Why has homosexuality been such a controversial topic in the history of United States? Discrimination, homophobic actions, laws that prohibit it, consider it as a mental illness, and many more factors have done necessary to create groups or institutions to fight for the rights of this "minority". One of this institutions is the Harvey Milk School, who the most famous and dear teacher died recently. Dennis Hevesi writes about him in his article published in The New York Times "Fred Goldhaber, 63, dies; taught at school for gays".
Fred Goldhaber, better known as Mr. G, died last monday in Jersey City at the age of 63 of liver cancer. He had have AIDs for the last 30 years. He was the first and the only one teacher for the first 4 years of the Harvey Milk School, situated in Manhattan. He started teaching as a volunteer to a class of 22 students. Since 1985, this school has provided teaching at the same time that protection for many homosexual teenagers who had been discriminated or even battered. "One boy had hitchhiked from Ohio after eight teenagers dragged him into a bathroom at school, bashed his head against a toilet and burned his arm with a cigarette lighter. Another boy, from New York City, had been abused by his parents after a teacher told them he was 'acting like a faggot.' He was kept at home for a year — chained to a radiator, beaten and taken by his father to 42nd Street and forced to have sex with men for money. His father went to prison." The school in which Mr. G was "consider as a hero by dozens of students" was what the Department of Education considered as a transfer program, what it means that the students could get equivalent graduation diplomas as the schools they had left; nowadays, an official graduate diploma is provided. Stephen Phillips, ex-superintendent of alternative high schools and programs of New York city at the time in which the school was opened said about Mr. G: "The kids idolized him. Many of them never would have gotten diplomas had it not been for the way he treated them".
What do you say? Are you either for or against homosexuality? I say, this question wouldn't exist since the perspective that the people shouldn't consider the sexuality of other people. Feel sexual attraction for men, women or both of them is as natural as to born with two eyes and one nose. I am not going to start to explain that I have friends gays, lesbians, bisexuals or transexuals because it would sound as an excuse or an intention to justify myself as a person who is in favor of homosexuality. It just would run away from the idea of normality. But the world is not like I would like it to be, so people as Fred Goldhaber is and has been necessary. United States has been and still nowadays is a country where homosexuality is seen as an illness for many people, most of them conservatives from interior states of the country. And still, a film as Brokeback Mountain creates polemic. The law tells us that homosexuality is a topic which needs to be discussed. US is a paradise for homosexuals if we compare it with some muslim or african countries where homosexuality is punished with death sentence. On the other hand, in some nations as Argentina, Canada, Spain, Holland, Norway, Sweden and Iceland, the marriage between persons from the same sex is allowed and homosexuals have the same rights that heterosexuals. Yes, recently some countries have decided that people with different sexual preferences than the majority can have the same rights than everyone. It is evident that the world still has to walk a long way to arrive to the concept of normality.
One of the students from the Harvey Milk school said "I hope there will be a day when there is no gay school. Because, you know, there should not have to be one".Dennis H. (2010, November 15). Fred Goldhaber, 63, dies; taught at school for gays, The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2010 from http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/nyregion/16goldhaber.html
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What is the idea of normality? It is only man and woman. Who frame this idea? What is a standard to tell you are a man or a woman? If we use the sex-determination system to divide male or female. I have to say such an idiot reason. In fact, female has sex chromosome XX called the homogametic sex and male has sex chromosome XY called the heterogametic sex. What is about person who have chromosome XXY? Why some people think homosexuality is not normal and why only heterosexual is normal. If the main reason is heterosexual can reproduce, only this reason is not enough.
ReplyDeleteFor the sex-determination system, scientist makes it to understand human body how it works. I believe someone or group of people have to divide human into 2 main group,male and female. Because it's easy to control or manage many rules for human society. When something, which is not fit for standard, happens they will say, " it's not normal." This sentence looks easy for them.
It sounds good for me that some countries start to give the same rights to heterosexuals. It makes me love this world more. Big thank you to the person who dare to do the good beginning and to break to old rules. It shows they starting to understand the real meaning of the concept of normality.
I want to say THANK YOU to Fred Goldhaber. He had a good job and did it well. I pay more respect for this kind of job-teacher. Teacher is a wonderful job because he helps a living thing to be a man. I always say only teacher who works with the future of people. When you say that he is a good teacher, as you prove from result after he finished his job.
I hope the student's wish become true. There is no gay school anymore.
I do not know it is normal or abnormal to be homosexual. The theories change with the time and we can find all sorts of examples about homosexuals who become bisexuals after they understand the relation with their parents especially with the mother or bisexuals parents who become homosexuals. In my opinion, the most important is if a person is attracted for the same sex the probability he or she changes is very weak because it is not easy to change or maybe she or he can not change. When I was student at the university, I taught in a high school, one of my students, who a believed she was a girl, was born with two sex and the parents decided to grow up like a girl. I think we have to respect her difference because she is like that and to try to understand why? is like to try to understand if egg was first or the hen. We need to have respect to homosexuals, transsexuals like bisexuals because if not how can we ask respect for our difference, like to be small, to be slow, to be hyperactive, ..... I also have good friends lesbians and homosexuals and in my extend family I have 3 gays cousins. HALLELUJAH that Fred Goldhaber existed to help all this gays!
ReplyDeleteAs I reread the post, I realize that I didn't explain the concept of normality , and it can be misunderstood.
ReplyDeleteI don't mean that homosexuals are normal or not. I refer normality as a perspective in which homosexuality is seen as something totally normal. Till the point that the debate is not necessary. But of course it is just an idea; in this world the debate is absolutely necessary.
Quest 2, p. 173?
ReplyDeleteAnd I think that "The Anthropological View of Religion", which you are reading this week, might also be relevant, if less directly so (Quest 3, p. 23 - 24).
I like the turn that David has given this discussion.