Gays… they’re just sick in the head, you know.” When I heard this 10 years ago in my environment, I wasn’t very surprised. Prejudices were abundant in my surroundings back then. In the current era where prejudices are increasingly the topic of the day, and more people have a positive attitude towards the LGBTQI+ community, I didn’t expect to hear such a statement in my immediate surroundings anymore. I was quite mistaken in that regard. Unfortunately, that’s not the case, but I won’t let such a remark pass by without addressing it. That statements like these are still thrown into the world on a daily basis is certainly familiar to me. Seven out of ten people from this community still experience physical or verbal violence. In 69 countries, homosexuality is still punishable. We are far from a world where it is normal to be, for example, homosexual or transgender. Additionally, there are still plenty of people (apparently, even in my environment) who use the group to conceal their own insecurities or express frustrations. That’s how I see it. In my opinion, there is no reason to negatively treat individuals who have no impact on your life or who, in some way, fall short of your expectations. In my view, it’s time for introspection to understand what truly bothers you. What is most worrying is that even the owner of the above opening quote has a story. A story not much different from someone who has to struggle in life to be openly homosexual. If you label homosexuals as sick in the head and thus deviant, you somewhere suggest that you have always followed the ‘norm.’ Is that true? Have you never been different from others in your life? Perhaps you were even rejected by family, friends, or society. When I look at myself, that has certainly happened often. Expelled by ‘friends’ from the group because I behaved differently. Not feeling accepted by people because the choices I made (and still make) did not meet expectations. What’s even worse is that many people, due to the absence of prejudices and encouragement in their lives, have learned to accept themselves. I am the person I am today because there are people who accepted my ‘deviant’ behavior. I am almost certain that the person in question and many others have also had those moments. If we approach it in this way, I hope that more and more people can be there for others instead of passing judgments. Everyone differs greatly from each other. Our backgrounds, upbringing, experiences, personalities, triggers, expectations (I can go on), are so far apart that it is entirely logical that we all have a different view of what will make us happy. If I look at my own brothers and sister. We were all born in the same family, in the same city, and have some similarities in our personalities. Yet, each of us is completely different from the other. And that’s okay. Why then should there be no acceptance when it comes to choice of partner or gender identity? We all want to create a life that makes us happy. Whether it’s the choice of a partner, religious belief, physical appearance, or anything else, you have the right to that, and so does another person. Even then, the statement ‘You’re just sick in the head, you know’ should not be applicable. By the way, it’s 2021. Let’s argue and debate about whether or not to get vaccinated. Or destroy our neighboorhoods because we are ‘angry’ at the government. A much better way to spend our time, right?
