It Doesn't Affect You

          This sign is just one of the many you can find when you Google "anti gay signs". Included in the multitude of signs is quotes such as "God hates fags" and "Homosexuality is a sin". First of all, I would like to see the data behind these signs. Secondly, why should their opinion mean anything to the rest of the world. In my previous blog, I commented on the topic of how people have opinions and comments on things that do not remotely involve them. Again, I urge homophobics and racists around the world to question themselves as to why they care.
 

           Although I can not say from personal experience, there must be homosexuals all around the world. In other words, homosexuality is not a creation of certain societies. Although, it is argued that the way a person is raised can cause homosexuality. Many think that an overly nurturing mother can create a gay son, especially with an absent father. Also, an overly involved father with an absent mother can create a lesbian daughter. Yet, this is not true in all cases. For example, my aunt is an extremely nurturing individual and her husband, a pilot for UPS, will be gone for weeks at a time. They have two sons, who they conceived, who are heterosexuals. This is only one example, but one example is all it takes to reject a hypothesis.
          Before writing this blog, I have read several articles which talk about homosexuality around the world. One article I read, at Life Under Russia's 'Gay Propaganda' Ban, which discusses the life of a woman and her girlfriend in Russia. The article depicted that Russia is extremely judgmental and harsh towards those who are homosexual. They even passed a law which forbids even discussing the topic of homosexuality in front of children. This is absurd. Everyone should be open and not hide the idea of loving someone of the same sex. I can only assume that the idea behind this policy is to deter children from becoming homosexual. Yet studies show that homosexuality is because of genes or how a child is raised, not from knowledge of homosexuality.

        Pictured above is a slave from pre-1865 where a slave shows his scars from being whipped. Today, homosexuals in Nigeria could also reveal similar scars. The thought of this alone sickens me. The thought that someone is being physically abused to such an extent because of something they have no control over is utterly sick and demented. On the website Nigeria Tries to 'Sanitize' Itself of Gays, you can read about the horrible acts performed by Nigeria in order to "cleanse" themselves of homosexuals. Why would anyone want to have another tragedy such as the Nazi's. Personally, I found diversity to make our world so much more interesting and exciting. If everyone were the same, life would not be near as fun as it is now.

          Matthew Shepard was one of the most nationwide known cases of homosexual discrimination. This 22 year old boy was beaten close to death and left to die tied to fence just because he was gay. Matthew did not have a choice in being gay, nor was it something for him to be punished for. Not only was he punished, but Matthew lost his life. The boys who performed this horrific act had no involvement in Matthew's life, much less the fact that he was gay. You can read more about Matthew's life and the horrible tragedy in which he lost his life at Matthew Shepard. There are several more cases where homosexuals have lost their life or have been beaten for the mere fact that they were gay. And for what? Because they are different than those performing the vicious acts.

         On the show, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, there is an episode which shows the discrimination against homosexuals. In this particular episode, the detectives receive a case where a lesbian woman is found beaten severely. When the detectives discover who beat the woman, it is revealed that a man who is extremely against homosexuals was behind the crime. The fact that television is now showing crimes again homosexuals is proof that it is a growing problem.
         Discrimination against homosexuals is more prevalent than many believe. Just because the city you live in has not significant discrimination does not mean that others around the world are being killed and severely beaten for the fact that they are homosexuals. The fact that they are who they are, and they can not change that. There is no difference between those who are homosexual and those who are heterosexual other than the gender of those who they love. Diversity is what keeps life interesting. Why would we want to change that? So I ask you, why do you care if someone is gay, black, poor or mentally challenged? Does it affect you?

Identify Yourself

         Caucasian? African? Oriental? Latino? How do you identify yourself? Or, is it a combination of a few? In the last generation, our society has become more and more open to different races, multiracial and biracial individuals. Yet, the majority of individuals do not view all races as equal. A prime example that I have recently noted is that one of my high school friends on Facebook stated that she watched a white male walk past a parked car, she followed suit and as she passed the same car, she could hear the car doors lock. She is African-American. Not only is this hurtful, but it is an extremely racist action. The only reason the girl in the car locked the door was due to my friend's ethnicity. How can one make such a quick conclusion on the morals of another? Like the saying goes, do not judge a book by it's cover. 

       Speaking of covers, recently several well-educated African-American graduates have been "Whitening their Resumes" in order to higher their likelihood of receiving a callback on job opportunities. The New York Times published an article that goes into further detail of this phenomenon at 'Whitening' the Resume. This is very sad that people must change their resumes in order to have a fair shake at jobs. I spoke with my father on this topic because he hires people regularly. I questioned if he receives two resumes, one from an individual with an African name and one from an individual with a Caucasian name if he would call the Caucasian first just based off names. He assured me that both candidates would have the same chance at securing the job. Although this is just one person, it leads me to believe not all of those hiring solely judge people's capabilities based off of their ethnicity. 

  

         Interracial couples have become more frequent in the last decade. In 2010, 1 in 10 couples, or 5.4 million couples, were interracial. This indicates a 28% increase since 2000 (Households with Partners of a Different Race). Also, there are several interracial celebrity couples, Kim and Kanye, Heidi and Seal, Mariah and Nick and several more. Not everybody is okay with interracial couples, but as it becomes more prominent in society, children are growing up seeing that it is nothing different than any other couple. My grandfather would not condone an interracial relationship in our family, my parents are not huge advocates of interracial couples and I, personally, have no opinion on the topic because it does not make a difference to me. What I am trying to say is that the years go on, people are becoming more comfortable with interracial relationships. The site, Interracial Intimacy, also comments on the topic. One of the opening sentences claims that racial purists refer to interracial couples as "mongrelization", which is sick. Different ethnic groups loving each other and having children is beautiful, not 'mongrelization. 

        College students in today's world are very comfortable with the idea of interracial couples, multiracial individuals and biracial individuals. Yet many multiracial/biracial people, including President Obama, on paperwork such as the census, only check one race or another. Many do not choose all races that actually apply to them. Why is this? Why do they feel that they must choose one of the other? If they fit into both categories, why not choose both? If our society is becoming so accustomed to the idea of biracial and multiracial individuals, what is the reasoning behind not checking all the boxes one relates to. 

       Ethnicity has created many uproars in our history, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., slave trade etc.. Recently, the uproars have almost completely depleted. Interracial couples are becoming less surprising as the years go on. I believe that people should love whoever they want without the pressures of society guiding them away from certain people. There are even television shows, like "90 Day Fiance", where the media portrays interracial couples. Our society has become much more accepting of interracial couples and biracial/multiracial individuals. So I ask you again, how do you identify yourself?