A response to painting of hate words on dorm walls (September 2001)

Dear Fellow Members of the Trinity Community:

I write again as another instance of destruction motivated by hatred and anger is fresh in our minds and hearts. I ask that we take time to reflect on the pain and sorrow that has been unleashed on so many and pray for the victims, their families and all who render assistance in this crisis. Let us not forget those so consumed with hatred and anger as to engage in such acts. Let us pray that they can let go of such anger and find the path to peace.

Let us also recognize that we, here at Trinity, are not immune from the harm that prejudice and thoughtless acts can perpetrate. Last weekend our public safety officers were called over to Elton Hall to view graffiti painted on the stairwell wall on the second floor. Among the things painted there was the word “fag”. While this may seem to some as a small thoughtless or even insignificant act in light of the attacks yesterday, it is by no means so. To members of our gay and lesbian community and all decent people such graffiti is saddening and offensive. The word fag (short for Faggot) as in common usage today is a highly derogatory term for homosexuals. When used in graffiti or speech, whether intended or not, it conveys to others hatred, disrespect and prejudice.

Perhaps it is instructive to examine the meanings associated with this word. From the 14th Century onward the word faggot referred to the bundle of sticks used for fuel, deriving this meaning from French, Latin and Greek roots. By the late 16th Century the term could be specifically applied to the fuel used to burn heretics. The Oxford English Dictionary dates from 1591 a slang use of ‘faggot” as a term of abuse or contempt for a woman. The use of “faggot” to refer to a male homosexual (in an insulting and hateful manner) was first recorded in 1914 according to Webster. There are many theories as to how this term came to be associated with homosexuals. Fag was a generalized derogatory term for anything that nobody wanted, originally the torn, frayed end of a rope, or by extension, a cigarette butt that someone threw away that could be picked up and puffed a few more times. The most disturbing of these theories is that in the inquisition of Europe, when witches were being burned, among those sought out for burning were gay people. They were required to gather the very “bundles of sticks” (faggots) with which they would be burned. When the faggots (sticks) were running out, gay men were thrown on the fire to keep it going for the witches.

So think about what it means when you use this word or others like it. Living with prejudice only leads to the festering of wounds and their ultimate eruption causing much pain and sorrow. Time at college is a time for growing not only in knowledge but also in wisdom. I appeal to all of you who may have difficulty in understanding persons who may differ from you in small and trivial or large and significant ways, to make the effort learn more and get to know such a person as a friend. There will be several opportunities for learning and frank honest discussion about this issue on this campus in the coming months.

Sadly one of many groups that could be targeted by prejudice and hate happen to be gay and lesbian students. Should we not let our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters enjoy the freedoms of this campus as each and every one of us wishes. A true freedom, and not one that compels them to hide a part of themselves for fear of the ridicule and hatred of others.

The causes of the horrors we have experienced yesterday, when understood, as our nation returns to normalcy, must surely reveal at the heart of it, people whose minds were filled with a destructive anger born of prejudice and frustration. Could we as a community at Trinity and as a people of one nation enlarge the freedom we enjoy by walking away from prejudice and hatred?

Yours sincerely,
Nihal de Lanerolle
College Chaplain