Rejecting heterosexism
This letter is in response to Mr. Olson’s letter of coming out as a heterosexist that appeared in the April 8 edition of the Collegian. Mr. Olson’s letter includes several points of misinformation that should be corrected.
The declaration of identifying as a heterosexist is hopefully an incorrect one. The passage used to define heterosexism excludes an important component of its definition. Heterosexism also includes discriminating through the use of a majority’s (in this case, the heterosexual community) power. To be blunt, that type of behavior is uncivilized.
Some individuals repress homosexual inclinations by chastising homosexuality. The line of reasoning using the bestiality, incest and polygamy examples refers to the entire group, which is not the basis that the quotation from the Collegian uses. The “fact” remains true, but it does not refer to all homophobes.
Homosexuality, whether or not one labels it as a choice or an inherent trait, is NOT something guaranteed and protected by “our great nation.” Most states do not have laws protecting homosexuals against hate crimes, few states have laws protecting the most basic employment rights and no states have laws fully guaranteeing equivalent marriage rights.
Even with this great inequity in our nation, some of the most influential people in U.S. history were members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community. Susan B. Anthony, J. Edgar Hoover and Tennessee Williams are among them. Their great successes stemmed from their many individual gifts, one of which includes this membership.
Lastly, and most importantly, the choice not to “associate” with homosexuals because of moral disagreement with their “lifestyle” is ridiculous. That would be similar to avoiding friendships with Lutherans, vegetarians or fraternity members because one morally disagrees with their choice of lifestyle. Please do not make the choice not to associate with someone based on that. Worrying about someone’s ability to be an honest friend is challenging enough.
I hope all members of the SDSU and Brookings community, please make an active effort to embrace the similarities and differences of the LGBT community.
If one chooses to avoid, attack, or deny it, a person will miss out on a lot of wonderful people.
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