Although I hope people like Tom Neild are in the minority at Notre Dame with their narrow-minded bigotry, I become skeptical of this hope when I pick up The Observer and read viewpoints like Tom's. What Tom does not seem to understand in his letter "Legally bound to Catholic teachings" (Jan. 28) is that homosexuality is not a choice. To suggest that homosexuality should not be tolerated like stealing is not tolerated in the Catholic doctrine is to suggest that homosexuals choose to engage in morally deviant behavior like stealing.
I cannot stress this enough. Homosexuality is not a disease. It is not a "lifestyle" that people choose to live. Homosexuals are human beings. They are not social deviants. They share this university with us, this country with us and this world with us. I think Tom — and any other person who shares Tom's sentiments toward homosexuals — should first of all meet a homosexual so they can come to know one. If that is too frightening of an experience for people like Tom, they should watch Gus Van Sant's 2008 film "Milk." Harvey Milk, portrayed by Sean Penn, reminds us at the end of the film that the movement for homosexual rights is "about the ‘us's' out there," and that "without hope, the us's give up." I indeed hope that people like Tom can reform their outlook on homosexuals and that the homosexual movement, especially on this campus, can continue to push forward.
Anthony Matthew Durkin
senior
off campus
Jan. 28
