The Gays

I read a very interesting article from the La Crosse Tribune titled “For gay youths, middle school can be toughest time.” There is always a powerful meaning behind every story when it comes to young kids discovering that they are gay. It can change their life dramatically in a blink of an eye. Being gay is who they are, and discovering it can be scary especially in Middle School. I am sure It must be hard to admit that they, themselves, are gay, having to deal with all the name calling and having thoughts of committing suicide.
The young lady in the article, Rory Mann, discovered she was gay for a year but never told a single soul. She always felt that she was different and that she didn’t fit in. She ate lunch on the bathroom floor to afraid to enter the cafeteria. Being that she was in middle school, she was still at the stage of discovering herself. Isaiah Baiseri also in the article discovered he was gay at age eleven. Although he had a girlfriend at that time he never felt right holding hands with her. He wanted to be straight and tried to act as if he was straight but it didn’t work for him. Isaiah Baiseri did not admit that he was gay until four years later. I feel that it is hard for young individuals to admit they are gay, considering it is more common now, but even so, it is a big step to come out of the closet. In my opinion, it might be hard for kids to admit that they are gay because the reaction of others is unknown. Their family and friends will either accept them for who they are as a gay individual or cut them out of their lives completely.
Middle school is a rough time for gay young individuals because during the age of eleven to fourteen every kid wants to fit in. If a kid is gay and comes out of the closet, more than likely they will be teased and tortured. Isaiah Baiseri was back stabbed by a group of his girl friends who he thought were good friends until they made fun of him on myspace. He says middle school was the most miserable time of his life. Emily Coffin another character in the article can still recall her own friends making fun of her calling her names during her middle school years. Eliza Byard, executive director of the gay, lesbian and straight education network says the rates of violence against gay youth in middle school are almost twice as bad as in high school. I agree, I believe kids at that age are not mature enough to understand and be supportive.
Isaiah Baiseri considered committing suicide at his darkest moments but never attempted to go through with it. Rory Mann cut herself with a razor blade but always hid it by wearing long sleeve shirts. Maybe the thought of ending one’s life might seem simpler and easier than continuing to live with all the pain. If you were gay and at your worst would you want to end your life?
Reading articles similar to this one, reminds me how awful people can be towards another human being, especially at a younger age. Trying to discover and identify one’s self at a young age is hard, but it is even harder when one’s discovery is that they are gay. Many kids get teased for so many ridiculous reasons such as not wearing brand name clothes or not being pretty enough. If these kids are being teased for these ridiculous reasons imagine a gay kid getting teased, I assume it to be a lot worse. No one should ever be teased or talked down to because of their sexuality or for any other reason. Cruel words scar for a lifetime and can cause enough pain for someone to commit suicide.