Always Open to Dialogue OR Opening Up Closed Minds

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber.

Now it's an old truism that you can bring a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. Gay, straight or transgender, it is up to the individual to find his or her way in life, which includes acknowledging (or not) their sexuality. Nor is it up to anyone else to speculate or fuel rumour and gossip. Sexuality is only part of the whole person; it is the whole that counts.

Who are we, any of us, to pass an uninformed judgement on the part and apply it to the whole?

As far as being gay is concerned, I can tell you from personal experience that not coming to grips with sexuality can result in a slow but sure build-up of mental health problems. I was only 14 years-old when I acknowledged to my awakening sexual self that I am gay. (Gay relationships were illegal in those days.) Subsequent closet years contributed significantly to my suffering a severe nervous breakdown in my early thirties. It took me a long time (years, not weeks or months) to recover and get my life back on track, but on track it was at last, not least because I was now openly gay where previously I had been in and out of that damn closet like a Jack-in-the-box, something I would not wish on my worst enemy.

Being gay is no more a matter of choice than being straight; acknowledging and acting on it...that is the choice all LGBT people face, and learning to live with ourselves. Whatever our sex or sexuality,  life is rarely an easy path, but better (surely?) to tackle its ups and downs as we are rather than as we or others might have us be? For me, the latter was like trying to breathe in someone else's skin, a living nightmare.

Whatever life choices we make because feel it is right, that choice should be respected, not condemned because certain socio-cultural-religious elements in any society anywhere happen to take a different view. We may well find ourselves harbouring strong feelings for or against one or more aspects of a person's expressed take on life, but we have no right to judge that person on those alone, and it would be a crime against humanity to do so; we may dislike, even hate a particular song for its lyric, orchestral arrangement, whatever...but only a total jerk would presume to judge the singer on the basis of one performance. (While not presuming to suggest all gay-unfriendly folks are jerks, if the cap fits...)

'A conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. That's why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.' - Truman Capote

'Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice.' - Harvey Milk

This poem is a kenning

ALWAYS OPEN TO DIALOGUE

I am no enemy,

and more sinned against

than sinning…

wherever I go, whatever

path I take in life,

trudging sadly, skipping madly

or taking wary steps

among minefields haunting

most if not all of us   

I am a friend,

born to be so to the end

of life’s journey,

even beyond halcyon days

and nights committed

to sweet memory, transcending

any regret for times past,

inspiring an earthy spirituality

in most if not all of us

See me for what I am,

a natural ally to conscience

since its birth, always

on its side, knowing right

from wrong, discerning

society’s excuses and abuses,

unafraid to pleasure me

despite bigotry and hypocrisy

conspiring against us

It's a closed mind judges my integrity
on the grounds of my sexuality

Copyright R. N. Taber 2011; 2016