**Progress.** Our country is making it... but it's still somewhat insulting...
We used to ask, “If it turns out that your baby is a girl, would you kill it?”
Now, we ask, “if it turns out that your baby is gay, would you kill it?”
Yesterday, one of my students (who shall remain anonymous) asked me that question. On the inside, I was like, “Whatever gave you the impression that I’m ever gonna get laid… xD” but on the outside, I just brushed aside the question with a quick, “Meh, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter.” I’m not sure if my answer surprised him but he countered my indifference with, “But if your kid is gay, he will be useless.” and I was like, “whut?” He went on to explain that the only thing gay people do is walk around on streets, clapping and begging for money. To this, I responded, “My kid will probably get a job. He or she won’t be begging.” The counter to that was, “No. Gay people won’t be given jobs because they are not people.” At this point, I was just humouring the kid but I continued the conversation anyway.
“And why aren’t they people?”
“Because they are both boy and girl.”
Now, this is obviously a young boy who knows nothing about the deep psychological explanations of gender and sexuality. So, I didn’t bother to correct that. He was just too young for all this. Anyway, I continued the dialogue.
“So… according to you, they are both male and female… so… how does that not make them people? what is the definition of a person?”
He was stuck. He simply replied with, “Because… because they are both boy and girl.”
At this point, I was about to go into complete “Boi, you gonna learn today!” mode but our conversation was interrupted by unavoidable causes and we had to end it at that.
Here lies my dilemma. Whether I should have corrected his views on homosexuals and transgenders is probably a question I will ask myself repeatedly… and I am cursed to not know the answer to that until someone on the internet gives this post an angry reply filled with capital letters, asterisks and exclamation marks. For now, all I can do is make this post and lament upon the backwardness of my society and also upon my own inability to set my student on the right path. I will not bring up the topic myself… because I understand some people might be uncomfortable about me educating their child regarding the intricacies of basic human decency. However, I am determined to speak my mind the next time he brings up the topic.
The picture he sees is just someone walking on the road, clapping their hands in a most undignified manner and for the most part, mugging the public. The picture he sees is companies and institutions refusing to give them jobs because it goes against what they believe to be the truth. The picture he sees… is a twisted one… much the like image of Jesus Christ we see today… the one we worship without realising that this image was nothing but a political tool used by Rodrigo Borgia to help in his greedy conquest of Italy. In reality, the image of Jesus we see today is actually a portrait of Cesare Borgia, the son of Rodrigo Borgia. It is these small details that can change your view of history… but I am getting off topic here.
The point is this: this boy is, one day, going to be a voter. a taxpayer. a citizen of out country. I am sure as hell not going to let it be my fault that he cannot recognise another human being as a human being. My one constant hope has always been in our mortality. people die… and if enough people die, maybe their outdated beliefs will die along with them. Maybe one day, our country will be ready to accept people regardless of who they are… and I’m not just going to sit here, waiting for that day to come, when I have been given the golden opportunity to help young minds create that very day.