Friday October 22, 2010
Purple Homosexualist ‘Spirit Day’ Saturates U.S. Schools, Media, Stock Exchange
By Kathleen Gilbert
October 22, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – An Internet-born movement to encourage solidarity with teen victims of gay bullying has spurred several celebrities, schools, and media to officially promote the pro-homosexual campaign by wearing purple this past Wednesday.
A young woman named Brittany McMillan, who spread the idea on her Tumblr account, and was championed by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), reportedly began the movement, which is intended to memorialize homosexual youths who have killed themselves.
Several media outlets endorsed the movement, including CNBC, the Today Show, E!, HGTV, Philadelphia Magazine, Ms. Magazine, The View, and numerous Spanish-language media. Even the New York Stock Exchange building was illuminated purple to celebrate the event.
But not everyone is pleased with the Spirit Day, which has been officially adopted in several U.S. schools, including high schools and elementary schools.
Carlos Barrera, a freshman at Fremont High School in Sunnyvale, CA, said that his school announced Tuesday that it would sponsor the color-themed event “to stop hate and discrimination” against homosexuals.
“I saw on the news something about wearing purple, but I didn’t expect them to make the announcement during school, over the loudspeaker,” Barrera, 14, told LifeSiteNews.com. “If you didn’t have purple, one of the teachers was passing out rainbow ribbons to the students to wear.”
Barrera said he thought “a pretty good part” of the student body participated, but not everyone was pleased. “A lot of [the students] were disappointed, they were pretty upset,” he said. “I didn’t like it at all.” Barrera said that all of the faculty appeared to participate.
Daniel Perez, a teacher at Fremont who was in charge of the homosexualist Spirit Day, did not return calls as of press time Friday.
It’s unclear from the Facebook event page dedicated to the campaign how many actually signed up on the social network to attend: the number of those “attending” fluctuates intermittently from about 10,000 to over 1.7 million. The number “not attending” also appears to fluctuate between 10,000 and over 1.2 million.
The site states that, “Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality.”
Homosexual individuals have been found to suffer a significantly increased risk of mental health issues, including drug abuse, depression, and suicide; a UK survey in 2008 found homosexuals twice as likely as the rest of the population to take their own lives.
While homosexualist leaders often attribute these symptoms exclusively to bullying and discrimination, pro-family experts, such as the group Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), contend that homosexuality is itself a manifestation of a psychological disorder, and that engaging in the dangerous gay lifestyle presents a major threat to an individual’s physical and mental well-being.
PFOX executive director Regina Griggs says that school groups that encourage vulnerable teens to identify as gay or lesbian too early are doing them a great disservice by fostering a deep confusion about their own identity.
“Sexual attractions are fluid and do not take on permanence until early adulthood,” said Griggs in response to news of a young man’s suicide in 2008. “Rather than affirming teenagers as ‘gay’ through self-labeling, educators should affirm them as people worthy of respect and encourage teens to wait until adulthood before making choices about their sexuality.
“If teens are encouraged to believe that they are permanently ‘gay’ before they have had a chance to reach adulthood, their life choices are severely restricted and can result in depression.”
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Homosexual U.K. Documentarian Says Gay Lifestyle a “Sewer” of Casual Degrading Sex, Drug Abuse and Misery
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/sep/08091011.html