Talking Points #3

Dennis Carlson: Gayness, Multiculturalism, and Community

Quotes:

1.) “Throughout this century, one of the primary means of ensuring that gayness was an invisible presence in the school was through the dismissal of teachers who were found out to be homosexuals. Early in this century, the dismissal of gay teachers was legitimated as a way of keeping young people from being exposed to improper role models, lechery, and child molestation.”

I cannot believe that gay teachers were fired. Someone who is gay is just a regular person. There is no need to make it 'invisible.' Being gay is a part of our culture so children and adolescents need to be exposed to it. Also, someone who is gay is not an improper role model, they can be even better role models than a straight person. Some children are raised by gay parents and it is wrong to say that they will not be good role models to their children. Just because they like people of the same sex does not mean we should discriminate against them.

2.) “’Bar culture:' although it serves important positive roles, allows gay people only a brief escape from the normalizing community, and in a space hidden from public view, so that in some ways it has helped keep gay people in their place.”

There are many gay bars all around the MA and RI area. They do allow gays to get away from all the rude people and it allows them to go out and have a good time without being picked on or made fun of. As for 'keeping them in their place,' I think it is wrong to think of bars like that. There is a place for gays, and its being apart of our culture.

3.) “Finally a democratic multicultural education must become a dialogue in which all "voices" are heard and all "truths" are understood as partial and positioned.”

This is something I highly agree with. You can not cover up what gay people have to say. It is not something that can be regarded as unimportant. They have every right to be heard, and children have every right to learn about it. Being gay is a part of our culture and is not something that should be ignored and swept under the rug as if it doesn't even exist.

Comments:

I enjoyed reading this, but it also shocked me. I had no idea that gay teachers were fired and that they did not get hired just because they were gay. It disgusts me that there are people out that discriminate people as badly as that. Also, we should not hide the fact that people are gay. If a child is raised by gay parents then it will eventually be brought up in a class and you cannot ignore it because it is a way of life. You also cannot ignore that child because you may make him/her feel as if they are living a negative lifestyle which is not the case. This relates to other texts by showing how discriminating some people in our world can be. And it just disgusts me that people can be that way.