Homophobia

Pink Triangles

It was clear from watching Pink Triangles that the main argument was that gay and lesbian individuals deserve to be treated fairly and equally. Homosexuals believe that they are being treated unfairly, and they want to see a change in the attitude of the American people as a whole. The most prominent start of this discrimination stems from a long time ago shortly before the Holocaust began in Europe. The Nazis forced homosexuals to wear pink triangles on their clothing to identify the kind of lifestyle these victims chose to live. These pink triangles have struck back with a vengeance. Homosexuals are now wearing these simple shapes to show their stand for solidarity. This video used rhetorical appeal to present its argument for equality among all people, most importantly homosexuals.

The ethos provided in the film was fairly strong, but it could have been stronger. The most credible source of ethos would have to be Professor Richard Plant who told the story about the history of the pink triangles. Plant is a fairly well known German history writer. Along with Plant, the filmmakers interviewed several different credible people both straight and homosexual. Each person interviewed told personal opinions, which were drawn from personal life experiences. Lastly, there were psychiatrists interviewed giving medical facts and opinions. Doctors are normally viewed as very credible sources.

The logos appeal in the film is very strong. There are several specific quantitative statistics mentioned along with the historical overview of Nazi Germany and the treatment of homosexuals. For example, one of the interviewees mentioned that, at the time this film was created, assault complaints had increased to 10-20 per week. Statistics such as these support the logos of the film.

The use of pathos in the film was the weakest rhetorical strategy presented. Though there were interviewees who appeared sad or upset about the present state of the treatment of homosexuals, there were not enough of these ‘sob stories’ to really effect the emotions of a viewer. If someone views pathos in a different light, it is possible that it can manifest itself through courageous behavior. These victims showed how badly they want to fight back, how badly they want to see change in the American people.

Coming Out in Middle School

When I first think of homophobia, one situation in particular comes to mind. I knew a boy who had been very popular all throughout school. Unlike the boy in the article, this popular boy did not receive the same warm acceptance after he came out. He was rejected by all of his previous male friends, though the female friends still accepted him. This boy lost the majority of the close friends he had had for years because of the homophobia his friends exhibited. Because of the loss of his closest friends, he has now decided to change the entire path of his life. He dropped out of high school and has started working at a local grocery store. He has just recently received his GED and I believe he has decided to skip college. Had he stayed in high school, I believe that he would have gone to college. The homophobia of his friends has changed his life forever.

In another situation, a friend of mine had always been homophobic, and he made sure people close to him knew this. He, like most other high school students, referred to things being ‘gay,’ in a negative sense of the word. Though this is common in high school students, he would go beyond the norm and use this language around openly gay students. He knew this was offensive to them, but he continued to use this to show his homophobia. However, our senior year in high school, this friend met a gay boy who was in a class with us. This boy had been openly gay for a while and was still able to remain friends with his straight male friends. First of all, this was impressive, because of the previous story I just assumed that all males would flee from newly gay friends. This boy was different. The homophobic boy from the beginning shocked me. After very little interaction, he became friends with the gay boy. They constantly joked with each other about everything, even being gay and being straight. Their friendship was very interesting to me, and I enjoyed watching it grow and even becoming a part of it. This was a situation in which homophobia was overcome due to the true personality of the people involved.

The third situation involving homophobia is about a boy who was on my swim team in high school. He was very openly gay by the time I had met him. Like most of the gay males I had met, all of his friends were female. The problem with homophobia in this situation is the changing rooms for the swimmers. This boy was obviously supposed to use the male locker room. It did not go over well with the boys on the team. They isolated him and avoided changing at the same time as this boy. He had been out for so long that he was used to this behavior, but it still did not solve the changing room problems. He approached the swim team coach, which ended up being a futile attempt. The boys on the team simply ignored him for the remainder of the season. It was very sad to watch and know that there was nothing I could do.