On Wednesday, I personally experienced hate speech for the first time; it was quite different than reading about it. I have thick skin, but it was hard not to feel a deep-seated rage: “Fucking faggot, you’re going to hell,” they told me.
Although I didn’t let their words affect how I thought of myself, I knew that not everyone would be as impervious to words as I. Thus, I was determined to stand up and show them that their hate would not get the reaction that they wanted. I dressed in my rainbow socks and bracelet and wrote “PROUD” on my chest to show them that their words did not define me. I am gay and proud.
I counter-protested for my loved ones who are unable to come out of the closet because of the very ideology these so-called Christians espoused. I danced to the music that was intended to drown out the hate; I hugged random people I saw at the protest. I wanted to convey a message of love in opposition to the hate being spewed. It was uplifting to see the mass of students grow in opposition to these odious messages. Although it was heartbreaking to see the altercations between students, police and hate mongerer, my takeaway was a feeling of DePauw unity. DePauw does not tolerate hate.
At 4 p.m., I, like many of my roommates, teammates and friends, rushed to Ubben Quad in hopes of engaging with my fellow students on the events that happened today. President Casey’s email specified that we were to “come together and show solidarity and support for one another.” We had come together to speak out against the hateful few, and I was disappointed to find that the focus of the rally was seriously misappropriated by a number of vocal individuals.
Some directed their anger towards President Casey, while others used the open forum as a platform to speak on campus climate issues. #DePauwDoesntCare became the message, and students directed the dialogue towards racial grievances. I distinctly remember an individual stating that she didn’t believe that we had the right to feel hurt by the hateful things said at that protest. If you were being slut shamed or attacked for your sexual orientation, this student made it feel like those feelings were illegitimate. Their intention was clear: they wanted to expose racial problems within the DePauw community. They wanted to vocalize the everyday struggle of racial minorities, yet in doing so, they challenged the validity of the community’s right to sympathize and be affected by the hate speech.
Based on their words, my feelings as a gay man or my friends’ feelings of sympathy carried no weight. They focused on dividing campus, making the discussion an “us vs. them” dialogue. No solutions were proposed, grievances were listed and President Casey was made out to be the punching bag for everyone’s problems. Ubben Quad was filled to capacity, yet the discussion yielded no resolution. We came to the rally to celebrate solidarity, and unfortunately the dialogue turned fruitless. DePauw showed that we are united, that we care and that we don’t tolerate hate. I’m sad to see that the outcome of the rally was unproductive and divisive. We can do better, DePauw. Let’s approach these situations with love and tolerance, otherwise we are no better than the protesters.
-Petersen is a senior economics major from Edina, Minnesota