A Glimmer of Hope

Hey all,

As some of you may know, last week I posted about a conversation I’d had with some people in my school. For those of you who didn’t get to see the thread, here’s a little summary:
“Me: So, how do you see gay people?
Them: They are freaks of nature and should be burned to death. It’s disgusting.
Me: What? Why? The only difference between you and them is who they love.
Them: The Coran/Bible/[Insert Religious Text Here] says you should stone gay people because it’s blasphemy. They’re Satan’s army
Me: *Shake my head”

The conversation went along those lines. I thought it would end there. 99% of people in my school hated anything to do with LGBT, including teachers (who come from Europe). I thought there was no chance in opening the minds of these people up to the idea that LGBT are perfectly normal people, not freaks of nature.

Then came today. Today in Civics, our professor decided to lead a debate on Gay Marriage in France. You may be aware that it’s now legal in France. That didn’t stop hoards of people protesting it in France. So, he decided to ask us “Gay Marriage: For or against. Why?”
The debate was woefully biased. Everyone in the class was against it, except for me and the professor ( he always takes the side with the least supporters ).
They start spewing out the usual arguments... Except, the professor shoots them down. Most of the arguments they gave were religious. Since we’re in a secular school, he said they were irrelevant. So, naturally, this was the time I came in.
Homosexuality isn’t found in nature? I don’t think so.
Homosexuals are genetics mutations, like retards? Let me introduce you to Alan Turin, amongst others.
Transgender people have mental issues? Here, let me introduce you to science.
Marriage is between a man and a woman? Do you know what separation of church and state is?

So it continued like that for a while. I was on the verge of making an “I have a dream” speech. Then came the magical moment.
A girl in our class, African as can be, completely against LGBT at the beginning, who hadn’t really spoken in the debate, suddenly said:
“Maybe they aren’t so bad? I mean, they’re just humans.”
Silence. Complete silence. Even the professor was shocked. We just looked at her. Some in outrage, me in compassion, all of us in disbelief. This made my day. This may have made my month. In a place I thought was completely devoid of any tolerance for LGBT people, finally someone had spoken up. I wouldn’t illusion myself into thinking my arguments had changed her mind. But, the fact she had the courage to speak up, whilst everyone was speaking terrible things about LGBT people, is magical. I just wanted to share this story. Because this story is my little glimmer of hope, that one day, Africa too will be able to accept someone for who they are and not judge them by who they love. This is my hope that Africa will change.