Let's say we have a group of college students.
They're what we would consider to be normal since they fit the media's image of
normalcy. The kids in the group are all heterosexual, decent grades, they party
moderately, are decent people, etc. Now let's assume that they're all great
friends that grew up with relatively similar images of what it means to be
normal. Now the kids are talking about their views of homosexuality. Most of
the kids in the group are against homosexuality and are freely voicing their
concerns. However, there are a few kids that don't share the same belief as
their friends. They are heterosexual but have no problems with homosexuals.
The way don't see why the media, society, and religion suppress homosexuals. The
way they see it, the only thing homosexuals have done wrong is feel (non-platonic) affection for others of
the same gender. They also realize that homosexuals have no choice in their desires. The students that don't agree with the majority of the group remain silent because they are afraid of what will happen if they speak up but they realize the plea of homosexuals. It's like Lady Gaga said, "I was born this way". In a world where there are serial killers, kidnappers,
terrorists, etc. Why are we focusing so much of our time on homosexuals? Why are we suppressing them so much? Why are advocates of homosexuals opposed by the media (and society)? Compared to those criminals what is it that homosexuals have done that's so bad that we
ostracize them so?
Anyone who has views that are different from that
of the media (of society) is ostracized. They are singled out and opposed. Take
the Dixie Chicks Controversy as an example. The whole controversy arose from
something that one of the members of the group, Natalie Maine said, "Just
so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas". The
news of this negative comment spread like a brushfire on a hot and windy summer
day. The outcry from patriotic country fans was deafening and conservative talk
radio had a field day with the news, particularly since Natalie Maine made the statement
while playing overseas and during wartime. That one comment had most of
the country up in arms. They were appalled that someone would say something so
'unpatriotic'. How could the Dixie Chicks say something like that?
Natalie Maines comment, "Just so you
know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas” was a
result of her frustration with the actions of the president at the time Bush. The group released a Thursday saying they have been overseas for several
weeks and "the anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is
astounding. While we support our troops, there is nothing more frightening than
the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives
that will be lost." In a separate statement, Maines said, "I
feel the president is ignoring the opinion of many in the U.S. and alienating
the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration, and one of the
privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view."
That “point of view” however didn’t sit well with
many in the public. And with country fans known as being fiercely patriotic, it
wasn’t surprising when sales of their then recent studio release, “Home,” began
to plummet. A few weeks later Entertainment Weekly featured the three
defiant Chicks -- Maines, Emily Robison and Martie Maguire -- on the cover,
naked and painted with various slogans from “Saddam’s angels” to “free speech.”
They decided to make the most of their 'freedom of speech'. Since the majority
public (if the media is anything to go by) has little respect for them, the
Dixie Chicks figured that this was the perfect opportunity to experiment
(musically) and make the most of their freedom of speech. The Dixie Chicks were
by no means the only ones who were not happy with President Bush's decision to
have increasing amounts of troops overseas. They were just the most recognized
and (as a result) the most vocal about it. Years down the road, many people
became increasingly frustrated with President Bush's decision to send troops
overseas as it had gotten to the point that the US was spending excessive
amounts of money to maintain troops that were stationed overseas and could not
pull them back to the US.
We expect different things from different people. For example,
Eminem is held to a different standard than the Dixie Chicks. If Eminem had
said what the Dixie Chicks had, he might not have been as hard as the Dixie
Chicks were by the media because he was expected to do controversial radical
things. I mean rap is one of the most controversial genres of music out there.
Which just goes to show the double standards present in American society. It's
an implicit expectation and is true not only for music artists but for
everyone. What Natalie Maine said was shot down and faced the negative
publicity that it did partly because the Dixie Chicks were considered a country
group at the time of the incident. As a result their audience didn't expect
something like that from them and was shocked.
The thing
to take from all that is that the Dixie Chicks were different. While most of
the people of America were praising President Bush and his plans, the Dixie
Chicks were bothered by what the president was doing and did not agree with his
plans or actions (at least in regards to the issue of sending troops overseas).
As a result they voiced their concerns. They were different, outliers, and
their 'difference' resulted in them being ostracized by the media and society
of America.
In
George Orwell's 1984, anyone that opposed the Party was disciplined. In 1984,
the totalitarian group known as the Party, controlled just about everything its
citizens did. If any citizen did anything that wasn't approved by the Party, they
were taken away to be 'reformed' and were often made examples of. The society
of Oceania juxtaposes that of America and that goes to show just how powerful
and important our freedom of speech is.
So due to Dixie Chick's opinions they were
ostracized by the general public (initially). The same thing happens to people
who support homosexuals and homosexuality. The majority of the population (of
the United States of America at least) is heterosexual. So heterosexuality is
considered 'normal' and homosexuality is considered 'abnormal'. As a result, if
someone says something that goes against what we believe is normal (and what
the media has us believing is normal/acceptable) then that person is
ostracized. In an earlier post I mentioned a song by Macklemore: "Same
Love". Following in the tradition of his popular, socially concerned anthems "Outsiders" and "Wings", the lyrics (of "Same Love") are about dismantling homophobia and promoting marriage equality. " Why is what Macklemore says so controversial? Why is it considered to be controversial and met with most negative responses? It's controversial because it's different. In the song, Macklemore says "If I was gay, I would think hip-hop hates me, have you read the YouTube comments lately?" Which goes to show that not only are homosexuals categorized and opposed because they're gay but also gives an example of how difference is not tolerated or appreciated (for the most part).
A teacher in Detroit was suspended for
three days after playing a hip-hop song, "Same Love" by Macklemore,
in her class that has a pro-gay message. The school's action elicited a
response from he artist of the song, Macklemore. He responded, "I believe that Ms. Johnson getting suspended is
completely out of line and unjust. However, I think it’s important for
moments like these to be exposed and for us to pay attention and respond.
This level of intolerance and fear is still very active in America, but at
times is not completely visible. This incident is just one of tens of thousands
that have happened across the country where schools have exposed a latent
homophobia, preventing safe space for all young people to feel confident in
being themselves. It’s clear that Ms. Johnson felt bullying and “gay bashing”
were issues that needed to be addressed, and by doing so, was punished. I wrote
the song “Same Love,” not with the expectation that it would cure homophobia
and lead to marriage equality across the US (although that’d be awesome).
It was written with the hope that it would facilitate dialogue and through
those conversations understanding and empathy would emerge. This incident
demonstrates how too often we are quick to silence conversations that must be
had. Even if people disagree, there is far more potential for progress when
people are vocal and honestly expressing their thoughts about gay rights.
When we are silent and avoid the issue, fear and hatred have a far greater life
span.
It’s discouraging that a song about love and civil rights has led to
a teacher getting suspended from her job. But that’s where we are at. For
those of us who get a pit in our stomach when reading a story like this, it
just makes it abundantly clear there is far more work to be done."
It's due to responses such as these that prevent (most) people from taking a stand and speaking up against the media and society. The incident that took place with the school teacher just goes to show us that we usually don't participate in or acknowledge conversations that must be had. "Even if people disagree, there is far more potential for progress when people are vocal and honestly expressing their thoughts about gay rights." It's when we're silent, when we avoid the issue(s), that fear and hatred have reign supreme. Macklemore's response was that his fans and viewers should not feel defeated or discouraged by what happened, but rather to see it as a call to arms.
As you can see, those who are different are ostracized by the media and society. The teacher from Detroit "always plays a song with a good message at the beginning of class". That day, a student brought the song by Macklemore to her attention and she played it for the class. The person who emailed Macklemore is a 4th grader, a child. As such, he's still 'innocent' ( still ignorant) of many things, and as a result, he spoke from within. "Your song is awesome, and I have no idea why someone would find it offensive". One of the main reason that the school took action and suspended the teacher for 3 days (2 of which were without pay) was because they were afraid that people, that the media, and society would find it to be offensive. It can be argued that the school has the mentality of those in George Orwell's 1984. The handler's are afraid that they might get punished if they don't take action against one of the citizens and that forces them to do so. The school didn't want anything to happen to it and so measures were taken against the guilty person, who in this case was a woman who was just showing her class what is an exceptional video. Change is not something that we like. It's not something that the media or society appreciates either but it's important to note that change is unavoidable. Regardless of when or how, changes take place. Sometimes change is met with little opposition, other times it's met with an obscure amount of opposition, but the thing is things will change. It's inevitable. The equality movement for homosexuals (for homosexuality) has been building for quite some time now and will only continue to grow. Like Macklemore said, "Even if people disagree, there is far more potential for progress when people are vocal and honestly expressing their thoughts about gay rights." It's when we're silent, when we avoid the issue(s), that fear and hatred have reign supreme.
Difference is almost never welcomed with open arms. Difference and change is met with a degree of caution and fear. If you look back at history at events like the equality moment for African Americans and women, you'll see that at the time advocates for those movements were met with much animosity. They didn't let the animosity stop them though. They fought for what they believed in and in the end were successful. We need to do the same. The media has given us this image of what it means to be homosexual. The media tells us what homosexuality is. From the media we get these stereotypes of what is normal and isn't normal. As you have seen, whenever something happens that isn't approved of by society or doesn't fit what the media has us believing is 'normal' it's opposed. But we can't let the opposition stop us. We need to talk. To voice our concerns, our desires, so that we can rise above it. Rise above all the opposition and hate, and progress.
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