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Michael Storr Dick Peters Foundations of Education 205 September 21, 2003 Our Town?: Hatred in the Hallways On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was found tied to a fence in the fields outside Laramie, Wyoming. Brutally beaten and left to die, this was an event that startled the nation. The death of Matthew Shepard was not just another murder, but it was an act of hate that sent a rude awakening across this “peaceful” nation. In death, Matthew forced the people of this country to wake up and ask themselves, “Could this have happened in our town?” The answers that many of them discovered were not the ones they wanted. Since Matthew’s death, the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) students on today’s school’s campuses have found themselves grouping together in a society filled with fear. In order to understand why GLBT students are living in this fear based society, we need to first realize what factors are making them feel this way. Second, we need to look at how this fear is affecting their everyday lives. Once we have done both of these, we will be able to see ways to bring down the fear wall installed in GLBT students and give them a wall of hope instead. “GOD HATES FAGS!” This statement, and others like it can be heard whenever Reverend Fred Phelps is around. Mr. Phelps is a minister at the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, and over the past decade he has established himself as the number one “faggot” hater in the United States. Many people think that the slanderous phrases that flow from Mr. Phelps’s mouth can only be heard if you see Mr. Phelps or others like him speak. These people could not be more wrong, though. In today’s society these anti-gay messages can be seen in all walks of life. Sadly though, the majority of these messages are ringing loudly from the place where we mold our children: the classroom. Now, we all remember our first day of school, right? It was scary, fun, happy, and sad all in one. Perhaps you felt lost, and you didn’t know what to do. When kids are lost and they do not know what to do they often think of ways to get “unlost.” One of the ways to get “unlost” in school today is to make as many friends as you possibly can. I thought about using a quote right here from Michelle Thomas on how kids make friends, but then I decided, “Hey, I have been in school for almost 13 years, and I think that I would know exactly how kids gain friends.” There are many ways that kids gain friends, but I am only concerned with the one that I believe is the most utilized: PREJUDICE. Prejudice is universal, and it has been around since the existence of man. I believe that prejudice was founded on the basis of self-esteem issues. I am not going to lie; I was prejudice against all kinds of kids in my younger years of school. Why, you ask? It got me friends, duh! The self-esteem of an individual is enhanced when they make fun of other people, because it protects them from having to face their own limitations and weaknesses.
Approximate Word count = 2131
Approximate Pages = 8.5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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