A year ago, a woman coughing up blood and seeking treatment at a local hospital was called a "he-she" and an "it" by employees.
Today, IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital is receiving praise for providing safe treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer citizens.
While we applaud them, having met seven criteria — including mandatory training for all BMH employees — to receive such a commendation, we're left wondering why such measures were needed in the first place. Shouldn't a hospital be a place where you expect to find educated, courteous and worldly employees?
A hospital is full of workers who have received years of college education. Even if you don't agree with the LGBTQ lifestyle, calling people names won't make them change their ways. It doesn't make you sound very smart either.
Names exchanged on elementary school playgrounds is one thing. All the time, children say things like "that's gay, stupid or retarded," but there's always an adult to tell them that isn't nice. It sounds like the hospital staff, and others, still need to learn that lesson.
And we wish it stopped at words. A trial that began Tuesday involves violence that was initiated by "gay panic."
Brandon McInerney — who is accused of shooting his gay classmate, Lawrence King, in the school computer lab in 2008 — said he was so overwhelmed by King's advances that he snapped and had no other option than to shoot King.
This defense has been seen countless times, including trials focused on the deaths of Matthew Shepherd, who was tortured and murdered after being targeted as a gay man, and Harvey Milk, one of the first openly gay politicians, eventually assassinated by a colleague.
No matter the defense, shooting someone else is wrong — so is discrimination in the first place.
Luckily, Ball State hasn't experienced anything quite as violent. But even raised eyebrows, a smirk or a glare toward someone that's different from you can be hurtful.
Students at Ball State seem to be pretty accepting, with some serving as "straight allies" for the gay community. But we can always do more to educate ourselves, and the public service organization SafeZone and transgender support group True Selves can help.
Conservatives reading this will undoubtedly scoff at our left-leaning opinions, often associated with college media.
But it's not just liberals who support equality. Even former Vice President Dick Cheney has spoken in support of states' rights in the choice of equality — likely at the behest of his daughter, a member of the LGBTQ community.
No matter your political stance, or even your opinion on the subject of gay marriage or relationships, courtesy and civility are still unwritten rules in our society.
Bullying is wrong — we have all heard that — but it's time we stepped up and let our actions speak.
You don't have to be a liberal to believe in treating people fairly. You just have to be human.
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