Rutgers Student

Being "different" in any way in today's society can bring devastating effects. People are more afraid to express themselves, especially when it comes from a problem "within" that someone may not necessarily be able to help. Not only is the person pressured by society knowing their issue, but also their own family. Not all families and people are accepting to people who claim themselves to be "homosexual." Homophobia is almost like a disease in these times. Yea, there are a lot more openly-gay people and gay "role models" out there today, but not everyone has the confidence and strength to put it out there, which can cause tremendous stress and emotional scarring for the person who is dealing with their homosexuality.
Personally, I have no problem with people that claim themselves to be gay; just keep me out of their affairs. I do believe that some people are actually "born gay", and do not typically "turn gay." I believe that everybody should have the chance to be with somebody they love, and experience what it means to be in love, even if that means being with the same sex, as crazy as that sounds. I used to think that gays were disgusting and a shame to society, but after seeing and hearing some of the things and torture that they go through from other people, I began to see things differently. Gays are people too, and no matter how much some people may hate them, they have feelings and deserve to be treated no differently than a "normal" person.
With the recent news of the suicide of the Rutgers student, it is definitely sad news to hear. I pulled up the article online and read over it and it really made me feel bad, and I wanted to be there for the kid. I think it is awful what the two people did involving the video. They had no business taking a piece of the guy's personal life and putting it on the web for everyone to see. Though the video was taken from his roommate's webcam, it is a definite invasion of privacy. His roommate knowingly turned on the webcam in hopes of catching some footage that he could use against Tyler Clementi. Obviously he thought it would be funny. The guy(Tyler) was probably already struggling within himself about being gay, and probably had yet to come out to his family. With the added situation of what the two people did was probably the last straw for him, which led to his suicide. His roommate Dharun Ravi, and his "accomplice" Molly Wei could possibly be sentenced to life on the charge of murder. Some people argue that they did not actually kill Clementi, but I disagree. They may not have physically killed him, but what they did effected Clementi so much that it obviously caused his suicide. Tyler Clementi was more than likely an emotionally distressed person, and people with emotional distress should be treated more sensitively than others. Emotionally distressed people are unpredictable in their actions and usually do have thoughts of suicide. I would have no problem if they were sentenced to life in prison. I guarantee they wouldn't be laughing then.
It makes me feel such disgust that things like this can actually go on in this world. "Homophobia" spread like a wildfire across the nation years ago, and still continues to spread today. I understand that some people are very opposed to gays, but that doesn't mean they have the right to bully them however they please. And then you have those hardcore "Christians" who protest against the gays with posters saying such things as "God Hates You."...yea, that's real "Christian." I think if people would take the time to sit back and think about things, they would realize that the way people handle and go about homosexuality is more disgusting than the actual practice itself.
No, I am not a gay rights activist, but it just pisses me off when people are such a-holes to others. What gives a person the right to judge someone else? What makes them think they are any better? Do we have to bully people so much that the person being bullied just gives up and commits suicide? The only one that is allowed to judge anyone is God Himself, because he created us.

10/02/10: I think it is ridiculous that there are already tons of videos on youtube of people's opinions on Tyler Clementi's suicide. A lot of the videos are of people saying how awful the tragedy is and are sympathetic towards Clementi, but that doesn't mean all of the video comments are sympathetic. It is really pathetic to see people actually saying that this guy was nothing but a pansy (other p word was actually used) and could not handle his own "choice" to be gay. People are saying such things as he "over-reacted" and even stoop down so low as to compare his tragedy to the earthquake devastation in Haiti and the holocaust; quote "but killing yourself because your a gay white eighteen year old in america? someone tell that kid to be jewish in germany in the 30s. how about he takes a trip over to hatti to see what real suffering looks like. " Just because he is a homosexual struggling in this day and age does not make his tragedy any less significant. Why are people so ignorant to their surroundings?