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Liston: Pride month a vital step toward inclusion
Illustration by Roxy Townsend
RYAN LISTON
@rliston235
Last June, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage throughout the United States. On May 31 of this year, President Obama proclaimed June 2016 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. Bringing recognition to the LGBTQ+ community is important, especially when members of this community still face discrimination and stereotyping.
Sen. Fitzgerald's statement is not only wrong and unsupported by psychological experts, including the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association, his statement also highlights why heightened awareness of LGBTQ+ issues matters.
On June 1, Kansas state Senator Steve Fitzgerald claimed transgender people suffer from "insanity" during a debate over new Title IX guidelines that extend protections for transgender students.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community are often mischaracterized as confused or mentally damaged. This
stigma is harmful because it can cause targeted discrimination, harassment and hostility toward LGBTQ+ individuals and propagate the idea that these individuals are misguided.
Hopefully the introduction of LGBT Pride month will shed light on the issues that these individuals experience and bring about greater acceptance of the
LGBTQ+ community. To truly foster awareness and understanding, we must use this month to advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals.
For too long, the LGBTQ+ community has been misunderstood and oppressed. We must work to support LGBTQ+ individuals and assist in making their lives better. Dedicating this month to the LGBTQ+ community is one step toward that goal, but we must continue the advocacy year-round.
Ryan Liston is a sophomore from Lawrence studying Journalism.
Orth: Social media is too quick to condemn others
▶ MAGGIE ORTH
@ORTHHadontist
Last month, Harambe, a 450-pound gorilla, was shot and killed at the Cincinnati Zoo after a three-year-old boy fell 12 feet into the gorilla enclosure. By now most people have had enough time to form and voice their opinion via social media. On Twitter, arguments oscillate between whose life was more important, the boy's or the gorillazs. The majority spews vitriolic
My first reaction, like so many on social media, was to point the finger of blame at the mother. That was until I saw a surplus of absurd attacks. People were writing hate posts and saying things like, "I hope mommy also loves being publicly shamed. Because it's coming." Maybe this mother had her head in the wrong
comments like, "If you have to shoot - aim for the least endangered one." Thanks to social media, Harambe's death will never die.
place at the wrong time. Does that response fit her scandal? Sorry to get biblical on you, but let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her. Odds are, she will face legal issues and social backlash. Social media allows people to publicly point their digital fingers and spout harassment. Local national, and global tragedies are revealing human insecurities.
Social media has changed the speed at which
we communicate. In our millennial world we have not known a life without Facebook or some other social media platform. But more than just our generation has fallen victim or assailant to the wonderful and cruel freedom that only social media can offer us.In addition to Harambe, there are countless instances where angry commenters have flocked to social media outlets to jump on the bashing bandwagon. The red Starbucks Christmas cup
and the Target Obsessive Christmas disorder sweater are just a few examples of this. Insignificant instances like these cause masses of people to voice their opinions and disrespect others. But what perplexes me is how people are not giving this sort of attention to real problems such as the education system, the media, or the environment.
Every time an accident is smeared across media, some people lose their decency. Did the Cincinnati
gorilla incident not teach us that loud commentary only worsens existing problems? Instead we should be asking ourselves what the bigger problems are. When did the human race become so judgmental? Is technology causing abuse of freedom of speech? Or have the times made us too sensitive?
Maggie Orth is a senior from Overland Park studying business marketing and art history.
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