I meant to say, and didn't...

[kuangning]

Yesterday, on my way to the bus stop, I saw two men, one black, one white. They were walking almost abreast of me, openly holding hands. That made me smile -- it takes a special sort of courage to be so nonchalant. Unfortunately, I think I'm the only one who smiled. They were scowled at. One well-dressed black man looked them up and down, and clenched his fist. A group of youths idling on the street corner near the courthouse and the police station hurled insults, and, with a policeman looking on, made as if to approach them.

I say again, they've taken nothing from you. What they have doesn't threaten you or yours in any way. You don't have to like them, but how about leaving them alone? How about choosing to not actively make their lives miserable? What about who someone chooses to sleep with, if that someone is not you or your partner or family member, is your business? Get over it. Or aren't there enough troubles in your own life?

Comments

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

My mom had good friends in college who were two men, a couple, one black and one white, one Protestant Christian and one Jewish, one a lawyer and one a doctor (eventually). And this was in the late forties.

I have no idea what their life was like. When I met them, in the sixties (they were together from the late forties until one died in the eighties), there was no external sign that they were treated badly, but how could they not have had some level of hate heaped on them? I think I was just never exposed to it.

They've Taken Nothing From You

[rare.livejournal.com]

Miss C... you are so fucking kewl.

I'm convinced that natural selection will favor enlightened beings such as yourself. Just have to sit back and wait while the ignorant are weeded out. =)

[kuangning]

*nods.* And in at least that way, things haven't changed much here. To be half of either an interracial couple or a gay couple is to be disdained. To be both... I'm not sure which one made people more angry. It takes guts to walk these streets boldly.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I guess they were lucky to have lived their whole lives in San Francisco. There are still hateful people, but mostly, to be interracial, queer, or both is to blend in. ;)

Re: They've Taken Nothing From You

[kuangning]

*wrysmile.* I could wish. But I'm very much aware that that sort of ignorance and prejudice is actively handed down -- how many boys are being taught that gay men will molest them, for example? My own father feels that gays have to recruit children to their "deathstyle". Because, quite obviously, no child who sees broken and abusive heterosexual homes all around him, who learns to depend only on himself and a friend of the same sex, could ever find himself attracted sexually to that friend. No-one who came out of a loveless home would ever look for love wherever or with whomever she could find it... especially not if that "wherever or with whomever" turns out to be in a same-sex relationship.

I tend to think that if we worked harder on making heterosexual homes stronger and more loving, we'd have fewer homosexuals. Not "none", but fewer. Because there really isn't just one right person for anyone... and if heterosexuals were less screwed up, by and large, maybe someone who's with a same-sex partner who's not a great fit would find a heterosexual partner who is. I know that offends some who believe that it's all genetics, and it's not meant to. I feel the same way about Christianity driving people away and about interracial relationships, too. If I meet someone who makes me laugh, and think, and feel, more than anyone else, I'm not going to let the fact that he's white stand in the way. But neither am I going to deliberately pick a white man over a black. Either one of those prejudices would be just silly.

In any case, I'm inordinately glad when I see people unafraid to be themselves, damn the consequences. They still exist, so who knows? Maybe there's hope yet. :)

[kuangning]

*grins.* Yeah. Far cry from Raleigh, though. And that's a shame.

Re: They've Taken Nothing From You

[johnbot.livejournal.com]

In some ways, I agree with you. I think that under certain conditions, and depending on the person, people can be attracted to anyone. Society still says that heterosexuality is not only the norm, but definitely more acceptable, and given the chance, a lot of gay people probably would prefer to have a heterosexual partner if for no other reason than that.

I'm not saying they should feel that way, because I find it sad that people are forced to modify their own behaviour so that they are deemed worthy of respect, or whatever it is that we look for from other people, but tis true.

That said, I wonder if, if people weren't so judgmental and looking for things to pick at, would we see more or less people in homosexual relationships?

I wouldn't care, in any case. I don't know why so many other people do.

[hardvice.livejournal.com]

I had a professor who had been very involves in the civil rights movement. She told us in great detail about the Freedom Rides and the lunch counter sit-ins, about being spat on in Alabama and watching her companions be beaten in Georgia.

All I could think to ask was how she managed to keep going in the face of such a pure, indomitable wall of hate—how she could put herself, day after day, into situations she knew would be almost unliveable.

She told me it was like any other journey: if you looked ahead, you'd quickly become disillusioned by how many steps you had left to go. But when you looked behind you, you became strengthened by how many steps you'd taken.

In that respect, these guys amaze me and inspire me. Sure, there's a long way left to go—but look how far we've come.

[kuangning]

*smiles.* That's so true. Thank you for that -- it's a very timely reminder for me, today.