To the Man Who Called my Friend a Faggot
It was the night of Thanksgiving and after a large meal, my friends and I took a walk around the neighborhood in Bakersfield, CA. My friend who is openly gay knew that we were in a largely conservative area and tried to keep his flamboyant personality on the down low. Unfortunately, two guys and a girl walking down the street could not go unnoticed.
As we were turning a corner, a man yelled from his house “Keep walking you faggots!”
For a moment I couldn’t believe what I had heard. As a LGBT advocate and supporter, I was hurt and shocked by such words of hatred. My gay friend pretended to not hear it and even went as far as to make an excuse for the behavior.
I was angry, upset, but I held my emotion back considering I was a guest in the area. I was angrier than my friend who was the target of the discrimination. I then wondered to myself, “When did the bigots of America stop caring about having a filter?” How could this man feel so comfortable to call someone a faggot to their face?
I blame the current administration, but I also have to realize that this horrid ideology against gays has always been around. It was Trump that opened the chasms of hate and bigotry that allowed people like the man in Bakersfield to air their opinions with no consequences. The president is using bills such as Religious Liberty Accommodations Act to attack the LGBT community by allowing citizens to discriminate in businesses, banning transgender members from service and the workforce.
In an analysis/pole from the Federal Bureau of Investigation on the rate of hate crimes in the U.S. the LGBT population faced more violence and hate than any other marginalized group. The rate has increased since 2014.
The worst kinds of people in the world are those that see evil actions and do nothing. If one supports equal rights, fair treatment of all humans regardless of race, sexual orientation and ethnicity, then every person should be upset when a news story about an attack on the LGBT community occurs.
Even though Trump’s administration is against LGBT rights, we the people must come together against this backwards way of thinking and challenge this historical hegemony.
All it takes is one person, once voice, and one group to set the world on fire. Hatred is loud, but equality, although quiet will always be heard.