July 5, 2015

"I'm homosexual and I'm afraid about what my future will be and that people won't like me."

A Humans of New York photograph of a child that's getting a lot of attention on Facebook, including a response from Hillary Clinton.

I find this very touching — the boy, not HC getting into the picture — but I'm averse to giving children this kind of open-to-the-whole-world attention. Who is this boy? Who had the right to give the photographer permission to use him this way? Where did he learn to say "I'm homosexual"? I would think that a modern American boy who knew enough to be able to make that observation about himself would say "I'm gay," not "I'm homosexual." And why would a child who was that worried about it talk about it? What else did he say and what questions were asked that led to the startling nugget that became his caption? What other pictures were taken along with this sad-victim pose? Did he understand how any of this would work? Did his mother/father who presumably consented for him?

I love Humans of New York, and this entry is a huge success for it, but I question the ethics of catching a little boy up in a social media swirl, even though the response to the child is overwhelmingly positive, with many prompted to give the obvious response to "I'm afraid... that people won't like me": I like you! 

ADDED: This post gets my "using children in politics" tag. 

33 comments:

Paco Wové said...

How old is this kid? Has he hit puberty yet? Does it make any sense for a pre-pubescent boy to decide what kinds of people he is sexually attracted to?

Lyle said...

Blah... who needs a facebook page of photos and quotes to critique themselves.

Lewis Wetzel said...

Some people think that this is a real thing? Not clip art with a slogan?

Gusty Winds said...

Seems more like piece of left wing propaganda.

Gusty Winds said...

And once Hillary jumped in, you know it's bullshit.

n.n said...

Not all homosexual men are gay. That's a stereotype propagated by the trans advocates to facilitate their normalization.

People with a polygamist, incestuous, platonic, etc. orientation can empathize with this homosexual boy.

Bill said...

I was touched at first, too. And then realized it was a grand opportunity for politicians and celebrities to parade their virtue.

Fernandinande said...

Gusty Winds said...
And once Hillary jumped in, you know it's bullshit.


True.

For some reason it reminded me of a dorky "art" movie (Andy Warhol's name was somehow associated with it..otherwise I forget the title) where a guy wanted to kill his kid because the kid was "artistic" - turns out I was misunderstanding "autistic".

Valentine Smith said...

Poor kid. I'm sure his mother is still bathing him.

hombre said...

No problemo, kid. If you're still homosexual by the time you hit puberty, the gay mafia and/or the Dems will have seen laws passed that will effectively force people to like you AND your sexuality.

Gahrie said...

"I'm homosexual and I'm afraid about what my future will be and that people won't like me."

Get over yourself kid. Every kid is worried about the future and whether or not people will like them. Homosexuality has nothing to do with it.

Theranter said...

"...and that people won't like me."

SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTT
I am so over this BS!
Doesn't EVERY child have things they fear will cause others not to like them? When did the children that are potential-gays hijack this common denominator for all children? (Or another example, Michelle Obama and her Harvard statement--who the hell feels they 'fit in' as College Freshman--especially among Harvidians, most likely a group of odd people to begin with, yet she blamed it on the color of her skin, which I am sure she had been conditioned to place it on--instead of some other personality quirk.)

Parents are doing their children a disservice (maybe it's a subconscious thing to deflect from some parental guilt they feel?) by telling them that that certain quirk about them will most likely make others not 'like' them.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Seriously, Althouse? This is so obviously and cynically calculated that I'm surprised you gave it a second glance. As a parent I understand the aching empathy you can feel for your own children's distress (especially in retrospect, no?) but this is some serious sucker bait. Thinking people should stay clean away from Facebook.

Anonymous said...

Poor kid. No one likes him.

As opposed to the rest of us. We were all liked as children. Everyone in the neighborhood loved us.

Unlike say, Africans. Who are too busy trying to eat, get shelter, live through drought, find medicine when they are sick, to give a damn whether someone likes them or not.

I really want to cry now for this poor, poor, bunny.

We should spend trillions of dollars making sure little white kids never have to feel bad every again. That'll fix it. Tax the rich. Make more homo sex laws. Shut down businesses.

Surely then this kid will feel better and be liked.

rehajm said...

Chelsea Clinton wax not available for comment because she's still off limits to the media.

Sam L. said...

Child abuse! Getcha Child Abuse heah!

Phil 314 said...

Rorschach

Bleach Drinkers Curing Coronavirus Together said...

If you're still homosexual by the time you hit puberty, the gay mafia and/or the Dems will have seen laws passed that will effectively force people to like you AND your sexuality.

Hatred is a force that gives the hombresexual I'm quoting meaning, eh!

Substitute "black" for "homosexual" in his comment and "color" for "sexuality" and you can see the mindset that hombresexual laments losing.

Wince said...

As if there aren't hurtful levels of inclusion and exclusion even among gays, especially among the ones who consider themselves "fabulous".

paminwi said...

You might as will take a picture of a young, white, heterosexual male about the same age who grew up in a family with a mother and a father, and have him say "I will be vilified my whole life for who I am. No one will like me." Because by the time he is an adult he will be in the minority and hated for his maleness, his whiteness, his heteroness (my new word) and maybe, even maybe, because he had two parents of the opposite sex.

madAsHell said...

I propose a new caption contest. Here's my entry..."Please teacher! I can't stand up because everyone will see the pup tent in my pants."

Drago said...

R&B's: "Hatred is a force that gives the hombresexual I'm quoting meaning, eh!"

I'm sorry.

I couldn't hear what you were saying above the screams of homosexuals being thrown off the rooftops in the middle east for the crime of being homosexual by your beloved "lone wolf" islamist pals.

Do try to speak up next time, won't you?

BTW, you must be basking in the wonderful glow of the Grexit "no" voters! Another socialist/leftist "success" story!

OPA!

Unknown said...

"Hey. I've got a great idea. Lets find a 9-12 year old boy and put him on Facebook talking about how he loves cock! Think of all the adults that will pitch in to boost his self esteem. Maybe even some older males who could take him under their wing, so to speak, and maybe mentor him! It'll be a huge success for our page 'Humans of New York.'"

Seriously, what could possibly go wrong? It's wonderful, Ann, that you are so enlightened that you merely "question the ethics" of this. But anything to advance the cause, amirite?

Lewis Wetzel said...

"As if there aren't hurtful levels of inclusion and exclusion even among gays, especially among the ones who consider themselves 'fabulous'."
I became hetero because a bunch of mean homos told me that I wasn't fabulous enough to become gay. Cuz Hillbilly chicks don't care if you're fabulous or not, as long as you've got '73 Chevelle with big rear tires, side-pipes, and good purple metal flake paint job!
Hey wait a minute . . .

Renee said...

My older kids saw it. They felt bad for him,like an eight year old girl that is obsessed with boys/boy bands crushes. He's missing his childhood.sure he may end up gay,but now your eight. Be eight.

M Jordan said...

The kid was coached.

hombre said...

R&B: "Hatred is a force that gives the hombresexual I'm quoting meaning, eh!"

Whoa, "hombresexual?"

I keep telling you, douchenozzle, you aren't my type and that I'm a giver, not a taker. If you are in dire need, try the toilet in your dorm - or maybe at the theater. You'll find somebody to punch your clock, so to speak.

damikesc said...

""I'm homosexual and I'm afraid about what my future will be and that people won't like me.""

I'm inclined to not like him. Or at least his parents who foisted sexuality on him.

Wince said...

Terry (above) doesn't seem to understand the words "even among" denotes a group in addition to the expected, before launching into stereotypes about "Hillbilly chicks".

This kid is worried about being liked, not being hated.

Rainbow flags and parades aside, this kid will eventually learn that day-to-day social exclusion takes place everywhere, even within the "homosexual" pecking order, the kind he may find the most hurtful of all.

Static Ping said...

Kinda reminds me of people who pass off the picture that came in the wallet as the family or the girlfriend or whatever.

I mean it might be real, but I've become too experienced with hoaxes and trolling to take it at face value.

mccullough said...

Humans of New York is fiction.

JackWayne said...

Whassa matta, Ann? Not liking what you're a part of?

Drew said...

I call BS.
This was a big ole staged piece of political theater.