Hate by Alan Gibbons

Author:Alan Gibbons [Gibbons, Alan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781780621777
Publisher: Orion Publishing Group Ltd
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

We were on our way into the dining hall when Rehana drew Jess’s attention to the posters advertising the Great Debate. Simon’s photograph was untouched. Oli’s was covered with insults scrawled in felt tip: poof, queer, bum boy. There were also a series of crudely scribbled, obscene drawings. Jess tore the posters down. With the posters still in her fists she marched towards the serving hatch.

‘What are you doing?’ I hissed as I made a grab for her.

She sailed out of my grasp.

‘I’m going to make people see sense.’

She barged her way to the front of the queue, ignoring the angry protests that bubbled around her. She looked around for a moment then snatched a ladle and pounded it on the metal counter. Heads turned. A hush fell over the usually noisy diners.

‘Looks like I’ve got your attention,’ Jess announced in a clear, strong voice. ‘This won’t take long.’

One of the lunchtime assistants was hurrying her way, but Jess was in full flow.

‘Some of you might have seen these. Somebody . . .’ Her gaze travelled around the room. ‘Somebody who hasn’t got the guts to say anything to my brother’s face has scrawled insults all over his picture. Anyone want to own up?

‘Oh, come on, somebody here knows who did it. Don’t be shy. If you’ve got something to say, come out with it.’

The silence continued. She spotted Jake and Connor skulking in a corner.

‘Anyone?’ She waited a beat. ‘I’ll give you another chance. You were quick enough to write this filth. I want whoever did it to come up here and say why.’

She waited. I could see her trembling.

‘Fine, that’s typical of the kind of scumbag who uses words like this. That’s what bigots are like. They hide in the dark. Do you want to hear what it says?’

Still, no one spoke. The lunchtime assistant just stood there.

‘Well, I’m going to read it anyway. You can laugh if you like, that’s what people do when you use words like this. But when you’re done laughing I want you to think about them and the harm they can do. Imagine what it’s like if you hear them all the time, if people don’t respect you for who you are.’ She flattened the posters on the counter and read each word, jabbing at them with her finger. ‘Poof, queer, bum boy. Oh, there’s one I missed, perv. Hey, the idiot who wrote this spelled it right.’ She clapped her hands sarcastically. ‘Four whole letters, three consonants and a vowel. Well done!’

She glared at her audience, eyes flashing with indignation.

‘Do you find them funny? Good, because I’d come over there and wipe the stupid, ignorant grin off your faces. Oli, my beautiful brother . . . is . . . gay. Get it? But he is so much more than that. He is the best brother anybody could have. He is kind, caring and considerate. He listens to my problems when I’m down. More than that, he is so brave. It can’t be easy to stand up in front of the whole school and come out, but that’s what he did.

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