Oy

I think at this point it goes without saying that homophobia (from my vantage point) is regrettably not on the decline.

Upon completion of Lord of the Flies, I tried an exercise wherein we discussed what we liked and disliked about the book. From my Honors class, I received generally sound responses. One kid praised the book's message but decried the violence Golding used to express the theme. (This is the same kid who, when asked what the pig's head symbolized, remarked, "I think it symbolizes their descent into wickedness..." He went on to compare the island to the Garden of Eden, unprompted. No joke.)

Anyway, the last reason proffered--a vote for the "dislike" column--came from Nathan Brier.


Me: "Nathan, what do you say?"

Nathan: "I hated it. The kids are a bunch of faggots."

Me: "Do not use that word. Period."

Nathan: "OK, it was boring and gay."

Me: "Nathan, that doesn't make sense. The book prefers the company of other male books? Come on, man."

Nathan: "I didn't like the kids in it, they were gay."

Me: "Fine. So you don't like the homosexual overtones of the book. I'll put that down. Fine."


Dumbass.