There's been disappointing news from the west side this week, and it doesn't just affect those who live along the lakeshore – it affects all of us.
Last week in Holland, a measure to protect LGBT citizens from discrimination in housing and employment failed by one vote from the mayor. This measure would have paved the way to creating an ordinance to provide LGBTs with protections that aren't found at the state or national level. It is incredibly important that cities signal to state and federal governments that these kinds of protections are needed. Our state's civil rights law bars housing and employment discrimination for nearly every class imaginable: Race, ethnicity, religion, gender, marital and familial status, even height and weight. But it doesn't mention sexual identity, gender identity or expression.
Earlier this week, Saugatuck schools voted against teaching about homosexuality in its eighth grade sex education class. At the center of the debate was a video that would have been shown to the students about LGBT teens coming out. That video, no doubt, would have helped a lot of confused students who were scared or unsure about their feelings. It also would have informed all students that LGBTs do exist, and that they are no more or less worthy of respect than any other student. The Saugatuck School Board voted down the measure by a not-even-close vote of 5-2.
We could blame these disappointing votes on bigotry, on extremist religious beliefs, on the failure of activists to organize well enough or on the failure of all citizens to inform themselves about the issues. We could try to hash out which one of these failed the most. But really, that's a futile exercise.
Hate comes from fear. Fear comes from what we don't understand. We don't understand what we don't know, what we haven't been exposed to, what is foreign. Our community isn't just misunderstood; it's completely foreign to some people, especially those in conservative areas. But if we truly make up five to ten percent of the population as studies say, well, then we're everywhere. We don't need to be foreign. We all need to take it upon ourselves to educate the people we know about this community. That it has its quirks, its lingo, its divisions. That at the end of the day, we're a community of people – that being L, G, B, T (or Q or I or A) is just another characteristic that makes us unique, just like the characteristics of gender, religion or race. That all of our unique characteristics should be celebrated – and they must be respected and protected.
The most heartbreaking part of these two news stories is that they're connected. The failure of Saugatuck to educate means failures like Holland's will happen again.
It's not as if no one tried: In Holland, the majority of citizens at the City Council meeting spoke in favor of the ordinance. Many were even from the faith community. But clearly, there wasn't enough of a majority to sway the council, and the council wasn't open enough to be swayed. The council had learned too little, too late in their lives. As for Saugatuck, the school board made the video accessible to the public for a month before the vote, so citizens could see what the fuss was about. Then, of course, the board decided that the video didn't focus enough on bullying to be worth showing.
The failure to educate means incidents like these will happen again.
So you should ask yourself: What are YOU doing to educate the friends, family and allies around you? What are YOU doing to educate those who are uncomfortable? What are YOU doing to make life better for this community… and for yourself?
