Remembrance. Support. Spirit. Purple.
Purple beads, shirts, hats and pants were flaunted in masses throughout campus on Wednesday October 20. Around the nation, purple was the primary color; and the coordination was no coincidence.
Purple is the color that holds the meaning of ‘’spirit’’ in the LGBT rainbow striped flag.
The color of spirit was worn October 20 in remembrance of the teenagers who have fallen victim to suicide because of physical, emotional and mental homophobic bullying.
The abuse and discrimination of their sexual orientations came from their peers at school and even in their own homes. Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh, Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase, Asher Brown and Billy Lucas were the six victims that inspired this purple event.
The six boys were not the only cases in which Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgender teenagers felt that they were rejected from the world and that the rejection was too much to handle. To them, suicide was the only way to escape the pain that has ruled their lives.
‘’I’ve seen this exact situation happen in real life with two of my friends. I’m very happy they got a day that people can see how it’s affected so many individuals. It’s tragic to see how much pain is being felt by these teens that think living through the discrimination is too much,’’ said freshman Raven Slover.
The day was chosen and advertised mainly through Facebook to raise awareness of this LGBT spirit day. The group drew a lot of attention, and gradually Purple Spirit day began to catch people’s eyes, and the word spread like wildfire.
‘’I loved the whole idea of this spirit day. It was really cool to see so many participating in showing their support. The whole school was into it and that just made it even more awesome’’ said senior Michael Martini.
Homophobic bullying is outrageously influential in the suicidal decisions made by some LGBT teenagers globally. The color purple was proudly worn; and support, hope, and love was expressed to all those who walk our same earth with heavy hearts.
Prevention is attainable. Spread the love.