I'm tired. I'm tired of the homophobic and the conservative-traditional-family-bible defending people in the bubble of the otherwise! Earlier today, I had a long conversation with a family member about this, so this may be feel like a passive-agressive revenge on that person or a lot of other people.. but it is not.. at all. I love you all. So, yes.. I am tired, but will not give up on any of you. I just want to put some things out there;
Me too was a Homophobic. Yes Folks, I was one of those. But my move to the Bay Area rapidly put me in situations that took me out of my cultural milieu where I was forced to operate differently, think differently. One of these situations was my terror and lack of ability to interact with non-heterosexual people. I grew up in a religious household and environment (went to all-boys Opus Day Catholic schools) where traditional ideologies of family and gender were not only deep-rooted but indoctrinated into us. I perceived homosexuality as a threat to nature and masculinity, thus I maintained strict boundaries. Fortunately for my life, the Bay Area diversity forced me to experience life not only with people of different sexual preferences, but with people from different ethnic, cultural, ideological and religious backgrounds. This interaction deeply influenced my thoughts, ideas, beliefs and feelings towards people with different perspectives. It was the lack of rationale in my thinking that created unsubstantiated prejudice and fear. I now realized I wasn’t either better or worse, just different. Today, people from all walks of life, including gay people, are dear friends and mentors. I moved to the Bay Area without imagining it would dramatically impact my outlook on life. Today, I am no longer bound to a fixed point of view, but rather, open to new ideas.
Therefore I propose moving the republican caucus to San Francisco! :)! Joking aside though, I understand how privileged I am to have been able to spend a few years here and that many people out there don't have the possibilities to do so. But I am very hopeful! In my recent travels to Mexico and other places, I have witnessed a tremendous shift in how the new generation reasons--thanks in part to the access they have to different points of views and arguments. It is becoming increasingly difficult to to indoctrinate people.
Having said that, I'd like to make a point about Gay Marriage:
Marriage is not about gender, but about love. On this day and age, we CANNOT become the oppressor by denying the right for individuals to get married--as it continues to happened in so many places. Now, this is not a "gay issue,".... it is not. It is beyond a LGBT issue. By implementing laws that discriminate against the LGBT community, we are implementing hatred, discrimination, and gender roles in our society. These laws that are a direct violation of the equal protection clause of most Constitutions.
It is NOT our duty to be moral crusaders and condemn those who do not fit into the heterosexual normative lifestyle. As a "Catholic", I have been appalled at the propaganda circulated and preached in the name of the different Churches. Jesus did not preach discrimination and neither should the church!!
We cannot stand idle. I won't.
-David Frijolito
No comments:
Post a Comment