As a cisgender straight, white male I enjoy tremendous freedoms and privileges, never questioning my safety and free to aspire to whatever I want to be. We have to stop not wanting the same for everybody. We cannot continue to stand by and witness others being ridiculed, degraded, persecuted and their lives threatened, simply for expressing their interest in, and love for, another human being.
When you consider every time you pick up a newspaper, source an online newsfeed, or turn on the TV, somewhere, someplace, there are homophobic, biphobic, or transphobic slurs being made, barring and harassing of 2SLGBTQQIA+ groups, individuals, and gatherings, and even worse, imprisoning and torturing those expressing their love for someone not considered straight and heterosexual, there comes a point when you say “No More!”
It is time to take charge of our learning and unlearning and confront our prejudices and biases and understand that anti 2SLGBTQQIA+ remarks and ‘jokes’ are harmful and often make people feel unsafe. We all need to stand by and stand up with the 2SLGBTQQIA+ community and express our unreserved support and allyship - because as the news so clearly highlights - this is not a community that feels safe; this is not a community that can freely express itself anywhere, anytime; and this is not a community that is openly and warmly accepted everywhere – yes, even in Canada. Collectively we can and MUST do better!