Thoughts on a Sad Story

Young, Gay and Murdered

Kids are coming out younger, but are schools ready to handle the complex issues of identity and sexuality? For Larry King, the question had tragic implications.

Somebody forwarded to me this Newsweek article. I am deeply saddened by what happened. This young gay (15yo), a baklita in our barkada's lingo, was murdered in broad daylight inside a classroom. He was shot dead by a classmate.

It's a long article. And I am not happy with the way the story is slanted. Because the little gay was quite dysfunctional growing up, it's like as if he asked for it. Well, that is my take on the article.

But on another note, I do notice how kids are really coming out at a younger age, blatantly and even militantly. I always thought that such was a good thing. I hated having to go through the proverbial 'identity crisis' in my teens. I am even impressed that these young people have sorted this out early on. And they are waving the rainbow flag high. And that also means a lot of them are already sexually active. And falling in love and having relationships.

I was out in high school, but only within the school. I couldn't hide in the closet anyway, even if I wanted to. I was just so identified with the 'badings' of the school. And we had the privilege of being dated by our straight classmates. We led a charmed life. We found love.

But Larry King, the kid in the article, is the horror side of the same story. Instead of enjoying the freedom to be himself, he found hate. And death. I am inclined to dismiss this is as 'America is just so dysfunctional.' But who knows whether it is really just a matter of time when such incidents reach local shores? Is our matriarchal, 'tolerant' attitude really protecting us from such hate crimes? Or will further 'westernization' of our culture lead to breeding hate criminals?

Even as homosexuality has become more accepted, the prospect of being openly gay in middle school raises a troubling set of issues. Kids may want to express who they are, but they are playing grown-up without fully knowing what that means. At the same time, teachers and parents are often uncomfortable dealing with sexual issues in children so young. Schools are caught in between. How do you protect legitimate, personal expression while preventing inappropriate, sometimes harmful, behavior?

I quote this from the article. And I fully agree with the fact that sexual orientation is a very grown-up matter. Though our hormones rage early on, figuring out sexual preference takes maturity. Because such preferences have much responsibility and consequences. And this is what a lot of young people may not know early on. This naivete could actually be deadly.

So i pause for a short while from the escapades and realize that I am lucky. And that i take this life choice of mine seriously. And that this is an informed choice I have made. Though I often used to ask whether I really had a choice here, I have to own up to my lifestyle and my preferences and say that "I made them"! and because of that I am proud.