Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008
Dec 15, 2000 | Read the story
As a teenager who spent my years in high school explaining to my befuddled peers that I could still be a feminist and enjoy cooking, I was touched and inspired by Ariel Amundsen's article. Touched because her compassion and thorough explanation of such a sensitive subject during the high school years is remarkable; inspired because I see more and more girls with my upbringing (I, too, was raised Catholic) looking beyond dogma in order to appreciate our fellow man. Amundsen has a long, hard battle ahead of her, but kudos for tackling it so early and at such a potentially volatile time in one's life. I thank her.
-- M. Riordan
I'm a 16-year-old student from a public Raleigh, N.C., high school which is known locally as being too liberal for words. And here's news: Gay bashing is in. It's fashionable -- questioning the verbal degradation and harassment of "fags" is the quickest way to get harassed yourself. It might have something to do with the malicious intolerance of local Southern Baptists, or the view of popular musicians as merely "rebellious" for suggesting violence against homosexuals. Me? I think it's plain old evil rearing its head, and schools -- religious or no -- are too afraid to touch it. Thanks, authority figures!
-- John Ring
I'm sorry Ariel Amundsen has to witness gay-bashing at school. But she shouldn't assume that such behavior is confined to Catholic schools. I graduated two years ago from a public high school, and similar gay-bashing and harassment occurred. It seems to be a staple among teenagers, regardless of faith. Your school teaches against homosexuality, and mine taught tolerance. But the students harassed gays and suspected gays anyway. Teenagers are the most pigheaded people on earth, and it's hard to teach them anything they don't want to learn. So don't assume your school is at fault. The same kids would probably behave similarly no matter where they went to school.
-- Lillie Wade
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