History has always showed us how being "different" can cause pain and death. Just look at the Europeans, whose barbaric ways killed off the Indians, oops I mean Native Americans, thank you Columbus for the wrong terminology. Another example, is the African Slave trade which led to the present and ongoing feud between the black and white races. Throughout American history there has been several movements and reform for different minority groups to ensure we can achieve the American Dream equally. In more recent times a focal point of society has been the LGBT community. I have to give it up to those apart of that community, they have been through various struggles and have achieved great strives in such a short period of time but does the victim card help or hurt minorities groups? As a black man I personally know how the victim card can instill hatred instead of empathy into others. Since my youth, I have seen plenty of individuals flourish into their sexuality, men losing their bass in their voice, women trading in push up bras for sports bras and fitteds, etc. For the most part it is pushed into our lives via the media, the news and TV shows, Will and Grace, Real World, the LOGO network are a few examples but the list goes on. The community also began to take strives by getting laws passed to eliminate discrimination and some states have allowed same sex marriages. There has been many accomplishments but just like most civil rights movements in this country they have a long way to go. It use to appear weird seeing a same sex couple walking the street holding hands, at one point they were afraid to even do so but times have changed greatly. It has yet to be proven but those from the LGBT community say they are born that way and there is still a great wall of courage one has to leap to be open about their sexuality.
Recently at Rutgers University student Tyler Clementi committed suicide after being secretly taped kissing a man. His fellow peers who wanted to play prank on their roommate but from the vast media sources who have covered this, I’ve read they did not know about his sexual orientation so the footage recorded was a surprise even to them. Personally, I wouldn't have went through with it once I saw he was gay, given America’s rep for so openly embracing the LGBT community, I knew it wouldn't be pretty if made public. To recap, they post the video, the kid is so embarrassed he decides to take his own life. Prank gone wrong. But now the term "bias" and "hate crime" are placed into the mix from the media outlets. They are investigating if the two students involved Clementi’s roommate Dharun Ravi and his friend Molly Wet are anti-gay individuals so they can prosecute them harder, but why? Few things you should ask yourself after reading the garbage the news outlets post:
1. Would they have posted the video regardless of the action during his time alone in the room?
No matter the content of the video they would have followed through with the prank, Clementi could have been dancing covered in peanut butter; the video was going to hit the web regardless. Would it still be a hate crime?
2. Has any other factors been put into the mix of why he committed suicide?
This isn’t the first time a college student killed himself. College life is stressful and then you add 15 credits, a part maybe even full time job - the video could have just been the straw that broke the camel’s back.There could be plenty of outside reasons why he had to hide his sexuality and therefore adding to his stress levels: general acceptance, family and friends. So America feels the best solution is destroying two more lives? What will be accomplished long term from this?
At one point in American history we use to slander those from the LGBT community for being different. Now the media embraces them so if you talk bad about them, first amendment deez nuts. Better not get in an altercation, intentional or not with a homosexual it’s now a hate crime. Disagreements is apart of life, some minuscule and non violent like between two boys in a schoolyard, while others can be long and deadly like the War in Iraq. Its easy to draw the conclusion that people do disagree on a wide array of reasons. So why do we label things as hate/bias crimes and prosecute harder just because a person was of another race, sexual orientation religion etc. even if that didn’t initiate the altercation. Situations like this suicide at Rutgers only increase friction and drives separation between humans because of the way it has been labeled and handled. Race, religion and sexual orientation are factors that only separate our culture, beliefs or who we sleep with at night but we are all still human, breathe the same air, bleed the same blood. I may not personally agree with Clementi’s lifestyle but I respect life. I refuse to fall into the traps America plants to keep us more and more apart. America discriminates, judges, persecutes, prosecutes and jails people unlawfully, thank you Patriot Act, but they are ready to destroy two more lives in a country where Clementi sexuality is not respected nationally in the law books. Look at all the back and forth our country has had over the years just for homosexuals who want to serve in the armed services. Shouldn't our country take responsibility for Clementi feeling out of place?
Society burns bridges before they are even built. Why do you think racism is still alive, why you watch the every movement of an Arab who boards the train, or your skin crawls when an openly gay man crosses you on the street?. Our great land which accommodated racism with Jim Crow laws later overturned it telling Americans don't be racist anymore. Homosexuals use to have to hide their sexuality until America unlocked the door to the "closet.” Now, all those gay bashers must have open arms and respect Adam and Steve holding hands because America said so. We can not become united under these conditions. Animosity is only present between different races, religions, creeds etc. Do you think the families of these Rutgers students who are being prosecuted will ever attend a gay rally? They will now have hatred in their hearts toward the gay community because the media has promoted their children as gay bashers. Stupid and immature, yes, they invaded privacy and exposed Clementi but is that enough to make an interesting headline? Bully, hate, bias are the words used to describe this crime, this is how we are dug deeper into the hole of hate. Any tweets, Facebook statues from the suspects Dharum Ravi and Molly Wei can now be twisted in the court room to turn them into gay bashers. If they were not bias towards homosexuals prior to this incident, trust me they will be if they throw the book at them. This hate has a domino affect onto their families, friends and the ignorant gay bashers of America. I recently saw www.godhatesfags.com via Twitter. We have bigger fish to fry compared to these two students. The masterminds behind sites like these probably have a lot to say regarding Clementi.
Hopefully Ravi and Wei are punished properly for the crimes they have committed and not turned into puppets of hate for America's liking. I am writing because I want you to take this tragedy as a time to reflect. Are you a puppet of hate? You may have built up prejudices against a group or class of people because the only time you see them is in a negative aspect. Embrace, interact and learn about what you don't understand. If you only get your information from Big Brother stop because he only cares about himself, he is stronger with us separated as compared to us actually being the United States of America. I leave you with a bar from Nas from "Hate Me Now,” it helped me look at myself and our nation in a new light, if you are or someone you know hold a grudge against others hopefully you can see the light also. Kill hate, not humans.
"Niggas fear what they don't understand, hate what they can't conquer, guess it's just the theory on man"
