Today is IDAHO, the international day against homophobia 2009. Today is the day we commemorate the victims of homophobia, transphobia and xenophobia in general. Today is the day we remember that we are oppressed.
Not that we are ever granted the luxury of forgetting that we are opressed, not that we are ever granted the pleasure of not being a prosecuted minority. No, ya reit. In fact what happens is that we try to ignore it most of the time, we close ourselves up in our community that we forget the pressure, or at least pretend to forget it. But then life bites us in the ass and we are reminded that we are not meant to exist. It is just enough to take a quick look at the world around us to remember where we belong.
Go to California where Harvey Milk was murdered over 2 decades ago, California, the GAY CAPITAL of the world and look at the prop 8. Look at A7mar bl Khat l 3areed. Look at the beautiful initiative of the Baltic Pride and how it was being sabotaged. Look back at Ebru's murder and finally the barbaric attack on gay men in Sassine.
You look at all that and you think to yourself: What the hell are we fighting for? It's feels overwhelming sometimes that we would have to fight this much for the simplest of rights, that on may 2009, homophobia is still the norm and we are still the criminals just because we are true to ourselves. May 2009 and we are still struggling to fight homophobia, shameful don't you think?
But then again, if you look closely at our tiny little world there is so much more than the homophobia, to every act of homophobia there is and will always be even greater acts of LGBT resistance, to every aggression there will be reactions.
Afterall, they killed Harvey Milk but soon Milk will take over the 22nd of May, it will be the "Harvey Milk Day". Prop8 may have passed but there will always people rebels like Melissa Etheridge that will put her money where her mouth is and that knows what she is giving to society. Yimkin there will always be programs like A7mar bil Khat and there will always be violence, because they just don't understand us, but there will always be demonstrations to tell them that we are willing to be peaceful but we will not be passive!
Today is IDAHO
Posted by Meem | 14:54 | 2009, A7mar Bil Khat L Areed, Activism, Community, Diversity, English Articles, Freedom, Gay Rights, Homophobia, Homosexuality, IDAHO, Identity, Lebanon, Politics, Prejudice, Pride, Social Acceptance, Social pressure | 2 comments »Pazuzu
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peaceful but not passive...
I like that you have this idea in your head, and here's how I think we can begin to make it come true...
I think that LGBT people, and I am one, will only become peaceful when they become in peace with themselves. I know that there are so many LGBT advocates who fight against homophobia outside their community, but it's time to go vertical and not only horizontal...
Part of the way that the world views LGBT people is actually how they view themselves. Even in countries like the United States, LGBT poeple kill themselves very frequently,have different kinds of sexually transmitted diseases, and they are alcoholic . If you focus only on those who are against you, you might lose your allies and friends... what about Gay (well-being) day?
Let's be together and take care of our selves, and the world will eventually take care of it self. let's think that the world is our friend because we're not going aginst it at all. Let's just decide we can't fight against anyone any more, and instead we should be with peace, and with human rights, and with equality.
We may have a reason to feel angry, scared, defeated... but we will persist and we will overcome.
And one day? One day we will change the world.
Keep the faith, one day it'll all be sweet like rhapsody.