Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Open Letter To El Gato

Dear students and faculty of Los Gatos High School,


Would you call a black person the n-word? No, because it’s racist and unacceptable. In the spirit of anti-discrimination, we demand the end to using anti-gay slurs. When you say “that’s so gay” or “fag” or “dyke”, you don’t realize who hears it around you and who it is hurting. Its just the same as using the n-word. You’re discriminating against a person for something they did not ask for and cannot change—sexuality. Sexual orientation, whether it be gay, straight, or bisexual, is not chosen, just as the color of someone’s skin is not chosen. We will not stand for this discrimination and we will stop at nothing until our goal is reached—a safe school environment where no one has to avoid going to school in fear of harassment.


We’re not asking for your permission or your opinion. We don’t have to explain ourselves and we certainly don’t need your approval. It’s a right, not a privilege to be who we are.


We are sick of the hateful words and homophobic slurs. We are tired of the name calling and bullying that goes on right under the noses of school faculty. We will no longer stand by and let bullies have their way while we suffer in silence.


Who are we? We are the students of Los Gatos High School. We come from all groups and stereotypes: gays, straights, loners, jocks, bank geeks, theater kids, Asians, whites, Mexicans, Christians, Atheists, scholars, punks, emos, goths, and nerds united under one cause. Not an academic subject or a sport interest, but a passion—a passion for acceptance, equality, love, and respect for all people, regardless of their differences. We are here to be the change and make a difference.


Sincerely,

Your Gay-Straight Alliance

1 comment:

  1. Hey, this is great. I think this letter is well written and gets the point accross very well. I just caution you on using "gay, straight, or bisexual" when describing sexual orientation because that too is very restricting. Many people identify as trans, or genderqueer, etc. and I'm not sure those terms include the whole spectrum of human sexuality. It may be more effective to say "heterosexual, homosexual, and everything in between". Or not, its just an idea to think over :)

    Also, its come to my attention that most everyone is either confused, misinformed, or simply in the dark when it comes to trans and gender queer awareness. It might be a cool idea for a meeting to present on that idea and start by educating the club.

    Anyways you guys are doing an effin awesome job and im so proud I might cry a little bit.

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