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Down With Hate

Everyday I walk around my school and see teasing, pushing, shoving, even hitting. I would do anything to just have a week of peace in our school hallways. My school is trying to prevent bullying and has started a school wide program, but it is just not good enough.

I still see people bullying and calling other people names, particularly in the halls and bathrooms. I have been called names and verbally bullied. One day, I wore a sweater to school with a rainbow on it.

Although I loved that sweater, apparently other people did not like the fact that the horizontal rainbows are a sign for gay and lesbian rights. I got many nasty comments that day, so I know how it feels to be belittled.

 I have also witnessed other types of injustice. During the summer, a friend and I went to two demonstrations to support a student who received a scholarship for his work for gay and lesbian rights. Julius Carter, a graduate of Lincoln High School in Des Moines, Iowa, won the Mathew Shepard Scholarship.

A group from a Topeka, Kansas, church came to the graduation ceremony to protest. My friend and I witnessed some disgusting behavior. This group brought children my age with them to protest and hold up signs. Some of the slogans on the signs read "Fags die, God Laughs", "Thank God for September Eleventh", and "Hell is filled with Fags."

While my friend and I protested against the group from Topeka, we witnessed first hand how people show inequality. One person burned a rainbow flag, and others were screaming hateful words. I felt angered and saddened because these people - who don't even know what a wonderful person Julius is - hate him so tremendously.

Their hate filled the air like the smoke from the burning flag. I know that my friends and all of my loved ones would stand up for me and protect me if I needed help with bullying. They would support my right as a human being to not be treated unjustly, and fight my case in the courts.

When I went to the protest in the summer, I stood up for lesbian and gay people all across the world. When I see someone getting picked on at school, I stand up for them and tell the bully to stop.

Sometimes, though, I am too scared to stand up for that person, because I fear the bully might turn on me. From now on, I will do a better job of supporting others and their rights.

I have learned that discrimination can happen anytime, anywhere, and anyplace. Everyone in this world has the same value, and we should not be biased against anyone. Some of the things I am doing to make a difference include being involved in Girls' Voices, a school group whose members are girls from many races, religions, and backgrounds.

We talk about ways to appreciate our differences, respect each other and get along better. We went to the YWCA together to wrap Toys for Tots. My Sunday school class is doing a peace project and writing our own peace pledge. We vow to treat others as we would like to be treated and to try and understand different points of view.

We interviewed older people and ask them to share their wisdom on how to make the world more peaceful and just. Then created a book of their thoughts. Also, our school had two food drives this fall to help the hungry in Des Moines, and I worked hard to get donations.

By doing community service projects, our school is trying to have us all work together and become an "us" instead of "us, and them". When you have an "us and them" situation, that is when bullying happens the most.

I went to a Character Counts workshop at Drake University. We learned how to deal with conflict and show respect for each other. I am trying to be the best citizen and friend I can be.

Maybe I won't stop discrimination completely, but if I keep one person from being belittled, I have helped my human family.

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