A Speech On Homophobia In The Laramie Project

Imagine you were left-handed. How would you feel if you were bullied for this mere reason? What if you had blue eyes and I beat you up in the school yard because of your eye colour? Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it?
What I am going to talk about today is just as absurd. It is like poison that permeates the very fabric of society. I am talking about homophobia, a problem that remains largely unaddressed. With this speech I would like us to reflect on the presence of this issue in society and the threats it poses to humanity. And finally, I will propose possible ways to eliminate this stigma.
To be honest, when I had my first encounter with homophobia, I didn’t really understand this hatred. I watched a movie called The Laramie Project. It tells the true story of Matthew Shepard. You may have heard of him. Matthew Shepard was an innocent gay student who was tortured and left to die tied to a fence because of his sexual orientation. I couldn’t comprehend it because until then I had never been exposed to gay culture and therefore I didn’t consider homosexuality a weakness. The thing is, I saw homosexuality as a fact, I didn’t question it, I didn’t attribute certain features or qualities to it. And I still don’t. For me it is merely a part of people’s personal lives. You can imagine how shocked I was when I found out that there were people who thought that the sexual preferences of others affected them. But I wanted to understand, because there must have been some explanation behind this behaviour. So I started reading.
I will now share my journey of discovery with you. Let me start from the beginning. Homophobia means “fear of sameness”. It describes the irrational fear or hate of homosexuals. It can come in any shape or form. It can b...

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...qual in dignity and rights. Why have we turned our backs on it? This should remind us that gay people are people. The next step should be public endorsement from credible religious leaders. It might seem impossible or out of our league, but I assure you it is not. Last month Dalai Lama publically stated his acceptance of homosexuality. Pope Francis stated his support for LGBT marriages. But even the biggest efforts will be ineffective, if we treat homophobia in isolation. Homophobes are likely to be people who show a general dislike for stigmatised groups. In order to eradicate this problem from our society, we need to work on overcoming all aspects of discrimination so that we create a safe space for tolerance to flourish.
The first steps toward achieving equality have already been made. It is our turn to educate ourselves and lead by example. Now it is up to you!