We’re just people too, you know

I’ve started this story over a few times and it just didn’t sound right. In one draft, I sounded like a mediator trying to calm down an angry mob. In another, I sounded like a mother hen congratulating her children on winning the spelling bee. This time, however, I think I got it right.

We all experience discrimination every day, but I feel like it doesn’t really hit me very hard. Sure, hearing a frat guy who hasn’t showered in a few days and smells like vomit and says ‘fag’ jokingly as he mocks one of his brothers hurts, but it doesn’t really get there. Even reading articles like the one by Mr. Sartain, the antagonist of today’s protest, only somewhat register. It would hurt too much if people focused on every word and action that was said or done against them. But today was different. Today I wasn’t just a guy, who happens to like guys, hearing a derogatory word. Today, I was part of a group of people who hurt.

This afternoon, I saw strong, intelligent, driven and ambitious people stand up for what they believe in: themselves. I didn’t see prancing fairies, and neither did I see lumberjack lesbians; I saw me. I saw someone who wants and deserves the same treatment as anyone else. I’m not going to digress into listing things that we deserve; we’ve all heard gay rights speeches. But when I say that I saw myself in those bound faces, I think most people can say that they saw themselves, too. I felt for anyone who wishes they could be themselves without reprieve.

I look forward to the day when articles like the one by Mr. Sartain are no longer socially acceptable and when protests like the one today are no longer necessary. We aren’t going anywhere and we never will.

I always enjoy walking across the main quad. Seeing Dallas Hall in the distance on a spring day gives me a sense of fellowship and pride in myself for coming so far. I remember the faces of those who helped, but also of those who hindered my progress. I feel like nothing can stop me from being all that I can be, and as long as I hold my head high and always move forward, anything is possible. I have never felt so proud of myself, of what I have done, and of what I will do, thaen when I walked across the main quad today and saw people, not fairies, not fags and not dykes, but people just like me.

Zach Stokes is a sophomore business major. He can be reached at [email protected].