"Something I see a lot, especially with how open our LGBTQ+ population at our school is, is people speaking out against them. They think people are just looking for attention. Last year I was at the tennis courts and there was one person who was yelling at someone else, calling him a "fag", calling him really awful names. Later that day I saw a Facebook post from the same person who was yelling at him, saying, ‘If I ever see him in the men’s bathroom I’m going to beat him up.’ It was really heartbreaking to see because I thought we had such a diverse group here. Just because someone is being open, people feel like they need to comment.
"What if that was reversed onto you, what if people were saying things like that to you all the time. Nobody wants to be the center of a bad joke."
It’s important to realize how the things you say affect other people. A lot of people have said that it’s not really necessary and we don’t need to talk about equity, they just assume that nobody is racist here. But we need to talk about micro-aggressions and the little things people say, even if they’re just a joke. I think it’s important for those people to realize what they’re actually doing wrong instead of just playing it off like they’re not doing anything. The lessons have brought up the topic and made it so kids not only are talking about equity more but also are maybe doing something about it. A lot of people in my friend group really enjoyed the lessons and though they were really important. Although we can’t make everyone’s mind change, it made a lot of people who aren’t teachers feel like they have the ability to speak up."
Julie Schoene