A Response to the statement, I am always responsible for my actions.

I am always responsible for my actions. No one else makes me do something. Just because I am pressured by the people around me doesn't mean they MADE me do it. I never give into peer pressure however some people do. I have a friend that gave into peer pressure and got in trouble and blamed it on peer pressure. They got the same response as I would give them. No one held a gun to your head and said do it. Acceptance is not an excuse to not take responsibility for your actions. You did the action on your our just take responsibility for your mistakes. Mistakes also help us grow as people so if you come to reality and take responsibility for your mistakes you can grow more as a person. Some other people use the excuse that they were under the influence and didn't know what they were doing. However, they need to take the responsibility for being under the influence and therefore take responsibility for their actions while under the influence. People are always responsible for their actions. Only they can make do those actions and only they can be held responsible for doing those actions. Actions aren't always bad though. Some people are modest when they are rewarded for something good that they did. However, they shouldn’t be too modest. They did the good dead/action and should take responsibility for them and be rewarded.

War for Gay Rights

Gay right have been a struggle for many people for a long time. A lot more people are becoming more comfortable coming out and openly being gay. However, people are still being made fun of for being gay and some people even kill themselves because they are made fun of. In Rolling Stones magazine, there was an article caleed "One Town's War on Gay Teens" by Sabrina Erdely, that is about a town named, Anoka, Minnesota.In this school just like any high school there was a lot of bullying. However, in this article they focus on a few people's stories. a Girl named Brittany was made fun of by a lot of people for being gay. People would call her a "fat dyke" and other dirogatory things. When she went to the adults in the school, "No one would come to her aid for fear of violating the districtwide policy requiring school personnel to stay "neutral" on issues of homosexuality." When she went to her principal to tell them that she was being bullied and they just told Brittany "to prepare herself for the next round of teasing with snappy comebacks." A principal in Junior High is supposed to keep order and make sure people feel safe. For a 13 year old to come to a principal and tell them that they are being called a "fat dyke" is a big deal and shouldn't be taken lightly or be blown off. The principal should have found out who was bullying her and punish them. For a public school not to help a student being bullied because of sexual oriantation is wrong. It shouldn't matter what the christian community that is in the community of the school doesn't like it. They are a public school that should be protecting their students. Later in the article it explains that Sam, the Brittany's friend that was made fun of and was ignored by the school killed herself. Her suicide lead to many more in the area. In under two years nine other people took their lives. Four of the the nine were bullied for being or being thought of as gay. In the community of Anoka there were a lot of christian people and a huge christian influence. The school took this seriously and followed their veiws, making it a lot harder on the gay people in the school.The thing that is the most frustrating is the reason that they are so reluctant to help and support the gay rights within the school is because of the christian influence in the community. A public school should not supress rights because of a religious veiw in the community. At Deerfield they give us off for some of the major jewish holidays because there are a good amount of jewish people in our school and they are respecting the group. However, this school is descriminating against a group and basically telling people its okay to make fun of this group of people because the Bible says that what they are doing is a sin and shouldn't be happening. By not punishing the kids that are doing the bullying gives them the idea that they can do it without any repercussions and that it is okay. I think the public school shouldn't have a policy that makes the authorities so uncomfortable or scared to help someone being bullied. If that is the case the policy needs to be changed no matter how the community feels. This school also changed their ciriculum so they no longer teach about homosexuality. For a public school to do this makes no sense. A public school should help us learn about multiple different things and expose us to things that we wouldn't be otherwise. However, this school took it out of the ciriculum because of the surrounding community. If they didn't want their kids learning about homosexuality they could have put them in a different school. I don't think that a public school should change their ciriculum for them. This makes homosexuality forgein to the kids in the school and don't understand it when they see it. it also makes the gay people more of outcasts because they aren't understood and seen as more of an alien. Instead the school should teach about gay people and their situations and what someone should do in a situation with gay people that makes them feel uncomfortable or that they don't agree with and what to do in that situation. The main argument against gay rights is also a religious arguement that shouldn't be applied to public schools. There is a separation of church and state and by changing a public school because of it is breaking that separation. The school should teach more about the debate for gay rights and let the kids choose a side for themselves. Not a side chosen for them by the community. Especially if you don't agree with that side. A lot of people think that being gay is a choice. But its not. No one wakes up one day and says, "I want to be gay". They are born that way. Some of the parents at Anoka think that is a desiese that is curable through therapy. However, it isn't. They don't choose. they are born. Therefore, everyone should learn about it and understand it. No kid should be denied the right to a full education and to form their own opinions.