Political Correctness gone Amuck

Political Correctness or Absurdity

The View from the Middle

I think we may have finally seen the absolute height or depth (depending on your perspective) of political correctness or absurdity.  I was watching ESPN over the weekend when a special came on honoring a 12-year-old boy for publicly declaring that he was gay.  

Braeden Lange (the 12-year-old in question) plays Lacrosse and Andrew Goldstein, the first openly gay Lacrosse player, organized a tournament in the Braeden’s honor.  Andrew, of course, put his arm around the youngster and praised him for his courage in embracing his identity.

Remember, this kid is 12 years old.  Has he even had a homosexual experience, or any sexual experience at all? If he is like many other 12-year-olds, he is probably enjoying the attention and I hope that has nothing to do his recent epiphany.  But I certainly wouldn’t be shocked if, in the end, that was the case.

I understand that he was bullied after he “came out” with his sexual orientation.  That’s the negative side of the attention he is getting, but now are we going to put every victim of bullying on national TV and throw tournaments for them?   There are other ways to address bullying without applying so much pressure to a young, conflicted boy at a very pliable time of his life.

Has the gay community become so desperate for attention that they have to pounce on every child, at the most volatile time in their lives, to validate their position?  Should we be elevating anyone above others just because of their sexual preference?  And for this particular 12-year-old only time will tell. 

I’m not in favor of prejudice against anyone because of the color of their skin or their faith or even for their sexual orientation.  I’m also not in favor of changing the definition of marriage, but I’m not opposed to gay couples uniting.  Just call it something else.  They should receive all the same benefits of heterosexual couples, but we can call it “civil unions” or whatever.  And that’s not even a deal breaker for me.  If the world decided to call gay unions “marriage”, I’m not going to jump off a cliff.

But on the flip side, should we really reward young people for a choice that the gay community insists is normal.  And shouldn’t the LGBT community wait until a person can at least make an informed decision before we put them on a national public pedestal?  So, to Andrew Goldstein and ESPN I ask – are you really doing all of this for Braeden?  Let’s check back with him in 10 years or so.