Woe To The Sinful Ones

During my last rotation in the emergency room the front desk clerk called the nurses desk regarding an incident that was taking place in the waiting room. Our hospital contracts security guards, and I use that term as loosely as possible, to help ensure that things run smoothly.

Tensions from distressed parents, bereaved family members, folks who don't understand that the emergency room is not a first come first serve clinic, and others can run pretty high. That really goes without saying. If you're in the ER, your stress level is full throttle. Chances are your visit has been caused by an emergency that couldn't be handled at home.

One particular guard didn't get the memo that said: you are not Captain Planet, Huckleberry Hound, Barney Fife, Matt Dillon or Buford T. Pusser. He does a decent job of extinguishing volatile situations. Unfortunately, many of the situations are his creation.

On this occasion, the security guard had ticked off a couple who were waiting to see the doctor. While the couple waited they held hands, hugged and sat quietly. One of them laid his head against the other's chest. And in return, his mate kissed him gently on the forehead. The same thing I've done a million times to my sick child, husband or significant other.

The guard went ballistic. He approached the couple and told them that their behavior would not be tolerated and if anything like that happened again, they would be asked to leave.

They became visibly upset and an argument ensued. The charge nurse was summoned, calmed the situation, told the guard to chill and reported back to us with all the details which many employees found funny and disgusting. I found their behavior, not the couples, disgusting.

This incident would have never happened to me or any other straight person. This couple, two young men, were victims of the societal moral code of conduct. The same code of conduct that left 18-year-old Tyler Clementi so despondent he felt his only option was to end his life...which he did by jumping off the George Washington bridge. This Rutger freshmen's privacy was invaded by his roommate, who secretly placed a web cam in their dorm room, capturing Clementi engaging in sexual activity with another male and broadcast it on the internet.

These aren't isolated incidents. Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, 11, bequeathed his worldly possessions - his Pokemon cards - to his little brother before he picked up an extension cord, wrapped it around his neck and hanged himself last April. His mom, Sirdeaner Walker, said Carl was a victim of bullying and being called gay at school.

Wise up folks. Gay is not a choice. I repeat - Gay is not a choice. If it were, Tyler and Carl might possibly be alive today.