Queer Sighted

David Sheppard and Travis Price witnessed bullies going after a gay 9th grader who apparently was "flaunting" his homosexuality by wearing a pink polo shirt to school. The reason David and Travis were right in what they were doing was because they went beyond just telling an adult and took it upon themselves to start a “T-shirt campaign”. They were really creative in what they did and what they were trying to prove. In my opinion, I think the bullies were really stupid in their decision to, first of all, tease a person younger than them, and second of all, about wearing a pink shirt. I guarantee that nobody would tease another student or be teased about wearing a pink shirt in our school, not because we’re not capable of doing that, but because pink shirts aren’t gay or homosexual, their actual pretty descent. The two 12th graders displayed many character traits in their actions which the bullies lacked.

David Sheppard and Travis Price both displayed empathy, respect and a little responsibility. David and Travis respected the feelings of the grade nine student. They looked to understand what he was thinking and to appreciate his perspectives. They valued themselves and the grade 9 boy as well as others. They treated the boy with dignity and upheld his rights, whether or not he was homosexual. David and Travis displayed a little responsibility, in a good way. It was their responsibility to take action for what was happening right in front of them, but it wasn’t their responsibility to go and run a T-shirt campaign. All they had to do was tell an adult and the situation may have been dealt with. But instead, they thought that this situation wasn’t as small, but huge in the views of others, so they phoned and emailed many of their friends to wear pink shirts to school the next day as a show of solidarity against bullying in their school.

I believe one of the five areas of equity was being shown. Sexual orientation is determined by the sex or sexes you are romantically, physically, emotionally, and sexually attracted to. Homosexuals are individuals, who are attracted to the same sex. I believe that even if the grade 9 student was not gay, he would still be picked on because idiots, like the bullies, think that pink shirts tell the public that “I am gay” or “I am less of a man”, which gets me very irritated because I know, when I come to school on Tuesday, wearing a pink shirt, I won’t be hearing homosexual terms being shouted at me. In conclusion, David Sheppard and Travis Price showed questionable actions towards someone they didn’t know, on the first day of school, being teased.