Jan. 15, 2016
page 7
opinion
Pro/Con:
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Should students have picketed?
High Tide
staff
Editors in Chief: Yasmeen El-Hasan; Stella Gianoukakis Managing Editor: Vaidehi Gandhi News Editor: Lizzie Fauver; Shaniya Markalanda Opinion Editor: Christopher Paludi Features Editors: Zach Hatakeyama; Caterina Hyneman; Jon Mallen; Samaya Rubio; Reema Saad Sports Editors: Jessica Johnson; Adam Yorke Design Editors: Shawn Mallen; Grace Zoerner Writing Editors: Kayla Nicholls; Amanda Shaw Photo Editor: Ted Cavus Copy Editors: Micah Ezzes; Carmen Hamm Online Editors: Romy Moreno; Mylene Silver Illustrators: Alina Bieschke; Luma Wegman Staff Writers: Gianna Aquilina; Cass Anderson; Brittany Baker; Mia Berger; Ben Brill; Malek Chamas; Reem Chamas; Jasmine Dube; Micah Ezzes; Miriam Farah; Yasamin Fazeli; Jason Fong; Dina Ghanim; Kelly Harraka; Hannah Hastings; Patrick Henry; Kayla Hiken; Shyanne Landers; Gerika Macalino; Tanner McEveety; Eden Millan; Micky Munns; Davina Nguyen; Austin Nunis; Faith Petrie; Hayley O’Connor-Rigby; Luke Peterson;Justin Pioletti; Samaya Rubio; Summer Saad; Angie Tait; Simrun Ursani; Lulu Weg-man; Kylie Yorke; Erika Zlatkin Photographers: Syd Alli; Samantha Bendall; Angel Blanquel; Megan Contreras; Elise DiPaola; Sander Fink; Hiroki Goto; Ilene Guerrero; Anam Khan; Serena Maanum; Gisela Pedroza; Faith Petrie; Laua’e Schweitzer; Keiko Shingu; Nita Villas; Karen Vuong; Ania Webb This is a wholly student-managed, designed, and written newspaper that focuses on the school and community.. Signed commentaries and editorial cartoons represent the opinions of the staff writer or cartoonist.
Mylene Silver
Students were right to stand for what they believe in Our first instinct was to protect those being attacked, and it was beautiful. There is a mutual unsaid agreement that all hatred, ignorance and bigotry in the past in regards to homosexuality is out of place. This is a new generation that no longer tolerates shame and exile, but rather promotes love and acceptance. This kindness was displayed this past Monday morning by the cheers and rainbows of an entire city in protest against the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC). Some may argue that by countering WBC’s protest, the demonstrators are giving them attention and thus legitimizing their cause. The demonstration, however, was to promote unity, solidarity and open-mindedness. People of all ethnicities, sexual orientations and backgrounds from even beyond the South Bay community put aside their differences and banded together for the purpose of encouraging acceptance. There was also the concern that individuals participating in the demonstration might be angered enough to act violently, which could result in lawsuits against them. The WBC is, in fact, notorious for inciting reactions and then filing lawsuits, claiming that their first amendment rights have been violated. Knowing this, the Gay-Straight Alliance and the South Bay LGBT Center made sure to focus on how they reacted to such vitriol. After everyone got past the initial anger, people saw with clarity that we needed to protect and defend our school, our home. Bearing all of this in mind, signs were made with messages promoting positivity and love. There was an aura of positive energy radiating from the crowd. The focus was no longer on WBC and their hate, but rather our community’s acceptance. Not only did the community come together, but so did the administration. The outpouring of support from RBUSD and local government officials only strengthened the fervor and gave credibility to the movement. It cannot be denied how much they care about our safety and well being. The level of energy of both sides was indicative of their devotion to their respective cause. WBC was quiet and passive, while RUHS was loud, large and loving. We are a force to be reckoned with. The crowd of people around the front office, the heart of our school, acted as a shield, protecting the school and those within from hate. Instead of fighting fire with fire, we cut off their oxygen and smothered their flame. Homophobia and any kind of bigotry must be fought against actively, not passively. This was not a matter of hate against hate, but rather love against hate. And love always wins.
Christopher Paludi
The counter-protest gave the tiny group power The Westboro Baptist Church terrorizes with shocking and incendiary messages in their pursuit of headlines and visibility for their organization. On Monday, the counter-protest gave them exactly what they wanted. The “church” was represented by a handful of protestors— a nuisance at worst. However, the counter-protest mounted by the Gay-Straight Alliance and those admirably wishing to support LGBTQA+ persons attracted a level of attention that would otherwise not have been paid to the few tentative individuals across the street. Westboro does not aim to convert. They are not missionaries; they are grandstanders, lawyers aiming to shock their victims into attacks that they can respond to with lawsuits, all with the end goal of getting money for their organization. Thankfully, the counter-protest mounted by RUHS students and the surrounding community was nonviolent and focused on love and acceptance—a powerful and admirable message, one I have no problem with demonstrating in our everyday lives. While living in opposition to the views of the Westboro Baptist Church by accepting and supporting people of any and all sexualities, genders, races and other self-identifications is something I can and do fully encourage, I cannot support validating the efforts of a hate group by giving them attention. Hateful things are said all of the time. However, very little, if anything at all, is done about them, and arguably those offhand comments made by prejudiced or ignorant members of our student body are much more harmful than a faraway hate group represented only by enough members to squeeze into a Prius making a pit stop on their way back from the Golden Globes. Let me qualify this by stating how proud I am of the hundreds of members of our student body who came together with love in support of the victims of hatred. On Monday morning, I was as proud as I ever have been to be a Sea Hawk. But objectively I cannot deny the power that media attention gives these organizations and the platform their words are given to reach many more people than they would have otherwise. Without the attention of the media, the Westboro Baptist Church would be just another group of backcountry bigots. But over the past few years they have gotten the press they desire, the pageviews that help fund their operation. On Monday, we were, in the course of an admirable show of unity, unfortunately part of the problem that allows this hate group to continue. And moving into the future, we have to focus on improving things within our own school while turning the other cheek to those who want our eyes.