The thoughts and opinions in this letter are the author’s, made without input from the Wolfpacket, and do not necessarily reflect the sentiments of the Wolfpacket or its staff.

What’s a five word phrase that is absolutely hilarious, guaranteed? “Coming out of the closet.” As a joke, coming out is perfect—it specifically targets and bashes the LGBT community by making fun of a traumatizing experience only they have to go through—and we all know nothing is funnier than teasing the gays, right?

Oh. Maybe not.

I fully respect my peers’ right to make asinine, homophobic remarks. I understand that I should see this as part of Wolfcast trying to make daily announcements more interesting—but I know I speak for hundreds, if not over a thousand other students when I say that this is ridiculous. Not only is it ridiculous that all through the creation of a pre-taped segment nobody realized or cared that they were being crass and offensive, or raised an objection, but it is also ridiculous that we live in a world and go to a school (a supposedly supportive, friendly environment) where bigoted jokes and opinions still exist.

Coming out of the closet is awful. The time leading up to it is abject terror and frustration; my parents, for example, are among the most accepting people in the world and when I came out to them my hands were cold and numb, my heart was pounding, and my stomach practically fell out of my body. Others are not so lucky. I have close friends so afraid of the reaction from their family, friends, and environment they may never have the courage to come out. For every story of an LGBT youth loved and accepted, we remember the stories of ten kids kicked out of their homes, sent to cruel and disgusting psychiatric ‘therapy,’ told they are unnatural, hell-bound and abominations.

Coming out is part of a hellish dichotomy; we either live our lives hiding who we really are, a lifestyle so frustrating it drives hundreds to suicide every year—or we “come out of the closet,” risking and accepting the possibility of a lifetime of ridicule from… who?

Are you a homophobe? You probably don’t think you are. Nor does Wolfcast and its featured students. Yet both singled out a group of people and made a cheap joke out of their struggle. You wouldn’t make fun of somebody else’s race, or use a slur, yet we see “gay” used as a pejorative around us and hear anti-gay slurs every day. Maybe we should all reevaluate whether we are all the supporting and open minded people we claim to be, because contrary to popular belief, listening to Macklemore does not mean you don’t contribute to homophobia.

I always thought gay-bashing was never okay, and that the kind folks at Wolfcast were professional enough to at least stop taped offensive remarks from airing. As usual, they exceeded my expectations in new and surprising ways. I hope Wolfcast will admit their mistake. Moreover, I hope everyone at CHS, both in their private lives, and in public, through their teams, sports, activities, and publications, will remember your words.

And as for certain students at CHS, I certainly hope they can think of some funnier jokes; after all, coming out of the closet is a supreme act of courage and self acceptance, of not being afraid to tell the world who you really are.

If that’s so funny, what are you afraid of sharing?