THE woman on the telephone was nearly in tears over the short news story in last Tuesday's paper. Please read the article and comment on it, she asked, because the account is both moving and inspiring. She wondered how many others in the world would have done the same as the young, slain heroines described in the Associated Press story. A lesson in tolerance,
courtesy of EllenWith the dateline Nairobi, Kenya, it read, "Gunmen opened fire on a group of schoolgirls in Rwanda, killing 17 girls and their headmistress...The slayings took place at a school in Gisenyi prefecture, which borders Zaire, after the girls refused the gunmen's order to separate into groups of ethnic Hutus or Tutsis...(When) the students refused to comply, the killers started shooting indiscriminately."
That woman caller was right. How many other people, when asked to separate into groups of survivors and certain targets, would have defied armed militants bent on cold-blooded murder?
Family members or lifelong friends might have done so, but classmates? The bond among these students had actually superseded the norm.
Wouldn't it be nice to see this same kind of selflessness in our own community one day?
Granted, it does happen once in a while, when a call-to-arms captures the fancy of the masses: A little girl needs a bone marrow transplant, and thousands of islanders sign up as potential donors. Oahu cemeteries are desecrated with red paint and obscenities, and hundreds volunteer to wash them clean.
While absolutely humanistic and worthwhile endeavors, these kinds of projects are way too easy to support. It's a cinch to get motivated by feelings of helpfulness and righteousness, at least according to the majority point of view.
It's harder to stand up for the struggling minority.
That's why I was so happy to see how Ellen Degeneres handled coming out as a lesbian on her TV sitcom last Wednesday night. It wasn't dealt with in a flippant, slapstick or dehumanizing manner.
On the contrary, Ellen was full of turmoil and self-deprecating humor as she came to grips with her sexuality. She spoke on behalf of gay people everywhere when she delivered lines like, "I thought if I ignored it, it would go away," "Why can't I say it? Why should I be ashamed?" and "Society has a big problem with it."
Only in her case, they weren't just lines. They represented real-life angst.
NOW that the celebrity and her actress girlfriend, Ann Heche, have publicly declared their love for each other, they are going to lose a lot of fans who believe homosexuality is a sin, will lead to the breakdown of the family, destroy this nation, etc. Funny, though, how these same folks used to enjoy Ellen immensely when they didn't know she was gay.
Shades of popularity polls! Once again, it's easy to like Ellen Degeneres when she is on the "right" side of the us-against-them mentality that has polarized this state when it comes to same-sex marriage.
It's much more difficult to stand fast, and refuse to abandon someone who once brought enjoyment, now that hardliners are demanding a boycott of the show. In other words, repent ye sinners or go down in flames with Ellen and others like her.
There's no need to sacrifice life and safety — like those terribly brave girls did in Nairobi, Kenya — to prove the ability to stand by a principle. Just sacrifice prejudice.