Response to Jess

Is this really happening? Okay, what century are we in again? And we still can't accept that people are different? What is wrong with out society? I just had to get that out because I am extremely disgusted, to say the least, with what is going on in our world right now.
The morning before I actually read Carlson's article, I was watching the news and found out that yet another young man had killed himself as a result of being harassed because he was homosexual. This man, named Tyler Clementi, was a freshmen at Rutgers State University of New Jersey, and, as you can read in this news article, he was pushed beyond the limit, and decided to end his life by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.
It doesn't end there. Just last week, two other boys took their own lives after being bullied and pushed out of the social norm for being gay. Thirteen year old Asher Brown of Houston, and thirteen year old Seth Walsh of California decided that they couldn't live one more day getting treated the way they were. And Billy Lucas, a fifteen year old high school freshmen, also hung himself last month from the same cause. Blunt enough?
Carlson argues that people, kids especially, need to become aware that there are differences in this world, and they need to be accepted. No matter how against something kids are, they need to somehow reprogram their brains and think otherwise. To do this, teachers and departments of schools need to stop being cowards, and they need to start teaching and acknowledging homosexuality in their curriculum. They need to know that it's okay to teach about these things, because it is present in the real world. It's when teachers decide to maneuver around the subject and ignore it, then students begin to think that maybe it is wrong, and maybe it shouldn't be accepted. And that's when gay student themselves are too afraid to stand up for themselves and live their lives openly as who they really are.
In this video, clinical psychologist Jeff Gardere reinforces the idea that teachers and parents need to help their children and students understand that homosexuality is a part of our world and it needs to be accepted. The video expands on Tyler Clementi's tragedy but the most important points begin at around 3:20 in the video. I also found this page that is strictly on gay/lesbian news where anyone can comment on specific stories and share their thoughts and I found it really interesting to read the different things people have to say on this topic.
Carlson states that "the official policy in most school districts is in fact identical to that of the U.S. military: Don't ask, don't tell," and that is ridiculous. People shouldn't feel the need to 'ask', because it doesn't matter either way, but they also should most definitely not be afraid to 'tell'.

I plan on furthering my discussion on how teachers, as well as parents, need to begin taking full responsibility in how their children and students view the differences in our society. This segregation and these "phobia's", need to stop, and since children are the future, I believe that's the best way to go.