A friend of mine recently read an essay he wrote. It was very good and heartfelt. When I asked him why he wrote the essay his response was strange to me. He said that he was asked to cover the topic by an authority. (it was much more specific than that, but for this I will leave it general for my protection)
It was strange not because he was asked to do it, but because of who the person was and their specific role in our lives currently. It is a good thing for those in authority to draw out positivity from us, in fact, I would argue that the authority is doing precisely what is needed. So bravo for doing the right thing.
However, they would never ask a gay person here to do the same thing. In fact, just saying that they attend our meetings as a simple visitor gets them special attention for their bravery! Their coworkers check them over afterwords to make sure they are OK. My point is this: As LGBT people we have to mentor ourselves because like the black people of the 50's no one wants to teach us. Where are our teachers? Where are the people who take special interest and time for us? Because sitting with us for 45 minutes while we teach ourselves is not mentorship! Who is sitting down with us and "drawing out" our potential? So far as I can see its still nobody.
People wonder why we are still claiming inequality! This is a classic example. One that is repeated from every culture that has been marginalized.
So to clarify for everyone who doesn't think its their job to draw out positivity from the LGBT community, shame on you...
What will they say when you become great and it was without them?
With Love
Jeff
No comments:
Post a Comment