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Equality For All
By WKJCE RADIO
Oil City-- It was about 4 weeks ago, That I saw something unusual,
unusual that is for the town of Oil City.
It happened about August 6th,
I saw a couple holding hands coming across
Veterans Memorial Bridge and thought nothing of it, until
they came closer, it was two guys holding hands and having a good time from the
expressions on their faces and as they came closer I could hear them laugh.
Since I haven't seen anything like this.
I decided to follow them and continue my quest for knowledge by watching a bit.
It wasn't long before a negative comment came from a passing motorist.
The motorist waited, than yelled out
"Oh God oh God. Faggots" and continued to yell other obscenities, as he finished
his turn and drove on.
I looked over towards the couple whom I call Robert* and Jim.*
* The names were changed to protect identity of the parties involved.
They didn't seem to be bothered or even dazed by the comment from the motorist,
Jim said something to Robert and they both laughed and carried on their way.
More obscenities were yelled from passing motorists and some from those walking as well,
I decided to ask if this unacceptable behavior they receive is common place, and how
upsetting it is?
They both said its upsetting and yes its very common here in this small town.
Jim and Robert continued on their journey, their destination was a restaurant.
After they were done at the restaurant, they walked to the park,
As I left our couple in the park watching the lighting storm, I couldn't help but wonder,
What gives us as humans whom are not perfect by any means the right to hate and judge
others
that are different than us?
So I took to the internet,
I came across The Equality Project Website,
And I quote from their website, "Many people who are deemed "different",
"sinful", or "second best" and have long been tormented by our
society, including lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender, transsexual persons, people
of non-Christian religions, non-white people, people who speak other languages, people who
come from other lands or cultures, older citizens, persons with differing degrees of
physical or mental ability, those suffering from mental illness, people of lower economic
classes, people without higher education, people of size, and women. Not only have these
people been treated as second class citizens by society, but they have also been deprived
of their rightful place in history and because of that, their rightful place in the
shaping of the future. In our society there are many examples of this taught hatred. We
are taught that being gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender is wrong for whatever reason and by
doing so, we teach those children who happen to be lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender that
they are evil, sinful, and are damned to hell for all of eternity for simply being who
they are."
I'll continue.., "We teach our children that only the religion that they grew up in
is the "right one", that people who practice a different religion or people who
embody some religiously forbidden characteristic or way of life are "sinful" and
"wrong" and are to be shunned and treated as second best. We teach our children
that the religion that they grow up with is the one and only "true" religion
those who do not believe and support that religion will suffer. We teach our children that
the religion they grow up with alone should dictate the "morals" and behaviors
of all people, regardless of their own personal beliefs. We teach our children that people
who are different are somehow "bad" and to be avoided or even ostracized. People
who are taller, shorter, darker, lighter, speak with an accent or speak another language,
wear glasses, are fatter or skinnier, have different levels of physical or mental
abilities, dress different, or are in any other way different from the deemed
"acceptable" norm are to be avoided and viewed s somehow less of a person with
less rights. This has to stop! We as a global society have to learn to allow our children
to be who they are, to accept them as they are, and to learn what we can from them. All
forms of blind hatred are no longer acceptable and We should support and encourage
equality for all humans, including those of different races, religions, languages, ages,
sizes, genders, sexual orientations, physical or mental abilities, and cultural
backgrounds because, after all, we all have something valuable to contribute to this world
and it is only through acknowledging and celebrating this diversity of people that we can
fully enjoy the beauty and other benefits which come with that diversity."
As I continued to surf the net, I came across another quote,
"This type of hatred is learned behavior," David Long said. "It is taught
in our homes, it is taught in our churches and then it gets validated in our schools. As a
society we have to refuse to tolerate it."
A few wise words (feel free to interchange any of the groups of people with the groups
discussed here as the result will always be the same):
"First they came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up,
because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me, and by that time
there was no one left to speak up for me."
--- Said by Rev. Martin J. Niemoller in 1945
We seem to be ready to accept beings from another planet or planets, but we can't accept
those whom are different in our own community
Something we need to think about.
(Please note: This reporter would like to say that there may be some churches/homes that
have been teaching equality for all humans, for that I would like to thank them.)
Websites of interest related to this story
The Equality Project
http://equal-rights.lesbigay.com/equality.html
Personal Expressions -
Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays
PFLAG - http://www.pflag.org/
PFLAG of Du Bois - -main domain
WKJCE RADIO
http://scorpius.spaceports.com/~wkjce/
Update see Equality
For All, can it exist for more
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