Lassell Poem

I found the "How to watch your brother die" very moving. I think it showed a good view of how many people deal with uncomfortable, and difficult situations. The main focus of the poem obviously being a brother having a hard time grieving the loss of his brother. I think in a way the man lost his brother long before he actually died, he lost him when the brother told him he was gay. I think he lost him at this point because he did not know how to be close with him, how to deal with this change, the person he grew up with and was close to has really been a whole another person in a sense. I also think that through his brothers death he realizes he shouldn't have turned away from his brother that it probably would of been nice to have support when he came out. Seeing the way people look at his brother just because of his sexual orientation angered him because well, why should that matter? His brother is dying and people are sitting there judging him for being homosexual, like it is a disease so they cant get to close or help him?  For the first time I think he saw how hard it was for his brother to live a normal life like everyone else and how tough it must of been to go through it without his family. It's obvious in this text that it shows how uncomfortable people are about people being different especially when it comes to sexuality. I also noticed "it's just like a wife, only commitment is deeper because the odds against you are so much greater" because I think it is so true. People in the gay community I believe are held up to a higher standard when it come to relationships working. I think people do this because many people against gays can then say "see their relationships don't even last, they don't take it seriously so why should gay marriage be legalized?" Homosexuals are often put in horrible situations and treated differently for something they did not choose and I think Lassell's poem shows how people need to open their eyes and be accepting because you never know what you're missing out on, whether it be life in general, a good friend or something else people shouldn't pre-judge because by the time you realize how great someone or something is it might be to late. Overall, I enjoyed Lassell's poem and found it to have a lot of emotional appeal whether you're supportive or not of gays.