There’s always hope

Social change is messy. There’s no map, no illustrated how-to guides, no signage, no wise old (wo)men to lead the way. But there’s hope. So change meanders and falters at times before it goes on, but, buoyed by hope, it does go on.

Last night was Dining Out For Life and, over dinner, I was being told about a conference for high school students in British Columbia called Dare to Stand Out. Steve Mulligan, who spearheaded the initiative with Out in Schools and who I happen to know, wanted the conference to “focus on the experiences, needs and plans of students to address homophobia and gender stereotypes in their schools.” In short, teenagers openly discussing issues of homophobia, bullying, gender identity and respect. I don’t know about you but I want my kids to be having those conversations, voicing their opinions, listening to others and making their own decisions about who they can and want to be.

Mark Hasiuk, who claims to be a reporter, wrote this opinion piece on the conference. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the article was published in a newspaper (the Vancouver Courier), as there is no other tie to journalistic practice here whatsoever. Aside from the name-calling, the reductive, biased and unsubstantiated claims, it seems Mr. Hasiuk didn’t even bother to attend the conference. He did call a few people and then, through a liberal use of derisive quotation marks, proceeded to dismiss those he spoke to as shameless activists preying on young minds.

There is no need for anyone to defend the people disparaged in the article, such as Dr. Janine Fuller, who have done so much to galvanize and enrich the GLBT community in Vancouver and Canada; their achievements speak for themselves. But I take offense at the notion that the teenagers of today, those who will, and already do, lead the way to the future can’t understand, question and redefine what it means to be straight, gay, boy, girl or everything in between on their own. In fact how else might change occur? How could a discussion that directly impacts their well-being still somehow manage to exclude them?

I couldn’t care less about Mr. Hasiuk’s opinions but he should be ashamed to suggest that any forum that allows a transgendered boy to voice his identity and find ways of making his school safer for everyone is somehow a waste of time or a perversion of the School Board’s mandate. I was lucky enough not to have been bullied, chased or beaten in high school but I remember those who were.

They say you should never deprive someone of hope because it may be the only thing they have left. Thank you to the students who run and participate in gay-straight alliances; thank you to those who attend conferences put on by people who haven’t forgotten what it’s like to grapple with identity in the turmoil of adolescence. Your fearlessness and willingness to engage give us all hope.