Intolerance Will Not Be Accepted

Intolerance Will Not Be Accepted

Valerie Koury

Word Count: 298

I was drowning; he was unaware I was gone. I had no idea that the person who would become my best friend was letting me drown at the time. This created a strong friendship. He confided in me his secret sexuality; I confided that I had a homosexual sister. I never stopped accepting him for exactly who he was, but Sam neither accepted himself, nor did he allow others to accept him. He feared rejection and ostracism from his family and peers. It was not fair to me, nor was it fair to Sam that he felt it necessary to end his life because he could not bare the overburdening acts of bullying any longer. I panicked at the thought of Sam’s potential suicide. Would I lose my best friend to the discrimination that society imposes on those who love differently?

With Sam’s life in my hands as motivation, I took an enormous leap of courage and sought help. Without revealing his homosexuality, I informed his mother about the bullying Sam had undergone. Knowing he would be unbelievably upset with me for what seems an act of betrayal and risking our friendship, I attempted to save the world from a tremendous loss.

I lost Sam as a friend that day. But losing someone as a friend is better than losing them as a person. I accepted my moral obligation to help a friend in desperate need; I would not let my friend drown in the murky water he saw as life.  

Tolerance is an objective attitude; acceptance is a fully assenting attitude. “Each person deserves [my] respect. Everyone has the right to their own opinions, but not the right to hurt people and put them down because of who they are” (Nicole King). Intolerance will not be accepted.

Belief: Acceptance.