Wake up, you cowards and hypocrites!
Letter to the editor
I am writing this letter out of my own selfish desire for sleep. Tonight I went over to "Activities' Night" looking for some kind of good cause I could support and I found it before I even entered the building. Members of Notre Dame's own community were standing outside telling us all to wake up to our own attitudes on homosexuality.
So, I am completely awake and its two o'clock in the morning and hopefully, after I say this, I'll be able to sleep tonight. I have been so wrong. Every time I have laughed at a gay joke, poked fun at homosexuality or failed to raise my voice about the indecencies done to gays on this campus I have done Notre Dame and myself a great disservice. No "Spirit of Inclusion" statement can erase the fact that this campus sends out "No Gays Wanted" signals loud and clear. We see gays in a community by themselves and as trying to challenge what we stand for as Catholics.
The Church has declared that it accepts orientation as God-given but it cannot condone homosexual acts. Our community doesn't distinguish between identity and action; it shuts out the entire gay person. Gays here at Notre Dame aren't asking us to say that homosexual acts are OK or that gay marriages should take place in the Basilica. They want to be protected from hate; they want to have a club and put out ads so that they can assemble and support each other.
It's hard to believe that the only reason why this is even an issue is because we call ourselves Christian. Is protecting our reputation as a straight-laced Catholic institution worth hurting so many people? I believe that every single homosexual person on this campus has been hurt and made to feel like he or she is less than the rest of us simply because of sexual orientation. We have persecuted our gay brothers and sisters because of something beyond their control and we have attempted to make them all ashamed of themselves for being who they are.
Believe it or not, gay students did not come here to embarrass us all with their "little problem." Painful as it may be, gay students aren't all that different from us heterosexuals. It is no secret that showing support or sticking up for our gay community is distasteful on this campus. The administration could pass or not pass a thousand different bills on the gay issue, but it won't change what's in our hearts and minds.
Every one of us was born with a gender, race and orientation. Every one of us needs love, respect and dignity. This issue transcends religion. We are all people and deserve to be treated with decency. In order to love and support our gay community, we do not have to condone homosexuality or change our views about the Church.
Frankly, it's our duty, not just as Christians, but as people to stand up for those who are being persecuted. If we do not, then we are cowards and hypocrites. Maybe we are shaming Notre Dame more than the homosexual community ever could because we are professing to be something we are not.
I know that as an individual here at Notre Dame I have hurt every member of the gay community by my own indifference and ignorance. I am to blame for their pain and exclusion because I have not prevented it. This letter may not change anything here but after all, it really is just a selfish gesture on my part. It's late and I may not be able to sleep tonight but I needed to relieve my guilty conscience.
Lauren Wilson
Sophomore
Farley Hall
September 1, 1999
All Viewpoint Stories for Thursday, September 2, 1999
