Just a little note to Melissa at Shakespeare:
I love your writings dearly; you are a real power to behold and read when many of us are tired, so very tired, of everyone else's bitching online.
That said, I guess it struck me as a little odd that you would choose to disagree with the notion that maybe gay teens have it the worst at our nation's high schools. When I mentioned that a gay high school might be a good idea because at my high school it seemed they got the worst treatment, I didn't expect you to accuse me of making sweeping generalizations at other groups' expense (which I did not).
Perhaps it was my recent admission that I was a white hetero male that caused you to view me differently, perhaps as THE OTHER, the stereotypical BAD GUY? Hey, the Nazis worked for Spielberg.
You maybe didn't think that I was thinking of the recent election, where a black man was elected president, his female primary contender just barely losing to him (if that) earlier in the year, a cabinet full of women and minorities (and at least one lesbian, I didn't forget). I won't mention the various anti-gay people associated with Mr. Obama and he still won. All this CHANGE, and yet anti-gay legislation went through in at least 3 states. Hmm. I don't remember any anti-woman, anti-minority legislation going through recently, do you? Hmm. Could it be that certain things are verboten, while other things, like Prop 8, are not?
Melissa, you have to walk a fine line on your blog, and not offend people in a group of folks who seem to be striving to be TEH MOSTEST OPPRESSEDEST. I don't blame you for trying to make an example out of me so your other more 'understanding and less generalizing' readers can feel better about you and themselves. You go ahead and make everybody feel special, give everyone that shiny medal for being oppressed. Meanwhile, in reality, some of us can see the trends in America and think that maybe, just maybe, some groups have it harder than others.
I think you made the point earlier in a post about the Advocate's stupid cover (Gay is the new Black); this isn't a zero-sum game. Is there still racism and sexism and other-ism happening? Duh, of course. But you try to tell me that my saying gay teens might have it tougher than others, my saying that is wrong and over-generalizing? Read the newspaper, or better yet, your own blog. Openly gay people do have it tougher.