We Are Your Fellow Human Beings
When I read the article from Philippine Daily Inquirer written by a 16-year old on marriage equality, sadness took over me.
No Hate Please
I’ve always believed that freedom of speech, although it has some danger, is a beautiful thing. And I respect the opinion of this young writer. I am asking everyone else to stop sending hateful comments and resorting to name calling as these things would not do anything good. Before you type away snide remarks and call Angela names and hide behind the freedom of speech cloak, pause and think if what you would say is going to make things better, help enlighten the young minds such as Angela or if you are just out to hurt the writer for expressing an opinion that is not aligned with yours.
We Have to Do More in Spreading the Message of Equality
The fact that we have read such an article from a young mind just means that we have to do more and work harder in spreading the message of equality.
Here we have Angela, a 16-year old who strongly holds an opinion that sadly, advocates inequality, exclusion, and discrimination. She is probably unaware that her opinion is advocating such. I’d give her that. I wonder if she’s heard about a fellow teenager like her, Shira Banki, also 16 years old, whose life was violently stolen from her for simply believing in equality, fairness, while peacefully rallying for the rights of the LGBTQs.
I wonder if Angela personally knows someone who is a member of the LGBTQ community. A sibling, a relative, a classmate, schoolmate, or maybe a neighbor. Or if it even crossed her mind that someone dear to her may be a closeted lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer – and thought about the pain her words would inflict in that very person she considers dear to her heart. Did Angela even think about what it’s like to be in the shoes of a person identifying as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer?
Maybe if she did, she would have reassessed her opinions and checked for biases in her point of view. Maybe if she did she'd done further research. Or maybe even went deeper and talked with a number of LGBTQs to get an understanding of who we are, what we are actively rallying for and why we are doing so.
LGBTQ Love Does Not Equal Bestiality
It baffles me as to how people easily jump into likening or even equate the love shared by 2 men or 2 women, or the love shared by anyone identifying as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer with another person to bestiality. I do not understand how all of a sudden because of just one element of our character many would not only automatically downgrade us to second class citizens but also deny our humanity.
Why Paint Us in Such an Evil Light?
We, the LGBTQs have been and are continuously being painted in such an evil light. And we've been blamed and are still being blamed for almost everything that’s bad in this world from the spread of HIV and AIDS to the extinction of life itself. Even at this age of information, many do not bother to check facts before opening their mouths or typing away their thoughts on LGBTQ issues.
How Does One Decide That We Be Denied of Equal Rights
I am at loss as to how a huge number of people have the audacity to say that we the LGBTQs are not deserving of the same human rights they are freely enjoying. How do you as a person, decide that we, the LGBTQs, just because of 1 simple difference from the straight majority should be denied of equal rights?
For many we are a running joke, something to laugh about, poke fun of and insult. Recently, we have been a topic of debate - something for people to discuss, talk about. But all the while it seems to me that people have forgotten one important thing - that we the lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and queers are their fellow human beings.
Meet the Victims of Your Discrimination
I am left wondering if the people who are bent on treating the LGBTQs as second class citizens and those who are so driven to deny us of equal rights have met a victim of their discrimination. Do they even know the people they are actively discriminating against? Do they even think and consider what their impact would be whenever they try and justify as to why it’s right that we be robbed of our inherent rights and be treated as second class citizens. Do they even pause and think of us as their fellow human beings? Maybe if they did, then we would no longer be rallying for the very same rights that any self-identifying heterosexual person is freely enjoying.
We Are Your Fellow Human Beings
We are your fellow human beings. And for many years, we have been struggling to be simply treated as that. We are your brothers, sisters, moms, dads, uncles, aunts, neighbors, classmates, police officers, firemen, lawmakers, doctors, nurses, artists, teachers, lawyers, nieces, nephews, office workers, business owners, fishermen, farmers, grandmoms, grandfathers, soldiers, bus drivers, cab drivers, store attendants, cooks, house helps, your friends, and even those strangers whose names you don’t mind not knowing. We are here. We are just like you.
Don’t deny us our humanity just because of 1 facet of our character.
I ask that you take a look at us, look into our eyes, and see us for who we are. Your fellow human beings.
We Need Your Help
Help us spread the message. If you identify as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer, tweet a photo with the hashtag #YourFellowHumanBeing and we'll add your photo to the gallery. Let's show our faces and maybe it would make it harder for people to deny our humanity or at the very least our human rights.
