Who are the outsiders?

Everyone feels like an outsider at one time or another. The Disney film “Remember the Titans” shows us that a person can be considered an outsider for a wide range of reasons. Some are outsiders because of the color of their skin or where they are from, while others are outsiders because of their sexual orientation, or the orientation they are presumed to have. Some may even feel like they are an outsider because they don’t fit in with any group at all and instead choose to follow the beat of their own drum.

Sunshine was an outsider. In the film, Sunshine was the hipster kid from California. He was a typical surfer boy with long blond hair. He was everything a person would assume a teenage boy from California would be. Since California is so vastly different than the small Virginia town where the movie takes place, the kids didn’t understand him from the second he showed up, and they weren’t afraid to voice their opinions. One of the most frequent assumptions was that he was gay. For example, one day in the locker room, Gerry incessantly refers to him as a fruitcake, so Sunshine boldly goes over and kisses him on the lips. Everyone laughs when they realize what happened, but later, Petey wants to know the truth about Sunshine’s preferences. Sunshine kept asking why it mattered, and Petey kept insisting that it didn’t matter, but he still wanted to know. Sunshine put the argument to rest by simply stating, “If it doesn’t matter, then you don’t need to know.” We never did find out if Sunshine was gay, but regardless, his teammates considered him an outsider until they were able to move past the mystery of his sexual orientation and accept him for who he was.

While Sunshine's story is certainly one of facing adversity, my favorite “outsider” from “Remember the Titans” is Louie Lastick. It seems as though there are one of him in every story – the big guy that gets along with everybody. While everyone else in the movie was so concerned with race and boundaries, mostly due to the two separate schools merging into a single school of mixed race and the black and white kids both playing on the same football team, Louie could have cared less. At one point he sits down for lunch at a table with the black kids and they tell him he should go eat with “his people.” Louie tells them that he doesn’t have people. “I’m with everybody,” he says. Louie's character was unique because he was an outsider simply because he had his own beliefs. He didn’t choose any one side, and he didn’t fit into any group. His ability to get along with everyone played a defining role in bringing the group closer, and because of this, he became an irreplaceable part of the "family" the Titans had become.

Although this film was set in a small Virginia town several years ago, the issues addressed are still relevant issues today. The fight against racism and homophobia is still an uphill battle, in small towns, suburbs and big cities. Some people feel the need to belittle these people, or make them outsiders, because of the color of their skin or who they choose to love. Through inappropriate jokes, stares, and sometimes even flat-out viciousness and hate crimes, our country sees the impact these issues have on our society every single day.

The sad truth is, everyone is an outsider in somebody else’s opinion, regardless. People will continue to be oppressed and left out for both their own personal choices and those choices that they can’t control. The important thing to remember is that everyone is different. It isn’t all about the way that we are seen, but the way we handle ourselves and learn to accept others for who they are, regardless of our differences. Our individuality should not be a burden, and our diversity should be celebrated. The ability to think outside the box by realizing this simple idea will provide learning experiences and opportunities that may have otherwise been missed due to our own personal ignorance. After all, we are all a part of the same family – the human race. As Coach Yoast says to Coach Boone near the end of the movie, “You taught this city how to trust the soul of a man rather than the look of him. I guess it’s about time I joined the club.” If everyone had the courage to set aside their differences and follow this notion, the world would be a better place.