The Christian fundamentalist hate groups and political parties got their asses kicked at the polls in this year, so after that it seems pretty much smooth sailing for the short term.
However, since things are now looking somewhat brighter than they did up to the 22nd of April, I have made a short list of things I would to do or see in the near future. Call it a wish list if you like, but oh well, here it is:
I would like;
1) to actually be allowed to forget all the nasty names people call the pink community (such as "deviants", "faggots", "queers", "he-she's", "gay Taliban", "terrorists", "god-haters", "pedophiles", "threats to civilization", "mentally ill" etc).
2) to see a more positive attitude among the pink community, and people showing more interest in affairs which affect them, including more participation and getting their hands dirty when there is a need. I have grown sick and tired of seeing Facebook posts and statuses from members of the pink community - as challenged and hated as the rest of us - claiming to be completely uninterested in politics and describing voting as a "waste of time". People like this are the reason we struggle to overcome legal attacks on our human rights and equality (such as the USA's Proposition 8) and will cause more problems for us as a community in future. Apathy is one of the biggest obstacles we must overcome and the best way to do this is by standing together.
3) to see less division in the pink community when it comes to social activities and interaction - by this I mean less planned activities or events "just for" gay women or gay men only - and much more inclusivity. As far as I am concerned this segregation is destructive and a load of elitist bullshit that just aids in dividing us further. As it has been pointed out on numerous occasions, our enemies see us as one group - and it is strange that we do not. It makes no sense at all to fight in a burning house. Gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people need to bury their hatchets and stand together to fight back-to-back for our communal rights.
4) to see more of the pink community getting involved in politics. The more of us there are in representative positions the less likely the bigots and anti-gay groups will be able to force their bigotry through Parliament to make laws that will strip us of our human rights and equality. To see what happens when this pink element is absent from politics, take a look at Uganda.
5) to see less people fired from their jobs because of prejudice and discrimination against their sexual orientation or gender identity - and more people penalized for taking out their narrow views and bigotry on innocent people.
6) to see more informative and unbiased articles in the media about affairs affecting the pink community and less apathy and indifference bu media companies who often treat us like pariahs because they fear a backlash from conservative viewers/readers.
7) to see less conservative readers/viewers/audiences and more open minded intelligent people willing to find out the truth about people before arbitrarily judging them.
8) to see more co-operation between advocacy groups instead of arguing amongst themselves over petty party politics and neglecting their core business of defending or promoting the equality and civil rights of the pink community - which is why they were founded in the first place.
9) to go out on the town with the partner of my choice without being stared at, spat at, insulted, preached at or given bad service to by people without the common decency to live and let live - or the realization that they may one day reap what they sow.
10) to help build a more tolerant society where people are not judged on the basis of sexuality, gender or gender identity, race, language, culture, who people love or choose to marry or on religious beliefs and where all people are truly equal and can live together in peace.
11) to reach out to people who make up the pink community and to help give them the support they need to overcome the wall of hate that has risen to meet them.
If I think about it much more I am sure I will have a list of a hundred points long. But still, if you sit and think about the things you would like to see, I am sure you will make a long list too. Gandhi is famously quoted as saying "Be the change you want to see in the world" - and I couldn't agree more.
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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.
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