“I didn’t choose this…” There goes the voice of a boy softly spoken yet full of contempt for what he had become – a dog trying to exist as a cat. I watch him with pity as he desolately narrates how the purplish bruises on his body came into picture. He recounts how his father beat him up every chance he got since the day he decided to come out of the closet. He thought: “If my dad could accept me the way I am, then who cares what the world thinks of me?” But there was no acceptance felt; only hatred and extreme disgust.
One of the biggest battle homosexuals face today is the struggle to come out and leave behind their Oscar-winning roles as “straights”. A mighty dosage of anxiety will surely arise before the confession but it’s the mass of dilemmas that will emerge after the feat that the homosexual is most dreadful of. Number one on the list is the fear to be accepted; accepted by the family and the society. But homosexuality is not a disease that one should feel repulse of. We must always bear in mind that being different doesn’t necessarily equate with being unacceptable. It is discriminatory to determine one’s homosexuality by merely criticizing a person’s look. Call them gay, lesbian, faggot…they’re still humans who deserve some respect. But from what I’ve observed now, the prejudice towards homosexuals is becoming less evident compared from the past. I was appalled when I witnessed how homosexuals before act in the public – kissing and touching inseparably one another. It is no surprise why the society found it hard to acknowledge their presence. They had set a bad example for others especially to the innocent ones. If only they behaved themselves properly at that time, then respect would be at the palm of their hands before they even know it. But I am pleased with how the situation turned out. Both parties – homosexuals and non-homosexuals – have made a compromise and finally met halfway concerning the right to exist. It was a long battle but every plea was worth all the time and effort.
If only the thirst for acceptance is not as rampant as this at the present, the world would’ve been easier to deal with. And if only the struggle to become who we really are is as effortless as breathing, there would be less perplexity and perhaps no rejection. But the world is what it is because of us. We had the choice to make it better and we didn’t choose it...
