I guess it's only just now that the reality of what went down in Orlando started sinking in. And how certain media outlets seem to be eager to brush homophobic aspect of it under the carpet
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I know what you mean about feeling a connection. I was able to emotionally block it, as I block all the other daily Bad Stuff in the world, until I read about one victims texts, and as happens every once in a while reading about the Bad Stuff, that one somewhat broke through my defences.
I haven't seen anyone belittling it yet. Hell, even the hate-mongering Daily Mail took a pop at an even more Conservative Turkish interpretation. That's just weird. (And, as an aside, the prospect of Turkey ever joining the EU really makes me deeply uncomfortable with my Remain vote. Very, very uncomfortable).
Anyway. It doesn't make me want to join a pride group or march or anything. I resent even being associated with that ever-growing collection of capitalised letters. My sexuality is not a community. I do not segregate myself by my sexuality (or ever wish to give the appearance that I do). I don't even want to be around people who make their sexuality their whole persona. It's as revolting to me as overt displays of heterosexual masculinity.
I am me. I have some attributes. That's all there is. In every outward way I am indistinguishable from anyone else in a crowd. That's how I like it.
And that's my example to the world. Not waving colourful flags half-naked in fetish gear to people who already hate me. But just by living my life in a civilised way like every other civilised person does. I've been in that frame of mind for several years and I don't feel like I need to change course.
I suspect doing much else (as I fear is about to happen anyway) will just stoke an existing fire and risk trolling more nutters into violence. What is the point? We all know violent nut-cases are out there, be it gays, blacks, whites, yellows, non-believers or whatever - haters gonna hate, as they say. Let them stand up like a proud nail to be hammered down by civilised justice. Most of the rest of us are perfectly ordinary folk like anyone else who doesn't harbour active hatred.
I don't think I see this as a strictly gay vs everyone else thing. This is an everyone vs backwards hateful ideology thing. You don't have to be gay / lesbian / male / female / both / neither / upside-down or whatever to be affected by it at some point, we're not special snowflakes, we're just different in the eyes of people who really don't like things that are different.
And that's exactly the problem, be any different than those nutjobs and you're instantly an enemy and a target. They often don't distinguish and don't care, it's as if inflicting violence and suffering was in some way the point itself.
There's been lots and lots of dreams, plans an ambitions that are never going to come true now. Probably lots of unfinished business and some regrets which will now never have a chance to be attended to and fixed. It's terrible. And it stings much more when you realize they died because they were just like you or me, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. That reason alone sent that asshat on a rampage. In whose name was this done? What deity would want this?
I think in places like Britain certain things are taken for granted with LGBT rights. It's a tolerant society, yes, but lots of people still don't accept LGBT people or are outright hostile towards them. I don't intend to antagonize those haters but at the same time I, too, would like to live life as anyone else does. And for sure some sick fuck isn't going to change that.
I'm just too well aware that hatred is never far away. Don't forget it lived right next door to me for several months. It may yet come back.
But I'll carry on living life a productive civilised person. I'll do stuff that interests me, I'll go to work, I'll pay my taxes. Already that's more than the haters I was affected by will ever achieve.
And I'll live my private life in private, as most of the rest of our society do. I don't care what goes on behind their closed doors, and I only want that same level of respect. I'm still more worried by intrusion of the State into my fantasies and sexual life than I am of a massacre such as yesterday's. They are horrific, but fortunately extremely rare.
So I don't want celebrating or to celebrate myself in public. I don't even want to be labelled "LGBT" - three of those letters don't apply so wtf? To me it's marginalising ourselves, putting ourselves into some sort of minority deserving of special treatment, yet somehow different from or more important than other minorities who feel marginalised. That feels very wrong for me. I don't want labels or attention drawn to myself because of my innate and private sexual preferences. Why ever would I want that?
We are all just people, fortunate enough to live in a civilised country, although I don't take for granted that ass-backwards attitudes are still present, and were commonplace even around my own birth. I don't take the freedoms I enjoy for granted for a split second. I'm just leading by the example I hope we all live by in the future. That someone's sexuality is so unimportant that it just goes completely under the radar.
Of course, I still think populist stuff like football fanaticism is moronic, as is blind patriotism or organised religion, all things which also allow people to put themselves in bizarre little camps, so I accept my own perspective on our world is already in its own minority. Regardless, I'm still going to live as normal and unassuming existence as I can, in the hope that one day anyone will feel comfortable enough to do the same.
That'd be the ideal case, to have it where nobody simply cares about the others person's sexual preference. Britain, by far, is close to that state but then often you can find that it's not close enough, as you've had your share of crap with those retard neighbours.
I think for me it's made me more conscious that there's so many many places where just being gay or anything else than straight is punishable. Or at least frowned upon. You can't live a normal life like that, where even just holding your other half's and in public would get you into trouble. It used to be like that in Britain not so long ago, still is many places.
If I'd ever like to take part in some sort of activity, it'd be to help those you can't live their lives normally in certain parts of the world, like you or I can. It's disgusting that people persecute other people just for wanting that, to live quietly with their other half irrespective of their gender.
Of the civilised countries Russia seems by far the worst offender in this regard, but homophobia seems endemic and state-sponsored, and to be honest, appears only symptomatic of far worse problems.
I don't have an answer to all the small-mindedness in the world though.
I haven't seen anyone belittling it yet. Hell, even the hate-mongering Daily Mail took a pop at an even more Conservative Turkish interpretation. That's just weird. (And, as an aside, the prospect of Turkey ever joining the EU really makes me deeply uncomfortable with my Remain vote. Very, very uncomfortable).
Anyway. It doesn't make me want to join a pride group or march or anything. I resent even being associated with that ever-growing collection of capitalised letters. My sexuality is not a community. I do not segregate myself by my sexuality (or ever wish to give the appearance that I do). I don't even want to be around people who make their sexuality their whole persona. It's as revolting to me as overt displays of heterosexual masculinity.
I am me. I have some attributes. That's all there is. In every outward way I am indistinguishable from anyone else in a crowd. That's how I like it.
And that's my example to the world. Not waving colourful flags half-naked in fetish gear to people who already hate me. But just by living my life in a civilised way like every other civilised person does. I've been in that frame of mind for several years and I don't feel like I need to change course.
I suspect doing much else (as I fear is about to happen anyway) will just stoke an existing fire and risk trolling more nutters into violence. What is the point? We all know violent nut-cases are out there, be it gays, blacks, whites, yellows, non-believers or whatever - haters gonna hate, as they say. Let them stand up like a proud nail to be hammered down by civilised justice. Most of the rest of us are perfectly ordinary folk like anyone else who doesn't harbour active hatred.
I don't think I see this as a strictly gay vs everyone else thing. This is an everyone vs backwards hateful ideology thing. You don't have to be gay / lesbian / male / female / both / neither / upside-down or whatever to be affected by it at some point, we're not special snowflakes, we're just different in the eyes of people who really don't like things that are different.
Reply
There's been lots and lots of dreams, plans an ambitions that are never going to come true now. Probably lots of unfinished business and some regrets which will now never have a chance to be attended to and fixed. It's terrible. And it stings much more when you realize they died because they were just like you or me, and in the wrong place at the wrong time. That reason alone sent that asshat on a rampage. In whose name was this done? What deity would want this?
I think in places like Britain certain things are taken for granted with LGBT rights. It's a tolerant society, yes, but lots of people still don't accept LGBT people or are outright hostile towards them. I don't intend to antagonize those haters but at the same time I, too, would like to live life as anyone else does. And for sure some sick fuck isn't going to change that.
Reply
But I'll carry on living life a productive civilised person. I'll do stuff that interests me, I'll go to work, I'll pay my taxes. Already that's more than the haters I was affected by will ever achieve.
And I'll live my private life in private, as most of the rest of our society do. I don't care what goes on behind their closed doors, and I only want that same level of respect. I'm still more worried by intrusion of the State into my fantasies and sexual life than I am of a massacre such as yesterday's. They are horrific, but fortunately extremely rare.
So I don't want celebrating or to celebrate myself in public. I don't even want to be labelled "LGBT" - three of those letters don't apply so wtf? To me it's marginalising ourselves, putting ourselves into some sort of minority deserving of special treatment, yet somehow different from or more important than other minorities who feel marginalised. That feels very wrong for me. I don't want labels or attention drawn to myself because of my innate and private sexual preferences. Why ever would I want that?
We are all just people, fortunate enough to live in a civilised country, although I don't take for granted that ass-backwards attitudes are still present, and were commonplace even around my own birth. I don't take the freedoms I enjoy for granted for a split second. I'm just leading by the example I hope we all live by in the future. That someone's sexuality is so unimportant that it just goes completely under the radar.
Of course, I still think populist stuff like football fanaticism is moronic, as is blind patriotism or organised religion, all things which also allow people to put themselves in bizarre little camps, so I accept my own perspective on our world is already in its own minority. Regardless, I'm still going to live as normal and unassuming existence as I can, in the hope that one day anyone will feel comfortable enough to do the same.
Reply
I think for me it's made me more conscious that there's so many many places where just being gay or anything else than straight is punishable. Or at least frowned upon. You can't live a normal life like that, where even just holding your other half's and in public would get you into trouble. It used to be like that in Britain not so long ago, still is many places.
If I'd ever like to take part in some sort of activity, it'd be to help those you can't live their lives normally in certain parts of the world, like you or I can. It's disgusting that people persecute other people just for wanting that, to live quietly with their other half irrespective of their gender.
Reply
I don't have an answer to all the small-mindedness in the world though.
Reply
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