Am I Blue

 "Am I Blue," by Bruce Coville, shows the reader that discrimination can be embodied in both emotional and physical harassment and can result in many negative outcomes for its victims. Discrimination is harmful, and wrongfully tries to repress people into conforming to society's norms.

In the story Vincent,  the main character, is struggling to define his sexual identity. Butch Carrigan, along with some of his other peers, think that he is gay and resent him for it. Butch shows the least compassion, and bullies him with discriminatory comments and actions. For example, he says " 'You little fruit! I'll teach you to look at me!' " leading to Butch pushing Vince into a puddle. Vincent is bruised and wet, along with feeling embarrassed and hurt, showing that discrimination effects people badly. Another example of its negative effects is when Vincent first meets Melvin, his fairy godfather. Melvin is kind, but Vince is so used to cruelty from people like Butch that he lashes out and tells Melvin to leave him alone. If discriminatory actions against someone  escalate, that person's disposition can be affected, as shown when Vince automatically assumes that someone he doesn't know is unkind.

In some cases, fear of discrimination causes people to try to hid who they really are, and attempt to conform into the stereotypes of their occupation or position in society. The republican congressmen speaks out against homosexuality, calling it "the great crime of being gay," when in fact he himself is homosexual. Many Republicans are homophobic, so the congressmen was trying to make himself into a "typical" republican, probably to gain support from voters, and to avoid judgement in his colleagues.  Another situation where someone tried to conform to the status quo was when Vince finds out that some of the football favorites for the Super Bowl were gay. Sports are an aspect of stereotypical masculinity, and being gay is commonly seen as non-masculine. The football players pretend to be strait to avoid discrimination from their fans and coaches.

 All in all, being discriminatory is an action that should be discouraged and prohibited. It makes people feel that they are wrong for being themselves, and should do their best to be "normal." By bullying someone for something they can't help, like race of sexuality, you are subjecting them to emotional torment. The results can be disastrous, and lead the victim to depression or, in extreme cases, suicide. People should show compassion and stand up for someone being harmed by something they can't control—something part of themselves. After all—we're all human.