To be queer

From the way the religious right blasts at gays, one would think there was an army of us out there actively recruiting the straights to become 'sodomites', lusting after children, and deliberately undermining The American Way™ — white picket fences, 2.5 children, and a dog named Fido. Well, I hate to say it, but I'm certainly not the first person to love someone of the same sex, and no one taught me to be this way. We're here to stay. I don't mean that as anything else but a gentle reminder of what can't be changed, so it may as well be accepted.

It has never been more true than in this case, that people fear what they do not understand. With the coming-out of Ellen on the ABC sitcom of the same name, we have some evidence of the gradual process of killing the fear. I stress "gradual". Hell, the first Black man appeared on television probably a good 50 or so years ago, and racism still exists today. I don't have rose-coloured glasses on concerning the acceptance of gays-as-part-of-life happening in my lifetime, but I'm really hopeful that someday, it will happen.

So how does the fear get dispelled? By making it plainly obvious that we are no different than anyone else. There are sterotypes of queers and those of us that the general public see during our Pride parades: the outrageous drag queens, the leather boys, the dykes on bikes, and so on. They are part of the community, and they are loved and welcomed as much as anyone else. However, they are not the entire community.

So who are we then?

We are the people in line behind you at the store, or perhaps even the one ringing up your purchase. We are the ones you smile at when you take our toll fare. We run to the corner store at midnight when we run out of NyQuil. We drive our cars with you on the freeway. We support public schools with our taxes. We picnic in the park on the blanket next to yours. We laugh (or cry) beside you in the movie theater. We buy flowers for our loved ones. We have brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents. We celebrate births, and mourn deaths. We may even be sitting next to you when you go to church or temple. We live life one day at a time, enjoying the ups and suffering the downs just like anyone else.

We have no 'agenda' except to be accepted for who we are without fear of scorn or reprisal; who we are stems from who we love, and not from some desire to "turn the world gay." We certainly don't endorse the exploitation or molestation of children; individuals who do such things are ill and need help, whether gay or straight.

We just want to be.

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