Current Events Watch

I love Cathy Aubrecht, even though we’ve never met, and probably never will. Never say never, I know, but I think it’s safe to say that our paths won’t be crossing any time soon. She’s an English teacher at Hononegah High School in Rockton, IL, and I’m sitting here on my ass in Kansas City, MO. Not very likely that fate will bring us together. It’s probably better that way, I’m sure there would be something about her that would really get on my nerves, maybe even my last good one. I’m easily annoyed. So I’m happy to love her from afar, and would prefer to keep it that way. Why do I love her?

She gets it. She understands why it’s important to provide gay kids the right to meet in a “safe zone” on campus where LGBT students can discuss the issues they face with other students, both gay and straight, about gay and lesbian issues. She’s the one who proposed that the students be allowed to form a Gay-Straight Alliance at Hononegah High School. The Board of Education gave it a “thumbs up” despite the risk of a lawsuit.

Of course, there was opposition, and some moms and dads didn’t like the idea. Still, the students stood up. From 365gay.com:

“The students are aware of their legal rights, and are willing to stand up for those rights,” student Brian Carrell warned the board at a public meeting before the vote.

Go Brian!

So this is why I love Cathy, even if it is a long distance love affair. I know what it’s like to be a gay teenager, with no one to talk to, no support group. I remember. But by successfully promoting the GSA there at Hononegah High School, she very well may be saving lives, as well. LGBT youth suicide is off the charts. Of course, adolescent suicide, for any reason, is tragic. But I can assure you, many of those gay kids offing themselves do so because they feel ashamed, alone, that something must be wrong with them and that they have no one to turn to. By simply being able to freely meet with others like themselves and discuss what’s going on in their heads, to talk openly about their feelings with their peers, and to know that they’re not alone, well, that’s enough to make one at least reconsider swallowing that bottle of pills, or doing something more drastic that might leave a mess.

That’s a good thing, and the GSA is a good thing. And as for the S folks in the GSA? Well, hopefully, some of them will show up from time to time, too. It’s an alliance, after all, and understanding and respecting diversity is a step towards a more tolerant future. We Gs really aren’t all that different. Well, except for the sex thing. Other than that, though, not so much. Thanks, Cathy, and all my love to you and others like you! XOXOXOXO

gay straight alliance, gay, homosexuality, gay rights, gay youth, gay suicide