Main Point: Leave discrimination in the past By Chad Stevens

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.” Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words in 1963, but it is almost chilling how applicable they are in light of recent cases of discrimination against homosexuals. America should not be dealing with a problem of discrimination of any sort — especially when it could be against a fellow American. Looking back on the country’s history of racial discrimination makes Americans’ skin crawl. However, priding themselves on new generation-thoughts against racial discrimination is premature. Discrimination is still very much alive in this country, and the target has been placed on the gay and lesbian community. Discrimination against sexual preference and homosexuality has been on the rise. In the past year, bullying by certain individuals — many of whom are students — has led to suicides of those targeted by the discrimination. Students of all ages, such as 18-year-old Tyler Clementi of Rutgers University, 15-year-old Justin Aaberg of Anoka High School in Minnesota and 13-year-old Asher Brown of Hamilton Middle School in Houston, all took their own lives after losing an emotional battle against bullies within the education system. The discrimination hit Texas last year. According to an article in the Nov. 18 issue of The University Star, signs promoting the Texas State Allies were being ripped up all over campus.  American’s actions only falsify idealism for a truly free country. Parents criticizing children for bullying gay and lesbian classmates need to look at themselves before pointing fingers at the students. In a country run by an older generation, where gay individuals and couples are not permitted the common rights given to those who are straight, children are simply following in their elders’ footsteps. If the country is ever going to see an end to this bullying, the inequality needs to stop. The institutionalized discrimination handed down from the country’s lawmakers is the lens through which young people view homosexuals. If a significant population of America is told it does not have the same rights as its coworkers, classmates, friends and family, is it really surprising when hate crimes are committed against that population? It is important now, more than ever, for gays to stand up and step out of “the closet.” It is most important that they have support in this decision. Members of society perpetuating the hateful bullying can be intimidating and might deter some from ever truly expressing their sexual identity but as more people leave the confines of the closet, the minority becomes less minor. National Coming Out Week concluded Monday and should be a reminder prejudice is perversely pervasive and we should all take a stand against it.