LGBT                                                                                           
VIOLENCE         

LESBIAN      GAY         BISEXUAL         TRANSGENDER

    Real People, With Real Voices, Who Want To Be Accepted
                           
     Human Rights are thought to be one, if not the most important achievement of American society. As a nation that prides itself on freedom, it still has not clearly

defined the meaning of equality. A vast majority of Americans are under the impression that equality is not only our future but also our present.

Unknown to them, there is a even larger group that have yet to see kind gesture directed their way. Of course there are obvious forms of mistreatment that can be

recognized by anyone. Racism, Sexism, Ageism, and Xenophobia are all social issues that are frowned upon in very public ways. As a society, we believe that these forms of

hate are both archaic and unnecessary.We can't use the infamous "N" word, but we can high-five 50 year old men who make passes at 17 year olds. The people who live in

this country have no problems with double standards, as long as it doesn't effect them directly. In a country where its citizens are overly sensitive about any comments thrown

their way, one would assume that acts of discrimination would be less common.
  
     Even though there are various ways for citizens to protect themselves from those who show hatred towards them, not everyone is protected. Sexual orientation

remains a vital part of American society that many refuse to re-evaluate. In a nation that has lead various movements internationally in attempt to spread freedom, we are still

limiting the freedom of our citizens. The United States should reconsider the country's overall achievements and realize that gay tolerance could add to our many

 monumental accomplishments. This country is based on a series of false ideals, and its time for people to make a change; if no one ever points out the inequalities that this

country has, then our leaders will have no reason to make reforms. It only takes a few determined people who truly care, to actually encourage a movement.
   
    America is amongst a limited amount of countries that allow its citizens to take an active part in the way that its government is run. We are able to vote for all of our

government officials, no matter how meniscal or ridiculous their job may be. Any American born citizen is eligible to run for president and that is a very powerful part of our

country. In primary school we are taught about the importance of making decisions and letting our voices be heard. It is amazing to think that in a nation where people are so

encouraged to be independent at such young age, there are so many that are afraid to say how they actually feel. Its hard to believe that with time people have managed to

become less confident, and are still worried about what people think of them.
                                                                      
   Homosexuals are discriminated against because their sexual orientation, not because they've done anything wrong. The world is filled with criminals, murderers, and rapists

but these people are looked down upon because they wish to freely express themselves. In a world where there slavery was practical and genocide was just a causality of 

war, it is outstanding that mass amounts of us are still here. Humans have done unspeakable acts to one another over entitlement and racism, but there is no reason why we

should be still be doing the same thing in present day. We learn  history so that we can educate ourselves and we don't repeat the mistakes that were made in the past.

Violence has almost lead to the end of the world on numerous occasions, its time for us to rebuild it into a place that everyone can inhabit it equally.

Religion.Seriously?
   
    Religion has been the primary source behind most hate crimes, and truthfully  that is pathetic. Is it ironic that most of the worlds most practiced religions, Christianity,

Judaism, and Islam, all heavily disapprove ? Who knows for sure, but its pretty unbelievable how many people will blindly follow a religion hat they don't really believe in.

Since the beginning of organized religion, people have been willing to do anything to prove that they are just like everyone else; if that meant dedicating their lives to follow a

religion that they were skeptical of, so be it. Being popular was important, even back then. In present day, centuries later, people are still enforcing religion on their children

just because  everyone else is doing it. Regardless of what people are taught by their parents, or their rabbis there is still the concept of respect that should still be upheld. A

vast majority of those who bash those in the gay community have a tendency to always support their actions but saying religion made them do it. Unfortunately for those sad

fellows, this is not bedevil times, and the crusades are over. We can't point the finger at anyone else but ourselves; religion did hit that man with a baseball bat, you did. Pulling

the religion card is not only starting to get sad but its also starting to sound all to repetitive. There are educated people, who follow religion who can manage to control

themselves when they are in uncomfortable situations; why can't everyone just put on their big kid shoes and grow up.The whole "Adam and Eve" not "Adam and Steve"

comment is the extent of their pathetic biblical knowledge. Unfortunately most of these people have no problem with the way that they live their lives. There are many things

that the bible says followers of God should not do but are still done anyway. Some example include:

1.)  Leviticus 19:29, " You shall not round off the side-growth of our hairs, nor harm the edges of your beard".
        -People cut their hair and beards all the time; they don't worry about disobeying god
                                                                
2.) Leviticus 11:8, in referral to pigs " You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses, they are unclean to you"



-People eat pork all the time and have no problem with a pigs "flesh" when they are playing with it or wearing

3.) Leviticus 19:19, "Nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together"
        -Most people are not keen to wearing one piece outfits made of just one type of fiber.

4.)Mark 10:8, "What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate"
        -In present day an astounding number of marriages end in divorce and some get divorces as if it were a hobby



    The bible also explicitly reinforces the importance of kindness and love.It is hard enough for people to find love in a world that is filled with so much hate. Even if someone

disagrees with the way that someone has decided to live their lives, at least they can still give that person an ounce of respect. If people can put their faith into God, then they

should have the faith to believe that he does everything for a reason.

    The United States is a country that clearly believes that there is a separation between church and state, unfortunately the United States doesn't know it. In a secular state

there are no personal influences that should sway government rule. This system is supposed to create limited social and religious biases when creating decisions within the

country; there can then be decisions made based on what would benefit the nation as a whole, rather then who it would exclude.  Even though the U.S. is a nation that

supports tolerance for different beliefs, the country is not ruled by people who share unique beliefs. This nation is run by a group of rich white males, who make decisions that

 would benefit their fellow rich white males. Granted there are, even though limited, peoples of different races and religions in the government today but very few. The United

States continues to be a nation with a strong Catholic influence, that is the backbone of most legislative decisions made in this country. It has become except able for the

church to play such a significant role in the country's major decision making process but no one ever has any criticisms about the churches immoral mishaps. In recent years

the Catholic church has had its share of scandals but that is never considered because the word of god is always correct, even if his followers aren't.
     
      The United States is not country that is known for its deep ties to religious heritage but there are still social factors that are limited due to ascue morals. As a country that

advocates freedom, there are many people who are willing to limit the freedoms that people are able to express.If this country encourages tolerance for different religions,

there should also be tolerance for those who don't follow a set religion. So many social factors today are judged based on conservative views that only a minority actually

agree with. There must be a balance between good and evil. Everything is not black and white, there is always room for some shades of gray.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/27/us/27wisconsin.html
Negative Media

 The media has become such a large of human societies, many would be lost if it were to suddenly dissapear. Television provides entertainment, advertisements, and news for most of the world's population. Unfortunately many people cannot see past the information that they are getting from their "trusted" news sources. Many people are unable to make their own connections so they allow others to fill in these gaps for them. What people see on television has shaped reality maps for most of the developing  world for the past 50 years. Many people learn what is expected of them socially, sexually, intellectually and economically based on the characters that television programs provide them with. One reason why people cannot get over certain social and religious beliefs is because it is whats reinforced through the media.
    Television is not what it used to be, the spectrum of what people can say and do has been greatly widened; both sex and profanity could be found in any 8 o'clock family program. Unfortunately there are still  inconsistency's in the shifts of rights, even in television. It is still okay to call someone "Gay" just because they show any imasculte qualities. For example if a boy decided that he wanted to create art rather than play basketball, then he is automatically label as gay. Its also the passion expressed behind the word when it is being used to label someone. The tone and delivery effect a person's feelings, if it is said with hatred that person feels hated. Just because the term is used on a normal basis by many Americans, does it make it okay to use on national television?  The answer is no, just because its used it doesn't make it okay to encourage.Ignorance cannot be treated with ignorance, because then no one will ever learn why and and how to change. Problems also arise when people clearly know that they are doing something wrong but they refuse to change their habits. It only takes one brave person to stop the abuse and they alone can inspire so many others with their courage.
    Not all media bring negative energy, in recent years there has been a lot of improvement when it comes to gays in the media. On primetime television show, Glee, there are homosexual characters that help bring gay awareness to teens. Two of the shows main characters, Kurt and Santana, are gay and proud. The program shows these teens not only struggling with bullying, dating, and coming out they also have to deal with self acceptance. The show has a series of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and questioning students who are of all shapes and sizes. In early 2011 Chris Colfer, who plays gay character Kurt had won  a golden globe for best supporting actor in a TV series for his tremendous work on the show. This recognition was not only a wake up call for the young actor but also or his aspiring fans. Glee has continued to break boundaries by introducing other gay characters and address issues that many adolesecets feel. This is why the show has become a hit not only in the united States but across seas. Its one of the few shows that encourages individuality and acceptance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_buU1Xk2w_U
    Another positive change in the media could be the fact that there are now programs on television that are for primarily gay audiences. In the past, a sassy gay man was all a sitcom needed to get viewers laughing hysterically; but once they started to have concerns about their personal lives people would just change the channel. There are now television shows that are created with gay audiences in mind, and one of the places that these programs can be found is LOGO. LOGO is a television station that was first introduced to cable in 2005 and has had continued success since then. This channel runs has a variety of original programs, that have been created to cater to the gay communities needs. The network has also partnered with other stations such as MTV, MTV2, VH1, and TeenNick in order to broadcast some of their programs to other audiences. Kristina Mohamed,  a dear friend and member of the lgbt community is a supporter of this network. As a student in her late teens, Kristina has told me that it hasn't been an easy road for her in regards to coming out of the closet. She identifies herself as bi-sexual but has not always been sure. In our interview Kristina admited that coming out to her parents wasn't particularly difficult but it was more of the social aspect that was scary. She realized that she was bisexual at a young age but there were still things that she didn't understand. One issue that she has particular difficulty in was sex, and theres only so much that a person can get from the internent. There was a whole community of people out there that could help her better understand whats he was going through, she just didnt know how to access it. Kristina had started watching LOGO in 2009, and became a fan from the very start. She was no only able to watch television shows with people that she could relate too, there were also programs that help answer many of the questions that she had. Even though Kristina had parents that supported her, there's only so much advice that they could give. Channels like LOGO, that are designed to help people are a positive aspect of media that help encourage the gay community. Now Krisitina is part of a program for safe living on her campus, in which people who are insecure about their sexual orientation they can live in an environment where they feel safe. No one besides them know why they were placed in that specific area, and they are living aonst people like themselves. Even though there are many people who are too afraid to stand up for themselves, there are still some who are willing to do whatever they can to make a difference. Kristina Mohamed is just a girl who decided to make a change, which shows that that anyone who wants to contribute to the cause can' it just requires some bravery. To contact Kristina and talk to her about the contributions that she has made you can call: (718)928-8468) http://www.logotv.com/because/
    A negative part about the media is the fact that there is very little coverage of important news. Instances where there is a large amount of violence or large groups of people within the story, no matter the subject behind it the case will be reported. In most scenarios that involve gay Americans the content of the case must be brutal, laughable, or down right depressing to be reported. Its usually a story that Americans can be momentarily concerned about before their prime time television starts, then it is as if it never existed. For the most part these stories don't compel citizens to look more into the issue, it is just enough to make them steer clear from homosexuals or associate pain with homosexuality.
    Many young Americans between the ages of 9-17 attempt to mimic what they see on television. If their celebrity hero shows them that it is okay to swear and steal then they will most likely believe that they should do the same. In recent years the economy has gone under, unemployment has risen, and there has been a rapid inflation on everyday goods; every American is struggling or working harder so that they don't need to struggle. Even though people are working harder, the level of neglect has gone up in children and young adults. Regulations on television, video games, specific foods and even curfews have depleted; the future leaders of America are becoming more independent but not necessarily for the greater good. Children now have access to ideas and concepts that they previously didn't have access to, and their parents can't do a thing about it because they are not aware. Amercain's are allowed many freedoms that enable them to publish, illustrate, and say virtually anything that they want. Should there then be limited censorship on what individuals can watch?No, but giving people access to anything that they desire to see, can hurt their self esteem and their view of the world.
    When children are forced to see homosexuals being both tortured and ridiculed due to their beliefs, what are they to think about that particular lifestyle? Most adolescents are impressionable and are willing to listen to their peers criticisims . On television if they see that someone their age is being made fun of or ridiculed for simply acting a specific way they will try their best to avoid doing anything similar. In April of 2009 an 11 year old boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, of Springfield Massachusetts had taken his own life due to bullying. For months there were boys in his class that bullied him by constantly making references to his sexual orientation. The bullies called him names, and mocked him by calling him gay on an everyday basis. The death of this young boy was not only tragic but also informative to educators and parents. The fact that he believed that the only way to escape this ridicule was to kill himself, shows the effect that words have. Even though in this case Carl had taken his own life, his blood will forever be on the hands of his tormentors that pushed him to this extreme.  http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x98e9h_oprah-winfrey-bullying-and-suicide_people



                    Make a Change
    No matter what decade it is there will always be those who discourage progress, but that should not stop people from trying to make a difference. In present day there are many organizations that are founded on the basis of helping the gay community. This has enabled many Americans find acceptance and understanding in a nation that doesn't attempt to understand them. Now, the important thing is to spread the idea of tolerance  to those who are too stubborn to educate themselves. The best way to start is to  reinforce independent thought; many people are able to feel compassion but they don't have the tools to think outside of the box. People need to be pushed out of their comfort zones to be able to empathize with those who are different from them. Confidence is the major key that would allow people to make a difference. If someone sees some act of violence that they know is wrong, they should have the heart to stop it. If a person was to hear a term used that is hurtful or offensive, they should have the confidence to put a stop to it. Small things are ultimately the things that count. Courage is the key to a successful change in the way that people carry themselves and the way that they interact with others. When a person can stick up for what they believe in without worrying about the comments of others, they will truly know what it is to be free.
http://www.hrc.org/
 http://www.itgetsbetter.org/
http://nycpride.org/pridefest.php