SEASON 1 - GABE

For my first interviewee, I wanted to get someone who did not conform to the traditional ideals of society, someone who would be able to give me some thought provoking answers on a number of controversial social issues while still knowing bits and pieces about general politics. Instantly, I thought of my good friend Gabe who is a member of the LGBT community, I came from this talk feeling very moved and my personal views on the LGBT situation have certainly been modified.

Photo Credits: @document.it (instagram)

Q: We’ll start with some simple questions about politics, how do you feel politics and the way the country is run is important to you and other young people?

A: Ok so, importantly, you’ve got to bear in mind that politics and government sort of pervades every aspect of our lives and if you ignore that you’re sort of being stubbornly ignorant, frustrated and isolated from the rest of society. There’s a sort of harsh reality that no amount of placard demonstrations or facebook posts or petitions can enact change even if it’s through something like the butterfly effect, that’s why we use representation and also why I think local politics needs to be stressed just as much as nationwide politics. There’s also the idea of compulsory politics education which is something I think we should bring in for kids in schools because, until I started doing politics at AS level, I didn’t really know anything about politics, I knew the basic terms and what was going on worldwide but I didn’t know how important these issues were and how they affect us on a day to day basis.

Q: Obviously a lot of young people have got into politics because of what Corbyn has been doing in the past year or two, how do you think he has affected young people and has it encouraged you to get involved yourself?

A: So, again, personally I only got into politics beyond key terms when I started doing it for AS so, I don’t admittedly know much about certain people and how they’ve acted over time which is something you have to bear in mind when making opinions of people, you have to know not only how they are currently but how they have been in the past etc. I also only tend to focus around concepts and bettering the system rather than current events in regards to making concrete opinions. I don’t think it’s my place to speak on behalf of ‘young people’ but for me personally, I don’t think he’s encourage me to get involved.

Q: The title of the blog is of course ‘Notoriety’, this is because of the negative connotations I think politics gets associated with these days, do you think politics is particularly corrupt and evil or do you regard these connotations as a view encouraged by fake news and lack of research?

A: I think politics as a concept isn’t evil, obviously politics is designed to better society and to control society, whether you think that’s good or bad is up to you. I do think that politics gets negative connotations from fake news and lack of research but I also think most people now days understand that politics is a very volatile system and there is always going to be fake news, so I don’t think people are as easily influenced as they might have been in the past when there was less media coverage and a more narrow political climate with the old two party system.

Q: Onto more specific questions about you, I have so much respect for you as a person for being so open about this, I’m aware you are agender and like to be referred to as ‘they’ as opposed to ‘he’ or ‘she’, do you feel that modern politics and society treats people who identify differently fairly?

A: Well there’s a lot of talk about treating people who identify differently fairly, especially when you get tragedies even in different parts of the world such as mass shootings etc, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty of everyday life, we don’t get the treatment that we need. For example, there’s 8 gender identity clinics in the UK and only 2 of those are for under 18s, these clinics deal with people who have gender dysphoria, they work with people to combat mental illnesses that coincide with these and they work with people to give gender realignment services. There’s also the idea that child and adult services aren’t connected, so if you go through the child gender identity clinic and you reach 18, you have to join the adult clinic which involves reapplying, that’s a simple issue which should have been ironed out when the two services were brought in. There’s also the  idea of the NHS and a lot of talk about giving further cuts to the NHS, that’s a disaster for us because gender realignment surgery is about £19,000 per person and if you substitute in additional costs such as mastectomies and hormone replacement therapies you’re looking at an upwards of £28,000 per person which is something that a hell of a lot of people won’t be able to afford in their lifetimes, especially when you consider that a lot of gender issues come into play when people are teenagers, mostly from between 12-18 and there is no way they are going to be able to afford them at that age. There’s 100 other smaller things I could bring up, for example after the pulse shooting in 2016, the names and faces of those killed were broadcasted over the world, the shooting was based in a gay nightclub and the victims were outed to friends and families and the rest of the world. That’s a sensitive issue which shouldn’t have been broadcasted and also, you’ve got to celebrate and remember these people but, you’re endangering the lives of those still alive as well as their families by just putting that out there. There needs to be more communication between LGBT people and the government and authorities etc.

Q: Discrimination is obviously still a big issue in society, do you feel that the May government and other politicians are doing enough to help people who feel discriminated against due to their gender or sexuality?

A: So, this kinda links to the previous question in the sense that you get a lot of media responses and responses from politicians in light of a tragedy but in day to day runnings, you really don’t hear anything, you don’t hear politicians trying to combat harassment or help us in any way besides the occasional tweet. Again, I don’t know much about specific politicians, but taking big movements such as the Tory coalition with the DUP, you’ve got to take into account what image they’re presenting for themselves and it’s really not good for us as the DUP are very anti LGBT.

Q: On the subject of sexuality, do you feel that as a society, we have progressed well with the understanding of sexuality and topics which are still considered taboo in other parts of the world?

A: Honestly I wouldn’t say LGBT people are considered not taboo in the UK, I just think that we have the laws and legislation that mean people can’t demonstrate their hatred towards us. There’s a lot of apathy in the LGBT community, we get a lot of people telling us it’s ok to be who we are and to come out and be proud of ourselves. The problem lies predominantly with people who are not LGBT - they aren’t taught not to discriminate anywhere near as much as we are told to be ourselves.

Q: Do you think as a planet we are all doing enough to prevent discrimination in less developed nations and if not, what would you say could be done by the youth and the UK to improve this?

A: I’d say we don’t do enough, I could go on and on about education which is what I feel is the only thing that can provide change because, especially if we’re talking about other nations, we can influence them but we can’t do much to directly change their treatment of LGBT people. I would like to move away from that and say a different point, LGBT people are presented much more differently in the media than real life, I’m kinda going to make a plea to the LGBT community here to value your allies. There are a lot of small issues that we get really nit-picky about such as the being offended by the word ‘queer’ or someone calling a transman a transwoman because they’re confused about their terminology. Stop attacking these people, we need to band together and show solidarity and there’s safety in numbers. If other nations see people working together for a mutually beneficial cause they’ll be more inclined to consider their views on these matters. Being nit-picky and bringing up small, tiny issues is like mowing the lawn outside a house that’s on fire.

Q: Something controversial I find is often spoken about today is tolerance, how far do you think pluralism and other forms of tolerance have a place in our society?

A: So, they’re obviously going to have a place but the question is how far. I don’t feel this is an issue I feel educated on to really pick it apart but I think tolerance is a very turbulent term and you need to consider what’s going on at the time rather than having a fixed view, so for example if terrorism is becoming a problem, people should work on immigration laws rather than just saying we should have open borders all the time when you’re not considering current or future events. As for pluralism, I agree with it to an extent because it’s important to have different views in society to sustain democracy yet too much pluralism leads to an inefficient system.

Q: What would you suggest that local schools, organisations and politicians could do to improve the understanding of different genders, sexualities and cultures within society and school to prevent discrimination?

A: So I would say increased education, but I don’t think that’s going to happen unless you get adults that care deeply enough about these issues. I don’t feel like you’re going to get that in schools, especially as teachers know how cruel kids can be to put it bluntly, altering the system via education can only do so much and discrimination is something that has to be erased over time. I think starting education younger would be a big thing, you get a lot of, well certainly in schools in our area, lessons on being gay, doing drugs , self-harm and not drinking but it’s a very narrow take on these issues so I feel like the concept is there, the idea of education is good but it needs to be broadened and people, especially teachers, need to educate themselves more before educating others on these issues.

Q: Finally, one of the things I deeply admire about you is how you manage to be so open and so cool at the same time, what advice would you give to people who are scared to be themselves within society because of things such as sexuality or gender?

A: Well, I can’t really give advice to those people who aren’t ready, I feel like you get questions like this which are geared towards positivity, for example, a lot of people would answer ‘don’t be afraid’ or ‘someone will always love and support you’ but they’re just words and at the end of the day, actions matter. I want to gear my response to safety, take for example coming out: if you’re doing it, do it carefully, when I came out I made sure I had somewhere to live if things went wrong, I got a lock on my door and I even had a knife in my back pocket. I’m not saying you should go that far but please bear in mind we’re in a society which isn’t completely accepting of people who are a little bit different in some way and your safety is paramount, you will get to be who you want to be but, it’s going to take time and if you’re not making sure you’re safe, you’re not going to be around to see it.