Out of the Closet and into the Fire

Okay, so the pressure of the media over the past several weeks, including the oppressive anti-gay antics of Vlad “The Impaler” Putin’s Sochi experiment, have really gotten to me. Taking into account Michael Sam’s recent heroic act of standing up for his lifestyle, I feel forced to do the same.

Yes, Virginia, I am a lesbian.

There, I said it, and now that it’s out in the open I feel much better. For years I have harbored this inmost secret, afraid that both of my friends would abandon me and leave me on that heap of lost souls along with:  Liberace, Freddie Mercury, Sponge Bob Square Pants, and all those other gays to be named later. Yes, I know Sponge Bob is a cartoon, but what does that matter?

Why is it that we so-called human beings are even concerned with this topic? Don’t those who cling the most to anti-gay rhetoric realize that the psychology behind their hate-driven arguments really points back to themselves? Truly, it shouldn’t bother them at all. The fact that it does leads a critical thinker to the conclusion that they likely see and fear those subtleties within themselves.

So, let’s talk about what it means for someone to be honest to themselves. Have you ever tried to live a life of concealment, a life where you dare not let the public know about your private life just because a stage full of morons are likely to condemn you?

Give me a break.

Gay or straight and black or white, who really cares? Isn’t it time we grabbed that now ancient adage and looked at people for the content of their character? Do you really think that Dr. Martin Luther King’s statement only fits in with the American Civil Rights movement and anti-black sentiment?

Truth is truth.

If what Dr. King said is true for the American psyche, and I believe it is, it applies to everyone. Our founding fathers nearly balked at that one statement in the Declaration of Independence, All men are created equal. These were, obviously, intelligent people. Many of them were slave owners. Do you think for a minute that they didn’t see the irony in that statement given the situation in the United States at the time?

No. Not for a minute. In fact, they argued over the “peculiar institution” and how it jarred against the very statement they put in the declaration. Au contraire, mon ami. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Thomas Jefferson himself condemned the injustice of the slave trade and by implication slavery. Through pretzel logic, Jefferson blamed the slave trade on British colonial policies, trying to absolve Americans, and himself, of any responsibility for the trade. The Continental Congress, while admitting to the issue, opted to cut that passage out of the declaration. They felt, in essence, that slavery was subordinate to the larger goal of securing the unity and independence of the United States. Embarking on the abolition of slavery would undermine the colonies’ ability to join forces, as it did nearly 90 years later. Instead, they opted not to address the “peculiar institution” not because they supported it, but because it would work toward disunity.

Don’t believe that? What happened in 1860?

And so that brings us back to the ethical question about homosexuality. Like the question of skin color, what difference does it make, really? We all laugh, we all cry, we all bleed, and we all die. None are exempt. If you are born, guess what, it’s likely that you will experience all of the above. I’m not sure if that applies to clones, but somehow I sense it might.

So, why are we so hate-filled about something that really doesn’t matter at all in the end? It’s hard to believe it’s nature; so maybe it’s nurture. The worms don’t care about color, creed, or sexual preference and neither should we. They just as willingly gobble up gays as they do members of the Klan.

Stand up if you must as king of Ignoramus Mountain, but as for me, I prefer to think of people as equals. Black, white, red, yellow, or gay—it’s all the same to me. Until, that is, the person proves themselves to be some variation of buffoon. But even then, it’s easier and more prudent just to allow them to go their separate way. The worms win in the end, anyway.