• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Now this is brave Gay Texas teen comes out in graduation speech

ChuckBerry said:
"Coming out" is an official acknowledgement, a public admission of being gay...everybody knows who the fairies are in school, but they keep it on the down low so as to attract less attention and to avoid as much stigma and social ostracism as can be done if you don't act exactly as macho as the jocks.
Click to expand...

like I said....if everyone already knew...what's the point of making an "official acknowledgement"? to quote Eddie Murphy: "tell us something we don't know, mother****er"

It would be like GottaGo's valedictorian standing up and offically anouncing she was black.
 
OscarB63 said:
like I said....if everyone already knew...what's the point of making an "official acknowledgement"? to quote Eddie Murphy: "tell us something we don't know, mother****er"

It would be like GottaGo's valedictorian standing up and offically anouncing she was black.
Click to expand...

It isnan act of pride. Saying we should all go into adulthood with integrity and pride in who we are.
 
Heebie Jeebie said:
What makes people think anyone wants to hear about their sexual preferance, especially if they weren't asked about it in the first place?
Click to expand...


ITA!......most people do not feel a need to stand up and declare their sexual preferences.....I don't see the point in it....for example: A new acquaintance/employee introduces her/him self by saying "Hi my name is Blah Blah and I'm gay".....why do that to their self??.....does that define who they are as an individual in everyday life instead of letting people get to know them for who they are outside their bedroom?
 
straykatz said:
ITA!......most people do not feel a need to stand up and declare their sexual preferences.....I don't see the point in it....for example: A new acquaintance/employee introduces her/him self by saying "Hi my name is Blah Blah and I'm gay".....why do that to their self??.....does that define who they are as an individual in everyday life instead of letting people get to know them for who they are outside their bedroom?
Click to expand...

Hi, my name is Timmy and I like turtles...... ;)
 
Ikari said:
What makes people think anyone wants to hear the lord's prayer, especially if they weren't asked about it first?

Who really cares?
Click to expand...

I think that was the point. He was seemingly hinting at the fact some people were condemning/insulting/belittling the notion of a Kid using his graduation speech to talk about something important to him and his life, but cheering for this guy doing it. The ironic thing of it is that, while true that some are doing that, he fails to realize that the same thing was happening in reverse as well.

In both instances, in terms of hte content, I don't really care. They did the work to get the oppertunity, they can talk about whatever they want in my mind.

I also want someone now to read the Lords Prayer and THEN come out as gay then drop the mic and walk off stage.
 
X Factor said:
You mean like the kid who recited the Lord's Prayer? :lol: Of course, he wasn't just an attention whore. He was also called a hypocrite and a douchebag.

I'll be watching this thread with interest.
Click to expand...

Kinda like the Tim Tebow and Jason Collins stuff where many people had problems with Tim displaying his faith but herald Collins as some kind of a hero for coming out as gay. Double standards are fun, especially when one side is vehement in their disapproval while heralding a fairly identical action from an opposing view point as a heroic.

My stance here is the same as the other case with a Christian kid sharing the Lord's prayer. People have free speech, this kid can come out as gay publicly and that's fine. He's open to praise and he's also open to criticism just like anyone else.
 
Interestingly enough, many people on this thread feel it was the Valedictorian's right to say whatever they want, that they earned that right.

I may be in error, but I recall VOTING for our Valedictorian, as a representative of our class... the pool, of course, had to be a high honors students (we had several).

I feel that no matter what speech was spoken, due respect should have been given, be it the Lord's Prayer or a Coming Out speech. After all, if one is going to allow one, then they must allow the other.
 
Zyphlin said:
I also want someone now to read the Lords Prayer and THEN come out as gay then drop the mic and walk off stage.
Click to expand...

I'd love to see some flaming gay black dude get up there, rip open his robe to reveal a wife beater with a rebel flag on it, give the Nazi salute, yell "Allah Akbar...peace out bitches", throw a basket full of puppies into the crowd and skip off the stage.
 
GottaGo said:
Interestingly enough, many people on this thread feel it was the Valedictorian's right to say whatever they want, that they earned that right.

I may be in error, but I recall VOTING for our Valedictorian, as a representative of our class... the pool, of course, had to be a high honors students (we had several).

I feel that no matter what speech was spoken, due respect should have been given, be it the Lord's Prayer or a Coming Out speech. After all, if one is going to allow one, then they must allow the other.
Click to expand...

At my HS, the valedictorian was the kid with the highest overall cumulative GPA (9-12). I was that kid and I remember being pissed off that I was "forced" to give a speech. I started my speech with the "space, the final frontier" opening
 
OscarB63 said:
I'd love to see some flaming gay black dude get up there, rip open his robe to reveal a wife beater with a rebel flag on it, give the Nazi salute, yell "Allah Akbar...peace out bitches", throw a basket full of puppies into the crowd and skip off the stage.
Click to expand...

Just give it time.

Meanwhile, what might have been really brave, not to mention respectful, was this kid cluing in his folks before his speech to the whole darned demi-monde.
 
OscarB63 said:
At my HS, the valedictorian was the kid with the highest overall cumulative GPA (9-12). I was that kid and I remember being pissed off that I was "forced" to give a speech. I started my speech with the "space, the final frontier" opening
Click to expand...

Today, unfortunately, selecting by that method would be considered discriminatory for those who did not achieve the highest GPA. That may be why there were 10 Valedictorians as someone mentioned earlier in this thread.

I can get a visual on the opening... please tell me you wore the space suit........ :wink:
 
GottaGo said:
Today, unfortunately, selecting by that method would be considered discriminatory for those who did not achieve the highest GPA. That may be why there were 10 Valedictorians as someone mentioned earlier in this thread.

I can get a visual on the opening... please tell me you wore the space suit........ :wink:
Click to expand...

my two best friends and I were called "those Star Trek guys" all through HS. All 3 of us wore replica uniforms under our robes ;) I ended my speech with... "Live Long and Prosper"
 
OscarB63 said:
my two best friends and I were called "those Star Trek guys" all through HS. All 3 of us wore replica uniforms under our robes ;) I ended my speech with... "Live Long and Prosper"
Click to expand...

Dang, Tom, is that you? :shock:
 
GottaGo said:
Back in the late 70's, it was still obvious, and yes, she did deal with it.
Click to expand...

Well, this was before the Oprah-fication of the national dialogue where people now feel the need to spill their guts about personal details of their lives in public.

Back then, it was about being outstanding. Now, it's about standing out.
 
ChuckBerry said:
Well, this was before the Oprah-fication of the national dialogue where people now feel the need to spill their guts about personal details of their lives in public.
Click to expand...

Yes, some do. Some also feel they an overwhelming urge to be brutally 'honest' without regard to the damage they can do. But that is society now.
 
GottaGo said:
Dang, Tom, is that you? :shock:
Click to expand...

so you had 'em at your school too? :lamo yeah, I was a big nerd in HS. the only thing that saved me from too much persecution was that I was 6'2", 160 and was also a helluva football/basketball player. ;)
 
I wouldn't think this entirely appropriate either for the occasion.
 
clownboy said:
Welcome to the valedictorian/salutatorian speech, folks are going to say a lot of things they weren't asked about in the first place. He earned his time at that mic, and there's nothing wrong in how he used it.
Click to expand...

I would disagree. He's being put behind that mic for a specific reason, not to have his 15 minutes of fame. He is expected to give a particular type of speech and he did not. There are other, better ways to come out as gay, announcing it to the entire school during graduation isn't one of them.
 
Cephus said:
I would disagree. He's being put behind that mic for a specific reason, not to have his 15 minutes of fame. He is expected to give a particular type of speech and he did not. There are other, better ways to come out as gay, announcing it to the entire school during graduation isn't one of them.
Click to expand...

He was given access to the mic through hi body of work, and was free to address his classmates as he chose...
 
AlabamaPaul said:
He was given access to the mic through hi body of work, and was free to address his classmates as he chose...
Click to expand...

That's not what the school rules say...
 
GottaGo said:
Nice try, but if you want to fish, you've picked the wrong pond.

It has nothing to do with the actual subject matter, it has to do with the I and not the we. Though 'bullying' seems to include an awful lot of things that are built to protect the tender feelings of kids these days, regardless of their sexual orientation, the majority of students don't go through true bullying. So I feel his parallel is not well drawn. To use his speech to announce to his parents/friends that he is gay, well, his choice, but not the best place to do it IMO.
Click to expand...

Fair enough.
 
Cephus said:
I would disagree. He's being put behind that mic for a specific reason, not to have his 15 minutes of fame. He is expected to give a particular type of speech and he did not. There are other, better ways to come out as gay, announcing it to the entire school during graduation isn't one of them.
Click to expand...

I think he was well out already, from the comments he made to his denigrators. His was a brave stance against the bullies in life, where last week's god-botherer was kicking an open door, with no chance of personal repercussions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom