Just because I am not who you think I should be, what you want me to be, with who you think I should be with, does that mean I should be dead? That I should be slandered? That I’m not worthy of a life? Do I deserve to take my own life? Am I not worthy of having a happy existence? After reading a few recent news stories, including the one below, I felt prompted to write another blog post and express how I really feel...
This story brought a tear to my eye. My condolences go out to Jamey's friends and family. One of the most heart-breaking things about our society is the inability to accept each other for who we are. Teenagers and young people are receiving abuse, taunts and death threats and even being made homeless because of their sexual orientation. I think this is totally ridiculous and therefore, something needs to be said AND done about it!
As a former victim of bullying during my teen years, I know exactly how it feels to be alienated and have feelings of self-loathe and low levels of confidence. Why does it feel we are going backwards instead of forwards in terms of accepting each other for who we are or what we are? Why is society still so ignorant and narrow-minded about all of this? Why are we continuously being judged by the colour of the skin or the person who we are in love with? We are NOT defined by the skin colour or sexual orientation – in my opinion, skin colour does NOT define a person in any way. And neither does sexual orientation. Just because someone decides to go to bed with or fall in love with someone of the same sex, that should by no means make them seem like a bad person. It has no relevance or makes no difference. Love has no limits; it’s the personality of the person that matters.
I am not one to discriminate against anyone. In fact, this reminds me of how black people suffered a lot of prejudice and struggled to find work because they were judged by the colour of the skin rather than skills and abilities, so what gives us the right to be homophobic and frown upon gay people? I firmly believe that gay culture should be celebrated rather than frowned upon.
Judging a person doesn't define who they are, it defines who you are. Bullying is still a major topic that needs as much attention brought to it as possible. So many innocent and precious lives could have been saved with a ZERO tolerance on bullying. Don't turn your cheek on someone being bullied. It takes a very weak person to bully and an even stronger person to stick up for that person who needs your help.
If you ARE being bullied on the other hand, it's okay to get help and speak up about your issues. It's better to face the truth than live a lie. If anything, it's bound to save your life. There's more to you then just your orientation. Remember it is our differences that give us our identity.
With positive LGBT role models, including Ellen DeGeneres, Elton John and Lady Gaga, we hope to see positive changes. With gay marriage being legalised in New York City, we hope people can be comfortable in their own sexuality and not have to live in denial.
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