I looked up in the Oxford Students Dictionary, and it says 'Homosexual' means "sexually attracted to people of the same sex as yours". Why do I state the definition for this matter? Because today, I feel like I need to talk about this minority which has been living under the watch of the public for over a decade now.
Invisible banners have been flagged up anywhere that people keep seeing this community as something that is forbidden and taboo. Majority sees people like this as crippled within them, body and soul. They are the people who have been misled to the wrong path. But personally, I think this community isn't as bad as what people thought. I think they are one of the strongest communities I've seen, because the upbringing they had in their life was as tough as a rock. That's the least I've thought of them. I know because I've seen this society before, I've mixed up with them and even coming along with them to the regular places they usually go where I ended up working at. And, I have also seen them at the most unpleasant condition but not that much worst as killing.
I am pressing down this matter after reading an article cited from an unspecified online newspaper, saying that an "Iraqi cleric wants gays killed in "MOST SEVERE WAY". I mean, should we punish them for the things they don't want to have themselves? For God sake, human don't punish other humans unless it's been officially decided by the state's law. Personal occurrences that happened might guide him to be ended up hating this community, and worst, he grew up by setting a mindset that he actually hates these people. Maybe by his parents who shaped him or the surrounding itself that unconsciously habituated him to manually creating hatred towards gay community?
Last week, I was supposed to watch an award show, the Oscar Awards. I've heard and read some articles criticizing the incident that happened during the show. I was not able to watch it for the reason that can't be avoided. 'Milk', a movie about a gay activist managed to receive more than 1 award during the gala. But what irritated me most is knowing that a speech of one of the winning casts was censored during his speech. The censored speech by Dustin Lance Black (award recipient) was quoted below;
"If Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago,
I think he would want me to say to all the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight ...that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value,
and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you,"
- cited from Yahoo News, Gay Asians criticize Oscar speech's TV censorship
Is this a proof of prejudice or just some kind of an insecurity sentiment towards gay people? Well for me, it's just what they do. Unconsciously, the award has triggered a little sign of chauvinism between people from the 'normal' towards gay.
I thought, the trend of prejudice has vanished long time ago after the end of the fight of Blacks and Whites in the America. But I found out recently during our Social Psychology class (which has just ended) that prejudice never vanish from an individual. It exists naturally from within ones self.
I am interested in citing what a person says in one of the articles I found online. They enclosed the matter about why people need to extend the argument about this kind of thing,
"people are entitled to opinions, yes, and we never tire of hearing this argument
from people who have nothing else to argue. But I think it is important that we all
remember that opinions can be and often are WRONG."
This was cited from the discussion forum that is about the censorship happened during the award gala (Oscar Award). Yes, I admit that people are entitled to opinions, BUT not always. People don't just make inaccurate and erroneous opinions; they make opinions based on what they know, what they see, and what they learned throughout their life. We don't necessarily need general knowledge to articulate an opinion. Regular life experiences and relevance are enough just to create an idea of argumentative.
For me, personally, gays are not the one to be blamed. They have rights, but 'normal' people are the one who generated the engine as the element of setting off these conflicts. I still remember during a lecture, last semester in our class. One of my so-called best friends were asked how do people in America act and he said, Americans are extrovert. And then, something came up in my mind. In my college, I will always be myself. I wouldn't want to be like some people who like to be someone else just to draw an attention from a group of people. I tell people who I really am, and I tell people what I am not comfortable of.
Back to the topic, I've told my friends that I've worked in a gay bar before, and the American friend of mine says "Owh my God, get away from me!" and in my mind, I was like, "yea right, Americans are extrovert enough, eh?." And once, I thought he means that Americans are extrovert and people from other countries are extra-extrovert. Prejudice people, prejudice!
But, I don’t care because I’ve experienced an enormous and provoking experience of being a part of the community. Back in Sabah, I always join my friends seeing the sights of the usual place for gays and prostitutes hunting for self-satisfaction or complacency there in Kota Kinabalu city. Some of them even managed to make this ‘leisure interest’ as a way of earning loads of cashes. In a non-prejudice way, I would say that this is actually not a good way because it concerns the hygiene and safety of them.
Hypothetically, maybe people would think, say or maybe do something bad if they see these people while doing their ‘thing’. But if they know why they happened to be like this, I’m sure they will just let them be whatever they want to do. Put ourselves in their shoes, see the world the way they do. Reflecting back to the situation they are having, in their family, maybe we’ll understand why some people behave the way they do.
I am not trying to back these people up, I was just trying my best to help them to bring their dignity up because in the past times, they were looked down and transition can never be noticed even though people were trying to put on view of their decency towards other so-called perfect people, and the best example would be the award gala incident. The righteousness they deserve despite the jeers poured onto them, was supposed to be far above the ground. People like Ellen DeGeneres, Sir Elton John though lack of something in their life (so to speak) capable of contributing a lot of things to the social order.
I can conclude that despite rambling a bit, maybe this piece of writing is capable to be an eye-opener for them to comprehend and learn something about the other side of their friends who is having this kind of predicament within them. Remember, a hindrance could be the words, but the mind could be the key to everything.
