One writer gets to the very essence of the ‘top-down’ damage being done to the GLBT community on a daily basis by institutions (government, schools, political and religious ‘leaders’) and the legal oppression and persecution that permits such a culture by not giving GLBT people equal protections under the Law. Follow link at end of excerpt to read the entire article.
Excerpt from an essay by Sparkindarkness.
“…Constantly using “gay” as a weapon – treating this as legitimate and effective (and it BEING effective) feeds more and more into the idea of gay being a negative thing – into people believing gay is negative and treating us like shit. This is what feeds the idea that we can be attacked with impunity – that it’s not just acceptable to attack us – but even laudable.
Whether it’s DC gaol guards beating a gay inmate, a man in Chicago being badly beaten or a man in Blackburn attacking gay teens, from gay bashings to gay murders it happens because of the endless, unrelenting message that our lives are not worthy. That being GBLT is a bad thing. That being GBLT is deserving of this treatment. This is why gay and trans people are victimised – because our culture encourages it, tolerates it and continually cheer leads for it. And one of the loudest, most powerful, most official voices behind this message is government and law itself.
Our very existence is considered shameful in so many ways. From bloggers who are unhappy that Martha Stewart dared to include a gay couple in her marriage mag, to Virgin mobile adverts with couples kissing in Canada – gay is unacceptable, straight is fine to the whole Adam Lambert double standard to David Letterman’s disgusting transphobic “joke” to a college newspaper treating the most serious kind of anti-gay violence as a JOKE – we’re told that we should hide. That we are unacceptable in public. That we’re dirty or shameful and belong in the closet
This is why even today it is a considerable act of courage for people to come out of the closet. That being open and public subjects you to utterly vile bigotry just for existing and doing a job well!
It is an act of heroism to dare to exist publicly. And how horrific is that?”
(Read entire post and follow links within the post here.)
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