Equality and Stubbornness

When I was little I was interested in what I believed most boys my age were into. Things like superheroes, cartoons, and other little kid things. When I was about 8 this focus changed almost overnight when my dad brought me to my first baseball game. My parents helped me find my biggest passion when they decided to send me to that game with my dad. Sports allowed me (an only child) to make friends and learn how to be a teammate. To learn what it felt like to succeed and to learn what it felt like to fail. And most importantly they allowed me to bond and strengthen my relationship with my dad. Now 20 I have been across the country with him to see all 30 MLB stadiums over several years and crossed off a bucket list father-son item.

Final stadium of our trip

I've played four sports, but my favorites are baseball and soccer. These are also the ones that I know a lot about the racism and barrier in their history's. It took people to bravely stand together to prove that it was okay for African Americans to play a "white mans" game in baseball. Much like in the book Two Boys Kissing, by David Levithan, Craig and Harry bravely stood together. They showed society that it was okay for two men to love each other. Something similar happened to Jackie Robinson. People all know that Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier, but some might not know that it might not have been possible without Pee Wee Reese. Early into Jackie's career people were close to breaking him and getting him to give up. But Dodgers shortstop Pee Wee Reese stood with him as a white man to show the world that he was his teammate and that it was okay he was his teammate. Pee Wee standing with Jackie was a jarring and shocking event for fans to see at that time. Just like seeing two boys kiss for 36 hours straight is jarring. But sometimes jarring is what is needed to break stubbornness.

I'm sure there will still be resistance to same-sex marriage for some time. Just like we still see racism or discrimination throughout the world. It is ugly and unfair to people. Soccer is one of the worlds oldest and most popular games. But we still see rampant racism in today's game. Some of the worlds best players just this year have been subject to racist chants and discrimination. Something that should have been left behind long ago. Players around sports are still bringing attention to the lack of equality in today's worlds society. Much like Harry and Craig attempted to do in breaking the world record for longest kiss. Because by raising awareness we may be able to shock people into becoming less stubborn and more accepting of what makes people happy. In Two Boys Kissing we learn of the narrator's jealousy in having a safer more accepting world than they had. They went through suffering to help pave the way for Harry, Craig, and others. Hopefully, one day Harry and Craig can look at future generations with jealous. But the suffering and jarring actions that Harry, Craig, and others experience might help future generations in having a safer more accepting world (attack Tariq suffered that inspired Harry and Craig to act). Eventually, the stubbornness will be broken and we will have a more well-rounded society.