Letter to the Biased Editor

A few months ago we had some hate crimes at my college. Although it was a horrible problem, it brought out some of the best peer and community support I have ever seen. In fact it inspired me to write a letter to the editor of my hometown paper. The letter follows (edited to exclude personal information) but the surprise and issues with this are after that...

I am a graduate of This Community's High School and a first year student at A Small Private College. In high school, I always struggled between balancing great ideas and how to pursue them to enact change. I thought that in a small community that is deeply rooted in its beliefs, action was hard to take and change was hard to implement. Issues that arise in the community often seem covered up and glossed over even though it is not the right thing to do. The town my college is in is also a small community that has many things in common with this, my hometown. The difference, I have learned, lies in the response to hurtful and harmful actions and speech. Recently on campus there was a hate crime directed towards a girl because of her sexual orientation. In a small town, it may seem it would be okay to say that this sort of thing rarely happens and to just let it go. However, at this school, in this community, it is not okay. The whole community, college and residents alike, took action against this awful crime. Fear and hate are not tolerated. A racial slur, harassment because of sexual orientation, and general fear of “the other” is reason for action. We held a rally showing support for the queer community. There are many more events and long term plans being acted upon. This is a place of action. This is where people are people and support each other no matter what their sexual orientation or race. When people challenge our community, we fight back. When someone commits such a heinous crime, we stand together to make sure it does not happen again. It was amazing to see college students joining with faculty, staff, and community residents fighting for something they believe in. It was inspiring to know that, as an ally, I can use my voice to make a difference for my friends. I have found a place that is accepting of everyone, and when someone challenges this acceptance, we make it clear that we stand together. This made me think, why is it that this is a new experience for me? The same offenses happen in Hometown everyday. In high school people made cruel remarks and no one did anything. Around town people get jumpy when you bring up something “taboo.” Gang related ideas have posed threats to the community. Why has no one taken action against this? Why do the residents tolerate this? The police can only do so much to stop these things; it is up to the people to send a message to the perpetrators that hurtful and harmful acts will not be tolerated. I am not saying that a rally needs to occur; I am just asking that the next time someone says something you think is wrong or offensive, that you challenge their idea. Many people do not realize that when they say, “that’s gay” that it is offensive to a group of people. Challenge the ideas that people put in front of you. Challenge your own ideas. Do not just sit passively and hope that someone else will take care of it. Having a community means more than just living in the same place. It means everyone stand together for the right and just things. Having a safe community means protecting everyone’s safety. Living in a small town means you have the perfect place to enact change.

Now imagine my chagrin when I saw this printed in the Hometown paper with the (self-identified) Queer Community repaced with the Gay Community. First off I would like to say that NOT everyone in the queer community is gay. Second, the paper did exactly what my letter is asking people not to do. They replaced a word that really only means different or unconventional with one that applies to a small population of people in the real group. And they OBVIOUSLY did it without challenging themselves as to WHY they were replacing the unoffensive word with one that excludes a large amount of the people I was talking about in my letter.

When I saw people who commented me on this letter, I first explained the paper's error, then they gave me their view on the letter.
Most people thought I was "a very strong writer with a lot of good ideas" but that I would "only be let down when people didn't live up to my expectations"
Here's the thing. I do not expect anything from people. I hope that people take what I write and really encorporate it into their lives. Whether they think I am a genious or insane, I don't really care as long as they THINK about what I am writing and have some reaction to it relating it to themselves. Judging me was not the point of this post, I don't care if you think I am a silly idealist. I don't care if you think I will change the world. I only hope that it will affect you. Good or bad, whatever opinion you have about the ISSUE, share THAT, not what you think about my well-being. Lets get real here people, my life just isn't that interesting and I am never going to do anything to revolutionize the world. Every INDIVIDUAL person needs to revolutionize their own thinking, their own lives for any difference to be made. I only want to inspire people to make this change in themselves.

Perhaps I should have made this clear before I blindsided a small town with such "idealistic" suggestions.

I appreciate the people (that I can count without even using my toes) that understood the point of this letter and told me how much it really made them rethink their own ideas whether it be how they felt about the QUEER community or even how they felt about women in society.

Thank you college graduates. Thank you.