i am a Christ-follower who has been through Reparative (Conversion) Therapy and ex-gay ministries, survived, AND lived to tell about the lies and atrocities thrown on normal, everyday people who happen to be attracted to the same sex rather than the opposite sex. We have been made out to be sex-crazed child molesters who are headed to hell. What kills me is that heterosexuals live together without being married, perform oral sex on one another, poke the butt, choose not to procreate or in some cases, cannot conceive, sleep around, etc. Yet, us queers are demonized because of who we love. It's crazy BULLSHIT!
We are being accused of things that are not true and being kept from full inclusion as fellow human beings in this, in many ways, great nation, the UNITED STATES of AMERICA. WE ARE BEING OPPRESSED AND WE WON'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! i could relate to the letter i posted below in so many ways. It is a sad day when we live in one of the greatest and most 'free' nations in the entire world and the LGBTQ community does not have full inclusion in our society. i read recently that, "Now Cuba's parliament is studying proposals to legalize same-sex unions and give gay couples the benefits that people in traditional marriages enjoy." So, even COMMUNIST CUBA is considering same-sex marriage for gays thanks to Raul Castro's daughter, Mariela Castro, who is spearheading an anti-homophobia drive inside Cuba! Spain, a HUGE Catholic population, has same-sex marriage. Canada has same-sex marriage. The Netherlands has same-sex marriage. South Africa has same-sex marriage. Belgium has same sex marriage. Norway has same-sex marriage. EVEN Nepal has same-sex marriage. The UK has Civil Partnerships, which gives rights and responsibilities to same sex couples that are IDENTICAL to civil marriages. The USA DOES NOT HAVE same-sex marriage federally, YET! This is very sad to me.
Peterson Toscano brilliantly and poignantly addresses our Oppressors:
An Open Letter to Our Oppressors
December 24, 2008 by p2son
In light of the passage of Proposition 8 with the denial and removal of rights for gay and lesbian couples, and the other anti-gay ballot measures recently passed, the inclusion of Rick Warren in the upcoming US presidential inauguration festivities, and recent anti-gay comments by the Pope (along with may many other previous anti-gay statements), I wish to write an open letter to my oppressors, many of them fellow Christians.
Dear Oppressors,
Yes, I hear you. I am not deaf to your messages. To the Holy Father in Rome, Reverend Rick Warren in California, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the many supporters of Prop 8, Focus on the Family, Exodus International, and so many others who publicly speak out against LGBT people and our rights, I hear you loud and clear. No matter how you sugarcoat it and wrap it up with smiles and scripture and say that you are nothing like the extremist, Fred Phelps, I hear your message loud and clear telling me that I am inferior and unwanted in your world. These are not your words, but all the same this is the message you communicate.
I hear you insist time and time again in multiple ways that heterosexuals are superior to gays and lesbians. Your marriages, your homes, your “lifestyles” are normal, but mine? Not so much. I hear you declare that I am not capable of producing anything good or beneficial other than some window treatments or a decent hair style. In essence I hear you say that I am a worthless piece of shit and the cause of untold woes and problems, the harbinger of even worst things to come.
Some of your best friends may be gay, and you may profess that you really love the homosexual, but all the while your words and aggressively anti-gay activism consistently serve to dehumanize me–to present me and my kind as oversexed, deformed animals.
You remain steadfast in your opposition to the full inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the church. You oppose, limit and even remove rights in order to keep us unequal and legally inferior. You spend exorbitant amounts of money and time telling lies about us while expending so little energy actually getting to know us. You deal with theories, not reality. And you are wrong, dead wrong.
You treat us as an inconvenient and unwanted Christmas gift that you desperately wish to exchange for something better. You belittle our love, our families, our faith, our morals, our very lives while all the time you claim to speak the truth in love. This is not love. This is fear. It is control and oppression, and it is the rejection of God’s gifts to the church, society and in some cases to your very families.
I know all about rejecting this gift. I did it for years as I repented daily of the same-sex attractions and gender differences I found inside me. I demonized my sexuality and believed no good could come of my gay orientation. I proceeded to return this gift as I bullied God for something else–I coveted my straight neighbor’s life believing the propaganda that his was the idealized norm to follow instead of trusting God for the life I had been given.
Read the rest here.
