On A Garden State College Campus Intolerance Bloomed

The recent suicide of a New Jersey college student, as the possible proximate result of the invasion of privacy by his college roommate and a co-conspirator who installed a webcam in the male roommates shared dormitory room then streamed a video of said deceased student engaged in flagrante delicto with a person of the same sex is horrific. It is horrific not only because of the ultimate result of their invasion of privacy, whether intentional or inadvertent. However it is also a klaxon like warning signal.

It is a warning signal of the dangers inherent in the preaching of intolerance and bigotry; particuarly when intolerance is masked and shrouded in the veils of religious instruction that selectively picks-and-chooses biblical injunctions while avoiding the word and spirit of the Golden Rule as well as Matthews admonition that "the least which you do unto my brothers you do unto me."

The notion that a persons sexual orientation summarizes the totality of the person characterized is flawed ab initio. The notion that a persons sexual orientation is anybodys business but that of the person in question is similarly flawed.

Bullying and teasing, now combined with enhanced digital technology, has elevated the potential for emotional abuse to be inflicted by some on others; particularly in a society where it appears at times that discrimination against gay persons is the last societally permitted form of permissible prejudice.

The same Bible that many consult as their source condoning the ostracization of same sex oriented persons is also the same book that preaches more frequently and more vociferously about the values of tolerance and justice. A deceased young violinist in New Jersey received no justice from the two of his college peers who showed him no tolerance nor understanding.

The Rutgers candle-lit rally and the one in Manhattan will not bring this young man back to life, but if these events help kill the spirit of intolerance so much the better.

If it is truly better to light one candle than to curse the darkness, the lighting of so many candles in memory of Mr. Clemente was a step forward into the light of understanding and away from the darkness of ignorance and hate.