Reflections on "Safe Spaces"



Growing up in school I learned from other kids that "gay" was an insult.  It was not something you would want to be called.  I picked up the habit of calling things that were subpar, lackluster, or unwanted "gay".  I think it still slips out sometimes depending on who my company is but nowadays I am more cautious about saying the word mainly to not offend someone.  But not in the offend someone "hurt someone's feelings" kind of way but more like the not offend someone or "you could lose your job or be excommunicated" kind of way.  It's funny because I don't think I have ever actually hurt someone's feelings by uttering that word but I have had people get mad over how other people might feel about that word.

Still, I see how perpetuating gay as something bad is not a good thing.  Because it does increase the likelihood of others to bully those who are gay.  I do see what the article is saying about people with influence perpetuating negative feelings and beliefs about people who are gay. I like how the 5th grade teacher Patrick handled antigay biases: "Patrick does not scold.  He does not snicker.  And he certainly doesn't pretend that he does not hear.  He explores the negative usage of words such as "gay" or "bisexual".  He prods and questions, requiring students to define the terms. Patrick's actions promoted discussion and understanding..." 

Yes, I think we should not shy away from sharing instances of homosexuality in school because if we don't then we cannot see the beliefs that keep people from understanding others are.  I may be wrong but I think a lot of the anti-gay beliefs stem from religion specifically Leviticus 18:22.  The article provided a lot of examples that make me think this, though this could be my own bias. 

Once we know the beliefs others have and hold true then we come to the real hurdle of human understanding:  challenging beliefs that people have taken as apart of their identity.  It's tough because challenging one religion challenges them all and a lot of other beliefs that don't have a lot of evidence but those beliefs also have a positive purpose for the individual even if they come with beliefs that are not good for other people.  It truly will be a tough thing for all people to do.  When they challenge others beliefs whatever weaknesses in logic and consistency that shows the belief false will also apply to the beliefs we hold no matter how important they are to us.  That's how I see things.

But, yeah.  Even though I promote the challenging of beliefs and religion I still use a word, "gay", which is most likely a by product of the prejudices spread from religion so perhaps I should make more of an effort to replace that word; and not out of fear of rejection from others but from principle and moral consistency.

   
  

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