Friday, August 25, 2006

Man, Friend, Lover, Teacher, Artist, Pedophile

I just got done reading a few articles while I wait for my roommate to get home in a few minutes. One was about all the places in the world where you either go to jail or get executed for being gay. I forget this alot. It is easy for me to get caught up in how hard it was for me growing up and being attracted to men and how it angers and frustrates me that I am not allowed to marry in my own country. However, while both these are important, I don’t have to go to jail or be killed for who I am. I do have to be more careful. If one of my students makes a false accusation about me, who are people going to believe, the kid or faggot teacher? Ain’t gonna be me, and I know that. Still, while there is always the possibility of gay bashing (a group of us got harassed and threatened while we were at a restaurant a few months ago), it is a far cry from sanctioned execution! To a degree, I understand where it comes from. I grew up in the teachings of how and why homosexuality is wrong. When people are raised that way, it is a major change you are asking them to accomplish by rewriting the core of what they have been taught. However, there is a huge difference between being worried about someone’s soul and saying that they are on the same level as a pedophile or that they are on my way there. I don’t know how many politicians and ministers I have heard/read say such evil shit! If there was anything I would never be, it is that. There is nothing even comparable between homosexuality and pedophilia. Nothing makes me so furrious as that comparrison! It is also demeaning (although well intentioned) when people view us as a helpless cause, like the animals left homeless in the wake of Katrina. Thanks for having sympathy, but I am not a lesser, and not a puppy! What will it take for this transformation? Who will be our Martin Luther King (hopefully without the assassination)? Who of us will stand and be honorable and not degrade ourselves by tormenting the protestors who scream at us at our PRIDE parades (not that I really love the PRIDE parades myself)? Who will speak out in strength, pacifism, determination, and declaration? Who of us will truly demand equal rights? Who of us will help stop the murder and imprisonment of our brothers and sisters who did not have the luxury to be born where they can at least live free? How does one even begin to start on that path? How does one truly change the world’s situation? How do we earn the right to be heard and have our words taken into account? How do we destroy the fear and hate? How do I?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm of the mind that as long as one person speaks out about something someone else will inevitably have the opposite opinion. While this makes for arguments and sometimes even horrible assaults on the body and mind, even in the worst of it all there's one thing that can still be a positive... As long as there are debates, arguments, people hurting each other, even quiet talks and compassion - the one thing it all boils down to is that at least people are talking and thinking about it. There's no better way to have progress in anything... Minus those that don't think and only react.
I wish there were more thinkers in the world. Everyone should see the movie Crash. Ok so it's not about sexuality, but if everyone could step in another person's shoes for a day or two and feel what it means to be another race or be attracted to the sex you normally aren't, etc... maybe people would have a little more compassion and all the needless violence could stop. I'm going to pray someone invents a machine that allows this type of thing on a temporary basis that a person could volunteer for or be sentenced to having to use it after commiting a hate crime, because I just don't have that kind of intelligence.

oh yeah, i realize this is your blog and not mine. hehe I'll try not to be so wordy from now on. :P