Recognition for the majority
Andrew Dosch will freely admit he has never been discriminated against because of his sexuality but he still feels the heterosexual community needs its day in the sun.
“In America, we constantly preach equality and the rights of everyone,” Dosch said. “So I figured they can have their day (National Coming Out Day) that’s fine, but why don’t we recognize the heterosexual community.”
Dosch started the Facebook group National Heterosexual Day to celebrate “straightness.”
The group has grown quickly since its inception and had 87 NDSU members at press time. It has also changed from its original incarnation.
Items critical of the homosexual community have been removed from the group’s description and similar comments have been deleted.
Dosch said he sees the group as a chance to clarify his belief that disapproving of the homosexual lifestyle does not make you homophobic or a bigot. He wants the group to exist as the heterosexual equivalent to National Coming Out Day.
The group’s page on Facebook tells a different story.
A post made by Dosch quotes Bible verses from Leviticus, Corinthians and Romans decrying homosexuality as an “abomination” and calling for the death of all those who have committed the “detestable act.”
Dosch wants National Heterosexual Day recognized on campus just like National Coming Out Day. He hasn’t taken any “huge steps,” but said he will probably have to go through the proper channels to get the group recognized.
Group members have suggested part of their recognition should include a straight pride parade, a guest speaker, informational talks, or a booth.
“If the homosexual community is confronted it seems to be a big uproar,” Dosch said. Although he has never felt the sting of discrimination himself he added, “It seems like the minorities win all the time.”
National Heterosexual Day is not an attempt to discriminate against homosexuals, Dosch said; but by existing, the group minimizes the importance of the struggles homosexuals go through, an idea not lost on the group’s creator.
“Why do we even really have these days? Why don’t we recognize, say, married couples, single parent families, adulterers?” Dosch said.
In this writer’s mind the answer is simple: The lives of the members of those groups are not made more difficult by the society they live in because of something they are powerless to change.