Try it on for size
Different for a day. Wear your shirt/jacket inside out for one entire day. How does it feel to be different from everyone else? How does it feel to have people look at you differently?
Remember a time when you were small when you were excluded from a game or some other activity. How did it feel to be left out of the game? how did it feel to not be able to do anything about the situation?
Now recall a time when you and/or your friends excluded someone, perhaps because of their looks, their ability at sports or some other reason. How did it feel to have the power to exclude that child?
How do we exclude members of society? How does it make them feel? Do you feel excluded in some way? Do you exclude others?
A book was published recently about Yukio Mishima which caused some outcry. What is your opinion about the book? Have you read it or do you plan to? Why or why not? (See related news article here)
Quiz question: Which of the following groups have the fastest rate of HIV infection today?
A. Gay men.
B. Heterosexuals.
C. Hemopheliacs.
The correct answer is B. According to UNAIDS, 90% of the world's HIV cases occur in heterosexuals (straight people). Does this statistic surprise you? Why / why not? Do you think many people still believe AIDS is a gay disease? Why do they still believe this?
What is the history of gay, lesbian and bisexual people in Japan? Did you know that from the Bushido era men in power often were surrounded by handsome young boys (bishounen) in their homes and in court?
What glb people are famous today in Japan? What fields are they in? Why are they popular?
Do you know about the history of glb people in other countries? Did you know that in Nazi Germany thousands of gay and lesbian people were forced to wear a pink triangle on their clothing, that thousands were killed, and others were victims of cruel experiments?
Why do you think people feel safe when they discriminate against "others"? For example, we import a lot of things from overseas; fashions, food, music, movies, computers. But if there is a problem in our country, we soon blame some group for causing it. Why is this so?
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