Opinion

Equality continues to fight discrimination
By Amanda Davis/Guest Columnist

For the Day of Silence, I challenged myself to spread awareness of the harassment that many face given their sexual orientation.

After my classes on Friday, I walked all over downtown Portland in my homemade shirt, handing out information. I prepared myself for individuals who might not welcome me supporting this cause. When I got a glare, I merely smiled. I used caution as to who I approached. At first I was afraid to approach people, but it became natural, and I welcomed the people who approached me about my shirt and asked questions. I had several conversations with my notebook in hand. Later in the evening, I had a long conversation with a few people and I was actually enjoying myself despite having not said a word. However, I didn’t prepare myself for individuals who would be harassing in other ways.

Harassment comes in many forms, and we all know of the slander homosexuals receive. I can handle that and most of the time I laugh at the slander I get for being a lesbian. I got some of that downtown, and I think it made people a little irritated that I responded with laughter rather than anger. Would retaliating with some other disparaging remark show my desire for equality? I feel it would be me sending out hateful words and I would be discriminating towards heterosexuals, when I have no negative feelings toward those who are straight. However, when someone forces themselves on the opposite sex who considers themselves gay, do they believe that this will fix them? Is it plausible to believe that this will turn a woman towards desiring men?

My thoughts later on in the night included, “This is why I do not date men.” Granted, I have not had the best history with men, but this is not why I am a lesbian. I actually try very hard to not consider men the enemy. Although those I talk to on a regular basis are doctors and medical providers, I have come to be rather close to and open with several males. I won’t date one, or marry one, but I know I can still connect with an individual, no matter what their gender is. I can connect with someone whether they are similar to me or not.

We just had Diversity Week on campus where many spoke about our differences. The activities shed light on the fact that we are similar in that we experience some of the same struggles, but in different forms. Even though I have wanted this for years, and have worked toward it, equality is still far from happening. We may not all agree with other’s beliefs and we may not understand where others are coming from but why can’t there be some form of acceptance or tolerance towards the differences in each other? Should we not embrace our uniqueness and enjoy finding our true selves? Perhaps in discovering our individuality we can see similar characteristics in those we feel we cannot relate to.

— Amanda Davis is a member of the Queers and Allies Student Organization at MHCC.