So I got an email today from Kathleen Skerrett (a Grinnell College administrator) reporting an incident of vandalism that happened over the weekend. Apparently on Sunday morning a student's room was entered and vandalized, and this incident was "motivated by homophobic bias."
Now, I don't know the details of this situation, and I'm very physical removed from it, but it still strikes a very emotional chord in my heart. Last semester, a number of similarly hateful incidents happened on campus, ranging from vandalism of queer students' personal property to death threats scratched on doors. Many members of the Grinnell community spent the entirety of last semester feeling scared and unsafe in the environment we call home. This isn't just a matter of people expressing their own opinions, it's also about safety. When "bias-motivated incidents" like this keep happening, the logical next step is real physical violence. How sad and disgusting is that.
Seriously, what is going on back home? With all the bustle of Grinnell life -- you know, like going to class, doing your homework, maybe doing sports or theatre or music or something, and trying to retain some semblance of a social life -- who has time for all this hate? Does it matter that much to you how other human beings care for and interact with the people they're close to?
To those in pain:
LOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVELOVE
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