Sometimes it is true that “for every two steps forward there is one step back“. In spite of growing acceptance (not just tolerance) of gay and lesbian citizens, there are some uptight reactionary religious bigots who continue to attempt to force their Neanderthal beliefs and fears on the rest of us. In the past month there have been at least four well-publicized suicides by gay (or perceived gay) young people. As if that wasn’t heartbreak enough, some of those self-same bigots have tried to claim that the suicides were not the result of their fear-mongering, but because those people ‘knew’ they were headed to a life of ‘sin’ and were doing the ‘honourable thing’ by taking their lives.
Being a strong believer in ‘Free Speech’ I know the best antidote to such horrific bullcrap is to speak out against it. I am so glad to see well-known people recording “It gets better” videos. I’ve written my own coming out story in preparation for National Coming Out Day. And now I’d like to quote just one verse of a Romanovsky & Phillips song that encourages all of us who have come out to speak out:
One Way Out
“When they talk about “saving the children”
One of ten they ignore
But if we the survivors can drown out the liars
We won’t have to lose any more”
From “Let’s Flaunt It!” available at The R+P Shop.
