This article has very useful vocabulary and I chose it to show that the United States is not as open-minded as many folks around the world might think. Because this teenager admitted to some friends that he is not "straight" or "heterosexual" (to be "straight" means you are a guy who likes women or a woman who likes guys) people secretly came to his house and left anti-gay graffiti all over the place.
Everyone's right to make his/her own decisions about his/her life is supposed to be protected in the USA, but, as you can read, there are still many hate-filled and narrow-minded people who enjoy causing harm to others.
The article:
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/oregon-teen-turns-homophobic-graffiti-teachable-moment-n1038206
Vocabulary:
homophobic - if a person is homophobic, he/she hates people who are not straight; someone who hates gay people. In this article the teen states he is "bi" which means bisexual, so he likes both boys and girls. So I guess the term homophobic can be used to describe people who do not like bisexual people either.
grace - if a person acts with grace, he acts calmly and peacefully and kindly
to be harassed by someone - this is when someone deliberately tries to harm another person emotionally,;when one person bothers another person
graffiti - this is when paint or markers are used in public places, often illegally, to convey messages or designs. There is something called "graffiti art" but in this case the graffiti is not art, it was meant to emotionally harm the teenager.
a teachable moment - when something bad happens but you use it to teach people something important. So the teenager used the graffiti to create more positive art and to get people from his community involved in a process to take action against hatred.
to be vandalized, vandalism, to vandalize - this is when public or private property is deliberately destroyed or ruined by someone for fun or out of hatred.
LGBTQ - lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer: lesbian = women who like women, gay = guys who like guys, bi = liking both sexes, trans = switching from one sex to another, queer = you don't want to be called any of the other stuff, but you are not straight
anti - against. If someone is anti-gay, he/she is against gay people. The opposite of anti is pro.
bass - pronounced "base"...a musical instrument that produces a very deep sound
disturbing - not calm, not peaceful, anything that causes one to worry or be scared
tagged - painted
to be flabbergasted - to be deeply surprised to the point where one is shocked
the slur "fag" - a slur is an insult against someone because of how they look or act. The word "fag" is an insulting term for someone who is gay or lesbian.
to spray paint something - this is paint that comes out of a spray can
to cope with something - to deal with something bad in a healthful way
pride - a feeling that one should be happy about or satisfied about something.
pansexual, asexual - pansexual means liking every gender or sex (I think), and asexual means you just don't care about sex
inclusive flags - inclusive means everyone s welcome to do something or be somewhere. So there are flags that represent this attitude in the LGBTQ community.
bullying - when ignorant, hateful (often stupid) people bother, harass or attack innocent people. Usually the people being attacked are peaceful and kind and easy targets for the idiots who do this.
to confide something to someone - to tell something to someone secretly. If there is a person you often tell secrets to, he/she is your confidant.
an outpouring of support - a huge amount of support, like water pouring out
the community has stepped up - the community took positive action, people came forward to help even though they didn't have to
a bias crime - to be biased against someone is to hate someone because of how he looks or acts. A bias is, basically, a prejudice. In the USA a bias crime is a very serious matter because everyone is supposed to have the right to be whatever he/she wants to be.
