I had decided to attend Drag TAP in drag to show my support for the lesbian, gay, bi, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community at Amherst, and I was not alone in my choice of attire. The reception I received while at Drag TAP was extremely friendly and accepting of my decision to attend in drag, as I would expect of any event on campus.
The younger brother of a friend wanted to see more of the campus, so I took him to another party, being thrown in the social dorms. Once again, the people at the party were very accepting of my unusual attire, although one or two people were slightly uncomfortable with it. Nonetheless, these people accepted my decision, and were prepared to share their discomfort with me. Unfortunately, this trend was not to be continued.
The third party I attended was decidedly different from the previous two. While looking for some friends at the party, I couldn't help but notice that I was the focus of many people's attention. A few hundred eyes staring in disbelief have a way of convincing you that you are not particularly welcome. In stark contrast to my earlier encounters with students, I was now persona non grata. Yet nobody was prepared to voice their discomfort-most people unconsciously made it clear that their discomfort would only be relieved by my departure; dialogue was not an option.
Yet even this pales in comparison to the treatment I received from some individuals on my way to the party. I was shocked by the reactions of three of the people whose paths crossed mine. The first person, a good friend of mine, completely ignored my greeting as I walked past her. (I am prepared to accept that she may not have recognized me in the dim streetlights, but I sincerely doubt it in light of the reactions I received later on.) The second, another acquaintance, was so shocked by my appearance that he wasn't able to shake my hand when we parted ways. The third, and by far the most offensive, reaction was from someone who muttered, "That's what I don't like about Amherst," as he walked away with his friends.
Unfortunately, the most derogatory comment that I encountered all evening didn't come from a student. The third party was forcefully broken up by the town police, and one of the officers felt the need to say, "What the fuck?" in response to my attire. That simple question spoke volumes.
These are not all the negative encounters that I had during the course of the evening. The sheer number of blatantly intolerant people that I ran into gave me serious food for thought and led me to think about tolerance as applied to our community.
I think that tolerance towards all minorities is absolutely necessary at a liberal arts college, and I think that Amherst fails miserably on this score. As witnessed by my experiences, there are students on campus who are blatantly intolerant of homosexuals, but the opposite is also the case. There are also people who are intolerant of those who believe, for various reasons, that homosexuality is unnatural in some way. A similar divide exists over the issue of abortion, and in both cases the main problem lies in people's unwillingness to accept the views of others as permissible. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but that does not mean that they then have a right to ignore or demean all those who either disagree with them or offend their sensibilities.
I certainly received too much discriminatory treatment for me to consider this a truly tolerant and accepting college. The only redeeming factor in my case was that my desire to dress up in drag is not a perennial one. It really made me reconsider what it must feel like to receive that kind of treatment on an ongoing basis. If anything, I am going to be a stronger ally of homosexuals on campus and elsewhere. But I am also going to reconsider my views towards other people who receive abuse for their beliefs, whether or not they agree with mine. Are you prepared to do the same?