Gay School

[Alejandro]

Originally posted by Acid@Jul 29th, 2003 - 2:43 pm
at school i told people i was bisexual, not because i was like coming out to everybody, but my close friends knew i dated guys too and so it was just part of our everyday conversations,
some people would call me gay and stuff but i didnt really give a dam, the ones who said stuff like that were people who try too hard to become popular at other people's expense

but when they realised i was going out to places and with people they could only dream about they started to wanna be my friend... YEAH IN THEIR DREAMS.....
not being concieted or anything, but i was probhably one of the top 5 most popular people in my year at school and i cant really say im that suprised either, i was just myself all the time, friendly with everybody, fun and serious at all the right times.

there's no way i would have chosen to go to a 'gay school' that idea just seems SO boring.....being with gay people ALL the time......
even going to gay nightclubs can get boring once you've had everybody...let alone for 7 years

of corse there are always gonna be those kids who pick on gay kids, you just gotta stand up for yourself

I agree with Sean... Puerto Rico has a high level of macho men and closed minded people, and you get hitted frequently with sarcasmand lots of hate around...I remember once, when I was in a middle of a Dior festival, doing my job with a customer, and, you dont see a guy doing someone's makeup...I got thrown with a perfume bottle on my head from somewhere I dont know...sh*t that hurted.. Also, back in school, my classmates used to pick on me, BUT HELL NO! I wasnt going to be their clown, and I dunno how they stopped messing around with me..maybe that was cause I dropped my pants once in front of everyone... what could that be?? ..anyway, my point is, I dont think that having a school for gay teens is stupid or senseless, maybe is good, cause some need care and love from their hating parents, and friends, and other people, but, they are highlighting that we are like this different specie that needs to be away from humanity, instead, like Spacemiu said, we have to teach tolerance, in every single school, not to separate us...that wont bring us closer...

 

[werth]

what the heck is gay school?

 

[thefashionista]

where they teach you to be gay! nah just kidding..

i agree with conservatives for once. a school for gay, bisexual, transgender people is a waste of money- there will always be bigots and close-minded people out there but most of youth's society today is extremely accepting of everybody.
besides, having a gay school to protect these people's feelings etc is silly- people of other ethnicities endur slurs all the time, yet we don't pull them aside and say, it's okay, it's not true- we just make em deal with it!

it's the usa- everyone should be treated equally, and that means not only should nobody be lowered, but no one should be priveleged!

 

[VICTIM]

this seems like a way for these kids to be cowards and run away from the people that harrass them. i was harrased and beaten at school and of course it was horrible but they just need to realise that they're obviously better than them. stupid waste of money

 

[werth]

I think gay school is silly because all its doing is isolationg this group. I mean, when the bell rings they have to join the real world again... its not a proper balance...
also its the 21st century & most people are accepting of different cultures and groups...
It makes not sense to be as load and out there with a 'gay pride parade' each year, and then segregating the future with this type of high school... and in every high school there is always different sexuallitys, different races, different genders, everything. High school should be a time of discovery when you interact with all these sorts of groups.

 

[fashionicon]

Yeah I don't agree with this at all.

As someone already said, there will ALWAYS be bigots and people ready to harass with you.

Make a school for homosexuals, then make an all-black school, then an all-arab school, a school for bigger people,smaller people, a school for kids with acne, a school for kids with big noses etc, etc. Then we are back at square one.

People are going to make a fun of others regardless of how you act,what you say, and what you do.

Be better then them and ignore it.

What sense does it make if the school is going to be teaching the same concepts as a heterosexual school?

 

[fashionista-ta]

I agree with what everyone has already said.

How is segregation going to help anything? When they leave school to go to the 'real world' it's certainly going to be more than a little different. This isn't doing anything to promote understanding and awareness, just points out they're different. It's not as if there are different schools for race, height, hair colour, etc, then why one for sexual preferences??

High school is often significantly more vicious than the adult world. I don't think this school is a bad idea ... it's not like going to it is mandatory. If that were the case, I would *definitely* be opposed.

I certainly agree with trying to prevent violence and teach tolerance, but any member of a minority group will tell you that sometimes you just feel like being with people like you.

Actually in practice there often are different schools for race, just because people often choose to live with people like themselves, so we end up with schools that are largely attended by people of a single race or ethnicity. But being gay is different ... it cuts across all ethnic and class lines, and unless you have someplace like this school to go, doing something simple like going home doesn't take you to a group of people like you at that age.

It also seems that many gay people, for reasons I don't think anyone really understands yet, are gifted/interested in particular industries/professions, fashion being one of them. So magnet education also makes some sense from that standpoint.

So I have no problem with the option of a gay magnet school being provided for those who wish to attend.

 

[fashionista-ta]

I agree 100%. I think kids have a right to feel safe, but what makes you so sure they are going to get beaten up or picked on there. Kids pick on kids regardless of where you put them.

I watched a special on MTV that showed a "gay school", and they were downright mean to each other. I didn't see anything different than if they were going to a normal school. And believe it or not, most of them wanted to go back to their regular school. I just think it will cause more bad than good.

I think anytime you gather a group of people where ~100% of them have been abused (meaning the teasing and violence they experienced previously) and they are all still very young, so they haven't had a chance to process it all yet, you're creating a potentially volatile situation ... but also a potentially healing situation. Sure, without direction and appropriate resources and structure, it absolutely will deteriorate and most people at that age who've had these types of experiences will lash out at whoever happens to be at hand. It also has the potential to be a great environment--it all depends on how it's structured, what resources are available, and how the people in charge handle it

 

[tiffany]

instead of opening schools for gay people, they should be teaching tolerance and acceptance and not leting evil children terrorize people.

I completely agree There should be much much more effort put into teaching children (and especially high school students) to accept diversity

That said I do think that a school for gay/bisexual/transgender is a good thing, but it makes me sad that there should be such levels of bigotry in society for the need of one

 

[Sephora_Socialite]

I do get the point of the gay school because I've heard of some violent hate crimes and I can understand they want a place but get away from that...but....Money should be put int programs that teach tolerance or helps reach out to those minorities to help them feel alright at school.

At my school I'm proud to be a Peer Counselor. Not a lot of schools have that.... not only do we help people with all types of problems (some of them are racial conflicts), but we organize a 3 hour event every semester called USF- United Student Forum which is getting people from very different groups and help break down some stereotypes/misconceptions they have about people.

Another I'm involved in is S.T.A.N.D., a club that is all about acceptance for gay people. It's sad though this year the Day of Silence which was a silent day in protest of hate for gay people had to be changed to Day Of Unity for all types of minorities. Though, I think including types of social mistreatment to all minorities is better, the reason we had to change it was sadly because of our sister highschool having about half the students not show up to school because it was "*** Day", and homophobic parents and students complaining. Even when we changed to Day Of Unity....we STILL had protest and some PARENT was yelling at me for having a silence pin on me. Thats proof there will always be hate, yes, but ater the event and after some read our stories on the newspaper....those people started to see gay, straight it didn't really make a difference...or at least make them aware from the protest that hate is still out there when it is so unecessary.

I know that its easier said than done, and some areas aren't as diverse so those "different" students are harder to adjust...but its NY... if they're going to fund something, I think programs like ours make a difference. I've compared my school to others around the area and you can see a lot of mixed groups hanging out at lunch, we have less serious fights and the other schools don't have or not as affective programs like others...Also scary security like ours really helps too. I keep my mouth shut or else they'll step on me seriously... things only work so well because clubs like those and diciplinarians like the security and Dean of Students work together to keep order.

Okay I'll stop talking now. I'm in "spokesperson" mode. ...

 

[Kalista]

I do get the point of the gay school because I've heard of some violent hate crimes and I can understand they want a place but get away from that...but....Money should be put int programs that teach tolerance or helps reach out to those minorities to help them feel alright at school.

At my school I'm proud to be a Peer Counselor. Not a lot of schools have that.... not only do we help people with all types of problems (some of them are racial conflicts), but we organize a 3 hour event every semester called USF- United Student Forum which is getting people from very different groups and help break down some stereotypes/misconceptions they have about people.

Another I'm involved in is S.T.A.N.D., a club that is all about acceptance for gay people. It's sad though this year the Day of Silence which was a silent day in protest of hate for gay people had to be changed to Day Of Unity for all types of minorities. Though, I think including types of social mistreatment to all minorities is better, the reason we had to change it was sadly because of our sister highschool having about half the students not show up to school because it was "*** Day", and homophobic parents and students complaining. Even when we changed to Day Of Unity....we STILL had protest and some PARENT was yelling at me for having a silence pin on me. Thats proof there will always be hate, yes, but ater the event and after some read our stories on the newspaper....those people started to see gay, straight it didn't really make a difference...or at least make them aware from the protest that hate is still out there when it is so unecessary.

I know that its easier said than done, and some areas aren't as diverse so those "different" students are harder to adjust...but its NY... if they're going to fund something, I think programs like ours make a difference. I've compared my school to others around the area and you can see a lot of mixed groups hanging out at lunch, we have less serious fights and the other schools don't have or not as affective programs like others...Also scary security like ours really helps too. I keep my mouth shut or else they'll step on me seriously... things only work so well because clubs like those and diciplinarians like the security and Dean of Students work together to keep order.

Okay I'll stop talking now. I'm in "spokesperson" mode. ...

Very well said Jade I myself believe that while there maybe should be a gay school to those that really feel they need it, it might not be the solution to cutting down the problem that is homophobia. Education is key imo, a lot of the time the only reason people are homophobic is because of ignorance. I think there should be much more awareness and encouraging people to be way more open-minded.

 

[fashionicon]

^ Agreed.

The key word there is IGNORANCE. People base their opinions more on what they see on t.v now these days.

 

[Scott]

Well,coming from the highly religious-oriented South,ignorance is definitely bliss. And I certainly had my fair-share of hate mongering spew thrown at me--and it won't change anytime soon either especially when we keep voting in fundamentalist conservatives. Really,I don't think having such a school is a bad idea. One,they get to be around other gays. Two,it also allows more freedom to express yourself. Something,I was never really allowed back then. And I still can't really....not here anyway.

 

[helena]

what the heck is gay school?

try READING the thread & you might find out.

I am not sure its a good thing. The world is sepratist enough without educating children on the grounds of sexual preferences. Surely that will only add to 'straight' people not understanding 'gay' people - and misunderstanding others is the root of hating them. Teach tolerance, understanding & acceptance of all things that make us all different and maybe we'd have happier societies.

 

[justlucky]

My gut reaction is that these schools aren't necessary, but I'm biased because I live in a pretty liberal area. I've talked to my nieces and nephews (high school age) and they're 100% accepting. To them, its a non-issue, which I think is great.

But I can see these schools being really helpful in the South and other conservative areas where gay kids might be facing physical abuse in schools. On the other hand, if these kids are afraid of bigots, they probably should throw the bigots into a special school where they can have tolerence beaten into their thick heads. To borrow an idea from Golda Meir, "Once in the Cabinet we had to deal with the fact that there had been an outbreak of assaults on women at night. One minister (a member of an extreme religious party) suggested a curfew. Women should stay at home after dark. I said: `But it's the men who are attacking the women. If there's to be a curfew, let the men stay home, not the women."

 

[shopsmuch]

I think this is a bad idea for so many reasons, but one thing that I didn't really see anyone make a big deal about but shocks me is that it's not a private schol, taxpayers are paying for it. That to me is rediculous. I have gone to Catholic school all my life, but there is no comparison there. My parents paid thouands every year for me to go there and be treated special and we receive next to no funding from taxes. Like someone said earlier in the post, there's no schools for people who get made fun of for other reasons--shortness, fatness, bad skin, whatever. This is just a crazy idea. How can you teach tolerance to kids if all the gay kids are separated and the majority doesn't even have any experience around them? And how can the gay kids going to "gay school" ask to be treated the same as heterosexuals if they are separating and treating themselves differently? Such a bad, bad idea. I know that gay kids deal with some pretty bad abuse amongst their peers, but I was teased a hellish amount because I was shy and really weird until my junior year of high school. Should I have asked taxpayers to fund a special "Shy and Weird" school? I don't think so.

 

[snowqueen]

I think that by segregating gay people into "gay schools" it will make the problem of homophobia worse .... as people will see homosexuals as something "different" as they will go to a different school. It will make people more nieve and prejudice imo. Ok im not making my point cler but hopefully someone will understand what i mean.

 

[Duleeshab]

To me having gay schools is just as bad as having black/asian/hispanic/white/etc schools. Gay people don't have any 'special' needs what I mean is they are not mentally handicapped.

tiamaria... I understand what you were talking about

 

[summerbreeze]

at school i told people i was bisexual, not because i was like coming out to everybody, but my close friends knew i dated guys too and so it was just part of our everyday conversations,
some people would call me gay and stuff but i didnt really give a dam, the ones who said stuff like that were people who try too hard to become popular at other people's expense

but when they realised i was going out to places and with people they could only dream about they started to wanna be my friend... YEAH IN THEIR DREAMS.....
not being concieted or anything, but i was probhably one of the top 5 most popular people in my year at school and i cant really say im that suprised either, i was just myself all the time, friendly with everybody, fun and serious at all the right times.

there's no way i would have chosen to go to a 'gay school' that idea just seems SO boring.....being with gay people ALL the time......
even going to gay nightclubs can get boring once you've had everybody...let alone for 7 years

of corse there are always gonna be those kids who pick on gay kids, you just gotta stand up for yourself

funny what two faced b*tches some people are.

 

[summerbreeze]

by the way acid who are these fabulous people you've hungout with??