Reflecting on the Orlando shootings, Tie co-founder Liam Stevenson says that education is our most powerful tool in overcoming hatred – and how Scotland can lead the way
IN THE early hours of Sunday morning, at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando: there was music, there was dancing – and then there was gunfire and death.
49 innocent lives were claimed, and a further 53 people were injured in what was, to date, America's worst mass shooting. Sadly, many of these individuals were likely to have felt vulnerable when travelling to Pulse; yet found safety within the premises – a place where they could be themselves, in a society which all too often mistreats them. So it is heartbreaking that it was inside the club where they were, ultimately, at their most vulnerable.
While I may not be part of the LGBTI community by identity, this attack has had a significant impact on me; as I have spent the past year integrating with, campaigning for, and building many strong friendships within the community – and I care very deeply about it.
Read more: Hundreds attend Glasgow vigil for Orlando victims
Something that I have encountered throughout my time campaigning – be that in classrooms when speaking with young people, or learning about the experiences of my friends – is hatred, and it manifests itself in various forms. In Orlando this week, the world witnessed one demonstration of this – in the form of a truly heinous hate crime, which was directed towards the LGBTI community.
It is perhaps worth noting that the crime would now appear to be an unacceptably destructive consequence of self loathing
I have also viewed hatred in the eyes of many LGBTI young people – theirs, however, is directed inwardly, towards themselves. This internalised homo/bi/transphobia is often expressed through self loathing, self harming or suicide attempts. I have witnessed the laceration marks on the arms of school pupils and I have heard the stories of those who have attempted to take their own lives.
Over the last year, I have consistently spoken about how our heteronormative society and our education system often churns out damaged adults; people who have struggled with their own identities, yet have never felt supported enough to come to terms with it.
When I hold my daughter’s hand and take her to school on her first day in August, I will do so knowing that her generation will be the first to reap the full benefits of a truly inclusive education.
One particular friend of mine – a gay man who came out later in his life – told me that he currently lives in a constant, angry haze; feeling that his identity and his desires are wrong – because this is something that was indoctrinated into him throughout his childhood. Not only has this impacted on his own wellbeing, but it has had a negative effect on his personal relationships and friendships. He also informed me that if he had simply been told that he was perfectly normal, he may have had a very different life.
So, in light of emerging news that the Pulse nightclub shooter was allegedly gay or bisexual himself, and was – according to his ex-wife – taunted about his sexuality by his father (who also stated that his son should not have carried out the attack because homosexuals would be judged by God), it is perhaps worth noting that this crime would now appear to be an unacceptably destructive consequence of self loathing.
Now, perhaps what we should do is start talking about how we eradicate this internalised homo/bi/transphobia that blights the lives of so many. As our First Minister acknowledged yesterday in Parliament – education is our most powerful tool in curbing hatred. If we educate our young people, if we talk to them about LGBTI identities and issues – then the opportunity for them to hate those who are LGBTI, or themselves, dissipates.
I've seen this with my own eyes. I have ensured that my five-year-old daughter, who goes to school this summer, knows that some boys love boys, some girls love girls and some love both. I have told her that she is loved, regardless of what her sexual orientation or gender identity may be.
When we can have open conversations with our children about the LGBTI community, we remove the opportunity for them to build barriers in their minds.
When we can have open conversations with our children about the LGBTI community, we remove the opportunity for them to build barriers in their minds; we do not place them in a prison by telling them who they should be attracted to; we teach them not to view others whose sexual or gender identities don't acquiesce with their own as strange or unusual and, ultimately, we take away the risk that they may grow up to hate themselves or those who are not like them.
However, we can only do so much as parents. Our children spend a sizeable amount of their early years in a classroom, so it is necessary that these conversations become commonplace in schools – orchestrated by teachers who are fully equipped and trained to talk in depth about these issues.
Read more: 'End the bigotry': SNP backs 'Time for Inclusive Education' campaign for LGBT teaching
I believe that this process must happen now, for the sake of future generations – for the sake of our children.
This is why, with the TIE (Time for Inclusive Education) campaign, we are calling for LGBTI inclusive education to be common practice in every school across the country. This is why we are asking that all professionals working with young people in the education system are fully trained on how to discuss LGBTI issues and identities.
As our First Minister acknowledged yesterday in Parliament – education is our most powerful tool in curbing hatred.
When Willie Rennie argued yesterday that we should advance LGBTI equality in Scotland, in order that something positive can come from something negative – he gave me hope. Hope that when I hold my daughter’s hand and take her to school on her first day in August, I will do so knowing that her generation will be the first to reap the full benefits of a truly inclusive education, which in turn, and – not before time – finally makes true progress and delivers a society that consigns LGBTI phobia to the past; as these children, and the children of tomorrow, must be allowed to grow up without the prejudices of today.
Picture courtesy of Kevin Goebel
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