Tonight's Poet Corner: Introspection
When I got out of the shower tonight, I was ready to compile a simple blog entry with all the quotations I've put up on my Facebook profile, from writers and musicians and philosophers and friends and family and so on and so forth and yay. Some of them you would have already seen before, but others you would not have. Sure, it would've been somewhat of a cop-out post, but I didn't really want to delve too much into my typical writer moods regarding how I can cope in a changing market and a struggling economy. You can only vent so much.
I got back onto the computer and checked my Facebook profile, and as a result I found two updates on a group I'm a part of on the website: Chapman University QSA. As the name states, this is the queer straight alliance at my undergraduate university, which I joined only a few days after I came out as a lesbian back in February of 2011. The people there made a huge difference in my coming out process and my boost in confidence as a member of the community. Joining the Facebook group, subsequently, allowed me to check in on the club as well as any snippets of news, petitions, media, and stories regarding the LGBT community and its movements.
Most of the news I see is positive (Washington has same-sex marriage now! YES!), but tonight was different. A student had posted a link to a Rolling Stones article regarding the "No Homo Promo" policy in various schools. It emphasized the problems of bullied kids, regardless of whether or not they were gay or perceived as gay, as well as the sudden suicide rates in one particular district. It was ripe with the typical outlandish comments of the naysayers using the same tired, debunked arguments of conversion, disease, and death being contributed to what they call the homosexual lifestyle. These are misconceptions I've been fighting since I was still closeted, and I figured that, after a while, I'd developed a thick skin. After reading the article and the tragic tales of frightened students and teachers with nowhere to go and no one to turn to, I realized my skin wasn't as tough as I thought it was.
Needless to say, I burst into tears. I shook so badly that I thought I was going to explode. I tried to stifle my crying, but I had left the door to my room open, and sure enough, my brother, dad, and mom rushed over to make sure I was okay. Even after I calmed down, I still bubbled with anger and determination. And I still do.
I know the world is changing, but too many lives are at risk right now to keep up the slow progress we have currently. Kids are dying because of who they are, something they cannot help. They are being condemned for an "illness" that is in reality a natural element of their lives. They are being told that they are sinful and disgusting and that they will "turn kids gay." They are basically being reminded that their lives can be miserable because the bullies have "freedom of expression."
Folks, if a girl was simply being made fun of because she was fat, it would not be considered freedom of expression. It'd be considered bullying. This is no different.
I've transposed my thoughts on the matter into poems, stories, and blurbs you've seen on this blog. I've made it relatively clear that I am gay but believe in God and God's encompassing love. I am a writer, and by that term I am also an activist. And I assure you that no matter how many of my friends and loved ones try to downplay the problem in front of me or tell me I'm overreacting, there are too many people taking their lives to accept those words.
Consequently, I want to openly express my support of the Trevor Project and the It Gets Better Project. If you don't know what either of those are, the Trevor Project is a helpline for LGBT kids who are becoming suicidal, and the It Gets Better Project was started by Dan Savage as a way for all members of the LGBT community and their allies to help those people in need. Through video and through radio; celebrities, religious leaders, politicians, and people like you and me have reminded those struggling with their identity and sexuality that things do get better.
Please, remember that no one deserves to be hurt, shamed, or led to believe he or she should simply die. Everyone has the right to live and love. There is nothing wrong with being gay; I am a moral, charitable Christian lesbian who knows God loves me and everyone else like me. I am not perverse. I am not diseased. I am not mentally ill. On the contrary, I am the happiest and strongest I've ever been because I've been able to love myself for who I am. It is love, not hate, that keeps people united.
Thank you, bless you, and have a wonderful evening and weekend. Please keep fighting the good fight.
I got back onto the computer and checked my Facebook profile, and as a result I found two updates on a group I'm a part of on the website: Chapman University QSA. As the name states, this is the queer straight alliance at my undergraduate university, which I joined only a few days after I came out as a lesbian back in February of 2011. The people there made a huge difference in my coming out process and my boost in confidence as a member of the community. Joining the Facebook group, subsequently, allowed me to check in on the club as well as any snippets of news, petitions, media, and stories regarding the LGBT community and its movements.
Most of the news I see is positive (Washington has same-sex marriage now! YES!), but tonight was different. A student had posted a link to a Rolling Stones article regarding the "No Homo Promo" policy in various schools. It emphasized the problems of bullied kids, regardless of whether or not they were gay or perceived as gay, as well as the sudden suicide rates in one particular district. It was ripe with the typical outlandish comments of the naysayers using the same tired, debunked arguments of conversion, disease, and death being contributed to what they call the homosexual lifestyle. These are misconceptions I've been fighting since I was still closeted, and I figured that, after a while, I'd developed a thick skin. After reading the article and the tragic tales of frightened students and teachers with nowhere to go and no one to turn to, I realized my skin wasn't as tough as I thought it was.
Needless to say, I burst into tears. I shook so badly that I thought I was going to explode. I tried to stifle my crying, but I had left the door to my room open, and sure enough, my brother, dad, and mom rushed over to make sure I was okay. Even after I calmed down, I still bubbled with anger and determination. And I still do.
I know the world is changing, but too many lives are at risk right now to keep up the slow progress we have currently. Kids are dying because of who they are, something they cannot help. They are being condemned for an "illness" that is in reality a natural element of their lives. They are being told that they are sinful and disgusting and that they will "turn kids gay." They are basically being reminded that their lives can be miserable because the bullies have "freedom of expression."
Folks, if a girl was simply being made fun of because she was fat, it would not be considered freedom of expression. It'd be considered bullying. This is no different.
I've transposed my thoughts on the matter into poems, stories, and blurbs you've seen on this blog. I've made it relatively clear that I am gay but believe in God and God's encompassing love. I am a writer, and by that term I am also an activist. And I assure you that no matter how many of my friends and loved ones try to downplay the problem in front of me or tell me I'm overreacting, there are too many people taking their lives to accept those words.
Consequently, I want to openly express my support of the Trevor Project and the It Gets Better Project. If you don't know what either of those are, the Trevor Project is a helpline for LGBT kids who are becoming suicidal, and the It Gets Better Project was started by Dan Savage as a way for all members of the LGBT community and their allies to help those people in need. Through video and through radio; celebrities, religious leaders, politicians, and people like you and me have reminded those struggling with their identity and sexuality that things do get better.
Please, remember that no one deserves to be hurt, shamed, or led to believe he or she should simply die. Everyone has the right to live and love. There is nothing wrong with being gay; I am a moral, charitable Christian lesbian who knows God loves me and everyone else like me. I am not perverse. I am not diseased. I am not mentally ill. On the contrary, I am the happiest and strongest I've ever been because I've been able to love myself for who I am. It is love, not hate, that keeps people united.
Thank you, bless you, and have a wonderful evening and weekend. Please keep fighting the good fight.
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