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2 Dapper Straight Guys Wanted To Feel What It Was Like To Be Gay. The Community Responded.

In just 10 minutes, it's easy to see where we sit as a society.

2 Dapper Straight Guys Wanted To Feel What It Was Like To Be Gay. The Community Responded.

This is Iain and Justin. They are straight. But they wanted to see what it's like to be a gay couple walking down the street holding hands.

They wondered if people would treat them any differently.


Turns out people did.

Some people turned to look. Some parents shielded their kid's eyes. Others said nasty things to them.

All those things can be upsetting. But hearing one reaction — "Well, it's OK to be gay, but I don't want to see it in my face" — felt the grossest.

Our world is filled to the brim with kissing straight couples, though...

...and we are almost blind to it because we see it so often. In fact, I'd go as far to say you've probably seen at least one kissing couple today. Kissing is in all of our faces, and what's actually wrong with that?

I don't know about you, but I'd rather live in a world where people are expressing their love rather than having to hide it. I mean, really, the world can be a pretty harsh place. Let's focus more on the love and overpower the hate.

Photo courtesy of Lily Read
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Photo courtesy of Lily Read
True

Now more than ever, teachers are America's unsung heroes. They are taking on the overwhelming task of not only educating our children but finding creative and effective ways to do it in an unpredictable virtual learning environment.

Lily Read and Justin Bernard, two Massachusetts educators from one of the most diverse public high schools in the U.S. (over 25 different languages are spoken in the student body!), feel ready to meet the challenges of this unprecedented school year. Their goal: find ways to make virtual education "as joyful as possible" to help support teenagers during quarantine.

"Our school is very economically, racially, and linguistically diverse," said Read, "which means meeting the needs for all those students is incredibly complex." That wide range of diversity means that they spend a lot of time in professional development, preparing to meet students where they are. This summer, educators in their district spent weeks learning everything from how to provide emotional and social support via virtual platforms, to meeting 504 plans and Individual Educational Plans for disabled students virtually, to mastering the various online programs necessary for instruction.

Bernard, now in his fifth year of teaching, also coaches the high school football team. Prior to the pandemic, there were clear expectations for student athletes, with clear goals and incentives to keep their grades up. Now, Bernard is concerned that student athletes will begin to fall through the cracks without the structure of physically going to school each day, and he is on a mission to do everything he can to keep that from happening.

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via Celynek / Flickr

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via Foleyfriends / TikTok

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