Knowledge is Tolerance (Am I Blue Response #2)

I read the story "Am I Blue" by Bruce Coville.  The story follows the protagonist named Vince and his confusion with his sexuality.  After being physically bullied by a kid named Butch Carrigan, a man named Melvin, who claims to be his “fairy godfather”, visits Vince.  Melvin takes Vince to get coffee and to discuss the issues that Vince is having with bullying and his sexual orientation.  Melvin tells Vince about how "gay bashing is a special issue" for him.  Melvin was killed in a homophobic attack and in his afterlife Melvin works as a fairy godfather for other children dealing with finding out who they are sexually, even though Vincent is his first case.  Melvin gives Vince three wishes.  The first wish is for Vincent’s coffee to be Swiss double mocha, without actually saying it out loud. Vince's next wish is for everyone who is gay to turn blue so that people who are homophobic will realize that there are gays all around them and that they didn't do them any harm.  His final wish was for Butch Carrigan, the homophobe who harasses Vince, to turn blue so that Butch would understand what Vince is going through, however Melvin returns saying that Butch was already "blue as a summer sky" when Melvin found him.  Vince, still unsure of his sexuality is now more comfortable with who he is, understanding that everyone in his community knows who is gay now and who isn't.

The story resolves with Vince, although still pondering his sexual identity, being more comfortable with who is, knowing that there are other people going through exactly what he is going through.  Vince now knows that there are many other people in his neighborhood who are insecure or confused about their sexuality as well.  One example is Butch Carrigan, the homophobic bully harassing Vince.  Melvin goes off to turn him blue so that Butch would understand what it is like to be insecure and confused about your sexual identity, but Butch is already blue when Melvin arrives.  This shows that Butch himself was questioning his sexual orientation and was bullying other kids like Vince to cover up his own insecurities.  Vincent also knows that the people in his town are now or at least are beginning to be more accepting of others’ sexual preference knowing that they have been around people who are gay and had friends who are gay and that these people are perfectly fine and they haven’t done anyone any harm.

I think that Bruce Coville was trying to show the reader that knowledge of other people’s backgrounds and surroundings can help someone understand what why a person acts the way they do or why they have a certain opinion on a topic or issue.  Having this knowledge of a person’s culture and framework can make you more tolerant of how they act knowing the struggles they face or the environment in which live in.  This tolerance of other people’s differences helps the community grow closer together by understanding other people’s point view and would eliminate people having insecurities about their differences and wanting to hide something about them selves.  Coville was writing about his idea of a utopia and showing the reader how it would be easy to achieve.