Samuel Jendrysik, Junior
We as a species like to think that we’ve evolved over the last 70 or so years, and in many ways we have. Computers fit in our pockets instead of filling up warehouses. Cars are faster and much safer. Medicine is much better. That said, we haven’t come nearly as far as we should have in other areas, such as LGBTQ rights. In some parts of the world, everything is fine. Amsterdam is a model of diversity and equality. However, here in the States, all is less than well.
In some states, everything is fine. These states are by no means perfect, but compared to the rest, they are a paradise. It seems like every other morning I read in the headlines that a governor of this or that state has passed a bill banning care for trans kids, drag shows, or education about homosexuality. Every time I read one of these headlines I curl in on myself a little bit, and it casts a shadow over my day. This by itself is bad, but the fact that we are actively backsliding into homophobia makes it so much worse. Just the knowledge that our country seems to have passed the peak of open-mindedness makes me scared to check the news, not knowing what terribly homophobic update I might see.
It’s 2023, and if I am myself in certain parts of the country, I get treated like an outcast, and even a criminal. Even in Marblehead, I’ve witnessed homophobia, from the locker rooms at the high school to the streets of downtown. So in this world where I hear the F slur far more often than I should, I pose the question: Are we backsliding into homophobia, or have we simply never left?