On January 28, three-year-old Ronnie Paris III
died after six days in a coma. He had swelling on both sides of his brain. His
father, Ronnie Paris Jr. did this to him. Ronnie Jr. did not want his son
growing up to be a “sissy,” and he was also concerned that his son might be
gay. So Ronnie thought he would teach his son to fight. He would box with him,
hitting him in the face even as little Ronnie shook and wet himself.
News stories like this one remind me that I’m still not completely
desensitized by the media. I can’t remember the last time I was this sad and
angry all at the same time. This case fills me with so much emotion that my
brain is filled with twenty different angles I could analyze about it.
First of all, it sickens me that homophobia is still this prevalent in
America that a father kills his son trying to save him from a life of gayness.
Secondly, it’s shocking to me that Ronnie Jr. would even think that his son
might be gay based on any signs from the three-year-old boy! What could little
Ronnie have done to put that thought in his father’s head? Three-year-old children don’t have sexual feelings of any kind.
Moreover, I’m angry at President Bush, the Congressional Republicans, Alan
Keyes, Pat Robertson, and everyone else who has used discriminatory rhetoric
against gays in America. It is true that most of the people I am blaming here
worked against gay marriage and most of them would say they do not hate gays
themselves. Even most of the right-wingers who do hate the gay lifestyle would
say that they do not condone this type of violence against homosexuals (or
children that one day may be homosexual).
However, all of the rhetoric of the last few years has served to create a culture in America where it is completely acceptable
(even encouraged) to think that gays are not as good as straights.
Americans have seen numerous political and religious figures in the media
telling us that gay marriage is not as good as straight marriage, and gay
lifestyles are more hedonic than straight ones. When preaching these beliefs
to millions of people, it is bound to get out of hand in a few cases.
I think that Bush, Robertson, and all of these figures should publicly
condemn this crime and let Americans know that homophobic violence is
unacceptable, even if you hate gays. I need them to prove to me that America
is more civilized that the Islamic fundamentalist government of Iran, which
recently executed two teens for the crime of homosexuality.
Maybe I need to put it in a context that Bush can understand. Terrorists
hate gays; do you support the terrorists?
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Aaron's Response