Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Conversation about gays and its effects

First girl: “That state allows same-sex marriage.”

Second girl: “Ehw, yuck. That’s disgusting.”

The above two sentences paraphrase a conversation between a group of girls heard Feb. 10 outside the Marvin Center. I have several things I would like to say about it.

First of all, when I responded to the comments of these girls, one of them said their conversation was private and was not intended for me. Well that may be so, but it was in public and it was loud enough so that I could here it more than 10 feet away. Any reasonable person is going to assume this to be public domain.

Secondly, I really don’t care one way or the other whether this conversation was intended for me to hear or not, it was wrong to have said this in the first place. This is not a matter of political correctness. This is a matter of human decency. These comments were in no uncertain terms homophobic, and therefore inherently bigoted. But in addition to that, they hurt people.

They hurt people by contributing to attitudes which directly lead to anti-gay laws and policies such as those that forbid gays to marry. They hurt people by validating the mindsets of truly dangerous people such as fagbashers, Nazis and members of the Ku Klux Klan. And not the least of which, they hurt gays who hear what is said. (You may be amazed at how many gay people are around you at any given moment when you aren’t even aware of it.)

Another thing that bugs me about this situation is that this is not the first of such conversations I have heard on campus. GW is supposed to be a liberal University. It’s not. GW is supposed to accept its lesbian and gay students. It doesn’t. GW is supposed to be supportive of its students in general. Well, I think we all know how much it succeeds in that department.

Finally, homophobic people like this cannot have it both ways. By refusing to support the institution of gay marriage, these homophobes automatically become hypocritical. They criticize the gay community for being promiscuous and then they eliminate the alternative.

Additionally, the complaint that someone doesn’t want to hear about someone else’s sex life is bogus. If that is indeed the case, people like this wouldn’t make an issue of it in the first place. This girls’ comments and human dignity require that people respond to ignorance.

Make up your mind, people, and then for just one second, imagine what it would be like if it were illegal for you to marry the person you love. And for the first girl’s information, there is no state that allows gay marriage.-The writer is a senior majoring in journalism.

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