NC State rears its ugly anti-gay face #10
I’m fair. I’m nice. I’m compassionate. I report things just the way they are, when they are. I really do. I try not to be too biased, unless of course I’m deliberately trying to give my opinion on a specific subject.
Here now, is one of those many times where I “report things just the way they are, when they are.”
A week or so ago I introduced you all to NC State student Kaye Crowle who said some pretty extraordinarily, anti-gay things in the “Students Against NCSU LGBT Center” Facebook group, in the on-going debate over a proposed LGBT student center at NC State University in Raleigh, NC.
It seemed as though Kaye (pictured right) had read my opinions column in The Carolinian. Needless to say, she wasn’t too happy about it. Her comments were featured in the on-going “NC State rears its ugly anti-gay face” series in Post #9 and in a follow-up post, “NC State-er just doesn’t get it.”
I’m not sure what happened to change her mind, but Kaye has issued a public apology for her remarks, as well as removing her remarks from the Facebook group page:
I would like to apologize for my comments and I am sorry for anyone that I have offended. I did not mean any of the things I said because they were said out of anger and I wish I could take them back. My comments do not at all express my views on this issue and I am not the kind of person that my comments make me out to be.
Maybe it was the public “outing” of her remarks. Maybe it was the realization that employers are looking at Facebook nowadays. Who knows what made her apologize? Maybe she read my post, the portion on how most people learn respect and tolerance for gay people after experiencing a close friend or family member come out of the closet. Maybe she just had a chance to re-read what she wrote and realized it was totally off-key. Whatever it was, it did the trick.
While she did ask me to remove her recorded remarks from Post #8 and “NC State-er just doesn’t get it,” I have to humbly respond with a polite, “No.”
The remarks will stay up on edited versions of the two posts, directing blog readers to this post and Kaye’s public apology. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my past as well. I’ve said things I shouldn’t have. The one thing I’ve learned is that you can apologize for and retract statements, but you can never really take them away. Once they are said or, more importantly, written you can’t ever really take them back.
The other approximate 1,400 members of the “Students Against NCSU LGBT Center” facebook group who have said equally offensive, bigoted, prejudiced and hate-filled remarks against LGBT people would be wise to learn from Kaye’s experience.
Thank you, Kaye, for having the courage and humility to apologize. Everyone in the United States is free to believe whatever he or she wants to believe, but everyone is also expected - no, obligated - to treat others with respect. Kaye has recognized that her words were not respectful and she had the courage to admit it publicly. As I said, other NC State students should learn this lesson from her.
NC State LGBT Center. The most up-to-date news right here.
Technorati Tags: NC State University, LGBT Center, LGBT, college, anti-gay, Facebook, Raleigh, North Carolina, Kaye Crowle
Matt, 22, is an LGBT journalist, activist and youth advocate currently living and working in Charlotte, N.C., where he serves as the Editor of Q-Notes, the Carolinas' LGBT news source. A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Matt attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is still continuing to pursue his bachelors degree. He is the Owner & Editor of InterstateQ.com and has been active in LGBT advocacy work since the age of 14.
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