The Queer “Agenda”
The arguments about queer and transgender rights have been around for many decades. Why do people think it's so important to bring up these sorts of issues when it doesn't involve them? It's infuriating how individuals fail to get a grasp on the significance of supporting queer and trans communities. If you preach about how everyone should love and not judge each other, why do you feel the need to invalidate and spread hate to them? Dismissing their struggles simply because it doesn't align with your “standards” of how people should be is, in fact, invalidating what you preach. This mindset highlights the lack of empathy, thinking ahead, and understanding marginalized groups who have been fighting for fundamental human rights for decades.
In 2021, 75% of LGBTQ+ individuals (aged 13-24) faced discrimination at least once in their lives. They are often subject to verbal and physical abuse for simply being who they are. Discrimination against these communities manifests in laws and policies that deny them fundamental rights and protections. Olive/Nick, a queer and trans student, states, “It’s really disheartening, especially when some silly seventh grader is touching you because he doesn't think you're a guy. It’s depressing honestly.” he continues to express how difficult it has been for him to deal with the aftermath of being discriminated against, to which he says, “Little things are fine but when it gets to be too much it almost makes me wish I'd faked being a girl instead…” This statement barely scratches the surface of what some individuals have to deal with. Another trans student, Carmichael, expressed, “It's made me a lot more depressed than I should be. I'm depressed regardless, but I get weighed down by things (others say) regarding trans rights and bodies. Yet they keep on berating. It's gone to the point where I don't want to go to the bathroom…”
When asked about how the school treats LGBTQ+ students, Ella responded, “It's bad/good. It has some bad moments and some good moments. It's a Pandora's box.” Olive/Nick replied, “The school doesn’t do too much to make LGBTQ+ students welcome, nor do they do much about the bullying and harassment that happens to us. There are the little things like the GSA club, but I'm not sure that’s even available to join this year. It's not enough because many of us get bullied, and it doesn't get fixed.” finally, Carmichael says, “It's not really that they do much harm actively, though they harm. They [the school] kind of pretend it doesn't exist in a systematic way. Individual teachers are good at accepting us. I really appreciate that they ask for my pronouns.”. All these answers are different but similar in their own ways. If these three students say this about the school, it makes me wonder what others have to say about this school. Although I've just started attending Ike, it really seems like they're not the best (but I mean, who really is?) with supporting its minorities.
These statements really make me ask, why does their identity have anything to do with you? I know I can't magically change your mind about what you think, but it doesn't hurt to at least pretend to respect people, like even just once; just try to be respectful once in a while. It's absurd to fixate on something that is so inconsequential as someone's gender identity or sexual orientation. If you think like this, I think you should get over yourself and focus on things that matter, like world peace, stopping the homeless crisis, and stopping actual wars. It's time to start embracing diversity and uniqueness, regardless of whether they choose to express themselves. The moral of the story; practice what you preach.
