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an essay
Hate Crime 101

Written by Vida Cooper

28 March 2006

Nothing is chance. There are no coincidences. People do not just happen to wander into each others� lives. All people are here for a reason, even if that reason is misunderstood, and often never discovered due to hate crimes, prejudice, and bigotry. If all the world is a chain, and the job of this generation is to offer one link to that chain, that link should be one of understanding. With understanding, perhaps the next generation can begin to approach the link of acceptance. High school and university level classes informing student populations about homosexual, bisexual, and transsexual minorities would aid in bringing an end to heterosexism, homophobia, and hate-crimes.
The term �homosexual� brings with it terms which are as vague to the general public as the orientation itself. �Homophobia� is a word used to describe beliefs held by individuals who view homosexuals decent as corrupt, immoral, and disturbed when compared with heterosexual individuals. Homophobes� beliefs are often derived from heritage. Families continue to raise children to follow in their disparaging footsteps of heterosexism and fanaticism. �Heterosexism� means viewing the heterosexual orientation as showing higher morality and better judgment. Individuals who preach this tradition to their children are unlikely to listen willingly to contradictions to the misrepresentations they have been subjected to. However, it is not too late for interference within the next generation. The addition of a mandatory class regarding minorities would help to end homophobia and other hate issues.
In the altered high school curriculum and university courses, minorities and majorities alike will sit side by side throughout the class. In the beginning, it will undoubtedly be a tense environment. It is the responsibility of the instructor to keep the class as open and relaxing as possible. There will be cooperation and teamwork challenges pairing a member of the majority with one of the minority or mixed groups. This will help each group to realize the humanity in the other. They will have to set differences aside in order to reach a common goal. Identity challenges would be instated. An example of an identity challenge is the following: the instructor will turn off the lights, and no one will be permitted to speak. Therefore, the senses of vision and sight are eliminated. Students will be required to order themselves in a line depending on physical features, such as height and the like, without communication other than touch and assistance between each other. Students will learn from this challenge that the world will not stop spinning in the event of a close encounter with �the other� and that in the dark they are one body of people. The classes will form and personalize at different rates, and the instructor will have to pay close and cautious attention to the reactions and comfort zones of each student.
Only after the class is able to progress from general humanization of everyone involved will the instructor be able to begin educating students a propos the counter-culture involved. Further instruction of these courses will concern history of each group, not excluding the majority, and therefore preventing favoritism or further discrimination. Assessments will include tests regarding each culture present as well as assignments and essays based on a culture which was the main controversy, differing per individual prior to commencement of the class. The essays will include reasons why each culture is a viable statement and lifestyle.
On the contrary, the creation and requiring of these classes may cause violations of Constitutional rights. It would be forcing people to learn about something they have no interest in and by which they are offended. However, students have been obliged to learn about evolution in classrooms for decades, and that study does little to end any tension or bring about understanding between conflicting groups. Classes based on sexual and minority issues would bring about understanding. These classes would draw more attention to homosexuals and the like and could therefore cause conflict that did not previously exist. Students who know little about these cultures may attend the classes and find that they do not accept or condone minority cultures. They could form opinions and bigotries that did not exist before and join opposition forces in committing hate crimes. The classes will undoubtedly push the limits of comfort as they attempt to eliminate untruths. This may cause students to feel less comfortable participating in an institution which chooses to initiate the inaugurating of the courses. Even minority cultures who before did not mind being just that may feel forced to deal with issues that they have previously disregarded or abandoned.
Another form of controversy extends beyond the institutions. Parents may feel very unsettled with the idea of their children learning and possibly accepting values that they may be contradicting what they have raised their children to believe. That this may cause children to rebel and second-guess their parents� teachings is not unfeasible contention. However, that these classes may bring about controversy serves as a necessary risk that is worth taking if it means also helping to offer understanding of minority individuals.
Once students begin to realize that people being different from one another does not make them less cultured or less human, they will begin to work together to reach those with beliefs tainted by narrow-mindedness which has been carved deeply into their personality. Perhaps, these individuals will confront their own issues with homophobia and the reasons for the existence of those issues. Who then, will they turn to for information and understanding? The answer is the administrator of the class.
The classes becoming a part of the curriculum in schools would help administrators to reach out to minority students and offer counseling. By administrating these classes, homosexual and the like students will have an opportunity to speak with an adult about the problems they face. They will feel less alienated and more able to seek comfort and understanding. Due to classes such as these, minorities will be viewed as less alien. The classes will arouse curiosity toward these individuals. That curiosity may lead to interaction between a vast multitude of cultures and sexual orientations. Finally, that interaction will lead to more understanding, less discrimination, and possibly friendships among majority and minority social groups. These newly formed non-discriminating groups would work together to reach others throughout the school system. Facing outcomes such as these make the risks taken in order to achieve them worth the effort.
Everything in life is a chain starting with one little link. Bringing an end to heterosexism, homophobia, and hate crimes, these classes are a large aid to reaching an absolute solution to an irresolvable issue. One class in one school is the inevitable first link to a better and more understanding society. It is a large and difficult step, but it offers a short-cut to a smoother, more united plateau. It will lead to future generations of acceptance. If this generation of people can work to understand and teach others to understand minority populations, perhaps the next will break down the barriers between opposing groups. Nothing is coincidence, and there are only so many chances. End Hate-crime before it ends you!
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