Ludovic Bertron from New York City, Usa [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

LGBTQ citizens have come a long way, but still face discrimination

The lesbian kiss at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade was the first one in history, and Twitter was not sure how to react. Several individuals took to the internet to display their opinions whether they be good, bad, or ugly. With the legalization of gay marriage in 2015, our country has had time to move on and accept such changes made within the country.

Conservative right-wing parents took to Twitter to express their concern for their children’s innocence after seeing the kiss. According to @Goudstuff, Macy’s and NBC are both at fault for “allowing gender confused artists kiss” and “ruin my family tradition”, while also suggesting that FOX News create their own parade in Des Moines.

In addition to parents, a conservative group on Twitter known as For America had strong opinions regarding the kiss. They even went as far as to say that NBC and Macy’s were at fault for having “blindsided parents who expected this to be a family program.” Plenty of responses to this tweet proved that it was too brash and unnecessary.

As a country and generation, the movement to fully accept LGBTQ citizens socially in society has been a long and difficult fight. Homosexuality is becoming normalized now that it’s legal and gradually becoming more common. Unfortunately, there are still individuals and large groups that reject the concept of homosexuality.

Within the walls of Pleasant Valley High School, there can be political views found from all over the spectrum. Regardless of political identity, it is imperative that the student body respect one another regardless of race, sexual orientation, religion, or ethnicity.

Senior Alex Jungers saw the Twitter drama regarding the kiss. “I think it’s a little sad that we haven’t progressed past this. Thankfully, I haven’t experienced homophobia on this scale, but I hope they realize also the amount of support they have from others across the country.” Jungers acknowledged that he is surrounded by supportive friends and family, but there are still heavy amounts of discrimination that need to be addressed.

Senior Nikki Chang added to this concept of discrimination by saying, “Straight people have been kissing on tv since tv was invented. Gays are equal to straights and therefore, kissing on tv shouldn’t be a huge deal.” Equality is a growing term in our society and something that is further being capitalized upon.

No matter how far we believe we may have come for equality, we are far from done fighting this ongoing war. Continuing to celebrate our differences rather than scrutinizing others will help on this journey to unity.