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| Advocate Scott |
Some students from the LGBTQ center came to speak to my Communication class a couple weeks ago. I really appreciated the experience as a true learning opportunity and a way for there to be more solidarity on campus. I have been around the LGBT community since I was child. My mom and dad were active volunteers with the Louisville Fairness organization. I saw how badly “those gays” were treated and I saw how they were ostracized from our community. I heard how scared people were of coming out and how they got disowned when they came out. It has been interesting to see how accepting society has become even in my short years on this earth; but we haven’t come far enough and that is why it was so good to hear what those kids had to say.
The first young man spoke on coming out to his parents. When his father found out he divorced his mother and the young man never heard from him again. The man’s mother was more understanding but she still didn’t have the same relationship with her son as she used to. It was a difficult story to hear because it begs the question how can a parent willingly leave behind a child for such a small reason. The second young man had a more emotional story. As a boy he played on the football team and did all of these “typical male activities”. But he began to develop feelings for his male teammates and peers. Finally around sophomore year in high school he finally told his family. They kicked him out because his parents didn’t want him to influence his younger siblings. He lived by himself for years. His junior year of college he was so depressed that he overdosed on something. He called his sister when he woke at the hospital; he asked her to come get him; she called his father; he came and picked his son up from the hospital. On the way home his father turned to him and said he would always love him and that there was no excuse for his behavior. That is how a parent should behave. It took them some time to come to grips with the situation but the end of the day family should always be there for each other no matter what.
The whole thing really helped me to more appreciate everything that the LGBTQ community goes through. I am impressed by their resilience and I have come to respect their stories. Even today I still see people being mistreated for no good reason and it is so sad. It’s past time we changed.
Advocate Scott, of Louisville, Ky., is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying psychology and political science.
Advocate Scott, of Louisville, Ky., is a freshman McConnell Scholar at the University of Louisville. He is studying psychology and political science.