Blog 1_Homosexuality?

Family indicted for assaulting, kidnapping gay teenager who posted drag queen photos on Facebook




        As I was browsing nydailynews.com, the terms "gay teenager", "drag queen", "Facebook" caught my eye. The first thought that popped into my mind was "What has Facebook done to ruin somebody's life this time?" Intrigued, I read on. Angel, a19-year-old Arab gay teenager who recently started to work as a drag queen in  local nightclubs began posting cross-dressing photos of him on Facebook. His relatives, claiming to "defend family honor", threatened to kill him if he did not take the photos off the Internet, but he ignored the warning. The first attempt to kidnap Angel was back in May, where they handcuffed and assaulted him in his mother's house. The more severe attack was on August 23rd, where Angel was tear-gased and blindfolded to a relative's house, chained to a window. Fortunately, a friend of his called the police and Angel was saved.
       I could not believe what I had just read. Undoubtedly, homosexuality is still unaccepted by certain more conservative religions, such as extreme Muslims or Catholics. However, I would never imagine family members, namely parents, to threaten to kill their child because of his/her sexuality. Families should be supportive of whatever their family members choose to be, even if they disapprove. Certainly some people hold their values and beliefs adamantly, but choosing to sacrifice one's family member's life because they believe in what is "right" is simply heinous and inhumane. I am Christian myself and I understand all religions have their values and beliefs. However, I do not place my religious values before my family because it was in God's will to put me in this family and they are the ones I should love and tolerate.
     Another point that captivated me was the fact that Angel, like every other teenager, enjoys exposing photos of himself on the Internet, where everyone has access. He wanted to share his life with his friends and relatives. However, this openness got him into trouble and a good beating. This made me remember other circumstances I had read about where teenagers are tagged in photos from hardcore partying with alcohol and the mum sees them and they're grounded, or in graver situations, employees are fired because their boss sees "inappropriate" photos. This makes me wonder, is being more open about one's private life ruining our lives in some ways? Now I'm a little hesitant about posting photos and status on Facebook. Still, I can't help it. Facebook is addictive.