress,
    violence, lack of support, school dropout, family problems, homelessness, and substance
    abuse (Earls). Adding to the list of effects, a family member that is either gay, lesbian, bi,
    transgender, and questioning will make others sad once they’ve gone. The results that
    appear after gay/lesbian harassment can be ever-lasting and be more painful that the
    actual experience.

    The results of yesterday’s intolerance towards GLBTQ individuals will somehow
    impact the world today. In today’s world, different ethnicities impact homosexuality:
    “Many ethnic minority communities reinforce negative cultural perceptions of
    homosexuality“( Earls). Because of this, GLBTQ youth of color are more likely to be
    ashamed of their sexual orientation, and do anything to try to please those who believe
    their culture should be a certain way. Also: GLBTQ youth of color usually take in bad
    messages from society about sexual orientation, and eventually hate themselves, as well
    as suffer from social and emotional isolation(Earls). The physical/emotional isolation
    from others often results in depression, or even suicide. Specifically, in the Latino
    communities, masculinity and Roman Catholicism causes homophobia and stops GLBTQ
    Latinos from getting much-needed HIV prevention information( Earls). Of course, this doesn’t apply only to Latinos. GLBTQ youth of color face both homophobia and racism
    for being part of an ethnic minority, which makes things twice as bad( “Black and Gay”).
    The definition of homophobia is the hate/prejudice against homosexuals. Homophobia
    happens to most, if not every GLBTQ individual on this planet, on every part of the
    globe. The effects that gay/lesbian harassment can have on the world has a direct impact
    on the world and its peoples today.

    The issues that appear due to gay/lesbian harassment changes the cultures in our world today. Homosexuality in general has, well, scared people into thinking that the
    love between two men and two women will sway from the average heterosexual family
    lifestyle. According to Matthew Staver, “ Same-sex marriage would result in the
    Abolition of male and female by making gender irrelevant, and the abolition of gender
    would have devastating effects on children”( Richman). Basically, the legalization of
    marriage equality will anger some, but enlighten others. Another statement claims that:
    “We must not rest until we once and for all defined marriage as the union of a man and
    a woman in the United States Constitution“( Richman). People are really against marriage
    equality and homosexuality in general that they want to establish it as a constitutional
    right to declare gay marriage as abnormal. Now, the world is split between those who
    support marriage equality, and the there are those who fight to abolish it legally, socially,
    and religiously. In the end, the issues that homosexuality brings slowly, but surely
    changes the world’s present culture.

    In conclusion, gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, and questioning individuals are
    constantly harassed because of how they are perceived, either as a sin or abnormal, all
    around the world. However, all the background, facts, results, and specific incidences all
    lead to one overall idea/theme. We, as human beings, have to treat every other person,
    whether they’re family, friends, or strangers, as we would want to be treated. GLBTQ
    individuals should be no exception to that idea. Also, if you are one of those people who
    use the word “gay” as a reference to something being “stupid”, just don’t do it. You
    wouldn’t say a racial slur to a friend of yours, so why should you use “gay”? Accept
    people for who they are. Hopefully, harassment against GLBTQ will eventually come to
    an end so that they can finally live peacefully in this world.

    You Made It!
    :icon_bigg

    In the end, I got an A-!!
     
  2. Wow that's really good. Nicely written and well researched :thumbsup:
     
  3. GlindaRose

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    That's really good! :grin: Well done!
     
  4. LOVEjames

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    The only criticism I would have is to be a tad bit more passionate in your writing. But that might just be because I'm overly-passionate in my writing. :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

    And on the subject of GLBTQ writing... this is an assignment I did early this year for my English class. The prompt was to write a persuasive essay about whatever you wanted. xD I had a lot of fun with it.

     
  5. Trumpetplyer23

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    Great job!!! Very well-written. I like it a lot.
     
  6. musicgirl112233

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    Awesome story!
     
  7. Grof142007

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    that was a great read and i would have been dissapointed if u didnt get a A

    thnks for posting
     
  8. Peridot

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    Very good paper.

    Sounds like something I would write.

    Congrats on the A!
    Change the world and get good grades. Killing two birds with one stone, I see.
     
  9. shakerdancee

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    Okay... thanks for posting and I SWEAR I'll read it tomorrow.

    goodnight