LGBTQ+ people have become more open as the years pass. As their visibility has increased, so has the distaste for them. Delta County, Colorado is no different. With only 31,821 people scattered amongst the different cities, Delta can be considered one of the smaller counties. While the tolerance for LGBTQ+ people has increased over the years, it could be better.
That being said, Delta County is a charming place to be. However, Delta County’s small population is reflected in its citizens’ closed-minded behavior. Many members of the LGBTQ+ community have experienced harassment and degradation. A main reason for this abuse is the fact that the community is so unknown. The percentage of heterosexual people dominates those of other sexualities, so why are people so uneducated when it comes to LGBTQ+ people they see everyday?
When people grow up in a small traditional county like Delta, they don’t interact with these people every day, at least they hope they don’t. There is a lot of stigma surrounding being gay and some people even see LGBTQ+ as if they were less than other people. Thankfully, people have educated themselves more and realized there truly is nothing wrong with being LGBTQ+.
A reason for the distaste for LGBTQ+ people is that they are easy to make fun of. It’s always easier to joke about an experience you’ve never had because you truly don’t understand. A lot of people consider the members of the community delusional, out of line, and too expressive of their sexuality. A major contributor to these immature jokes is the Facebook Group, “Delta, CO Message Board 2.0.” This is a place that endorses free speech on the internet.
For example, Tim Pobirk expressed concerns about an announcement made by Laerskool Boshoek Primary School in Boshoek, South Africa. This was made to celebrate National Women’s Day by allowing students to wear clothes that are entitled to the opposite sex. Pobirk said “While you’re ‘waking up’, do you see this? This is a public school! Unfortunately, NOT fake.” As it stands, this seems to be similar to our own spirit weeks, made to include the student body in things going on in this world. People expressed concerns of promoting cross dressing of students and potentially “turning them” gay. All of this is untrue. Delta High School holds its annual Mr. Panther contest, in which senior men will dress in prom dresses for part of this pageant. It’s all in good fun and wearing clothes of the opposite sex will not turn someone gay.
That being said, there are still so many people who value members of the LGBTQ+ community in Delta. There is the Genders/Sexualities Alliance at Delta High School which acts as an open place for everyone to express themselves freely. People at DHS have also increased their tolerance of LGBTQ+ people. When I started as a freshman, many people would go out of their way to yell insults at me while I was walking home from school. I felt unsafe and uncomfortable, but as time progressed the only time people yelled at me while walking, was to say “Hi.” Overall, this community is becoming more welcoming and loving to everyone.
