My 2 cents by TC

Here is another comment from a proud member of the gay community below. You coulden't have said it better. Thanks.

MY 2¢ Worth
Well, where do I start?
The whole fracas currently going on about the so – called "Visioning" project and their undercover attempts to "Mainstream" the LGBT… community press has me thinking…Could all these attempts at "Mainstreaming" the LGBT… community really be nothing more than an attempt by the more affluent part of our LGBT… community to show how much they envy the strait "Mainstream"? … Really – I mean…
Any 1st grader knows that the only way to gain approval is through conformity. You see it in the playgrounds everyday. One kid, who is thought to be cool, has everyone else trying to emulate them. They try to dress like them, talk like them, and even behave like them. – All in an attempt to be considered part of the "cool majority".

By the same token, there are kids who could never fit into the so – called "ideal" and are considered outcasts. There is little, if any, chance that they will fit in with the others.
The outcasts are the most desperate ones. They want to be just like the majority of the kids who are considered cool and, therefore, acceptable.

Now, whether they’re right or wrong, the majority is perceived as being the only desirable state of being. Anything less (Or, for that matter, different) is not worthy of consideration.
I think it’s time to look at the whole thing from a psychological standpoint.
Although there are always going to be certain "Advantages" to being in a conformed group, there are also sacrifices that people make to be included in same – said group. Most of it is the ability to identify those parts of an individual that are, well, individual.

If I wanted to be "Just like everyone else", I would have married a woman, had children, joined the Republican (or any other political) party, gotten a job in my dream career.
For those who know me, this is a far cry from my "Reality" In short, I would have given up everything that I am and stand for to be "Just like everyone else" I am not now, nor will I ever be.

There is a group that "raises money" for the LGBT… community. They obviously, by their actions over the years, are embarrassed to be who they are. Everything they do is an attempt to "fit in" with the greater community (Please insert the word "strait", if you must) at large.

WELL I GOT A NEWSFLASH FOR YOU!!
Not only are they in denial of their uniqueness, but they are shoving that denial down the throats of the rest of us.

Sure, my life would be a whole lot different if I could "Marry my partner". I could have shared his health care during a time when I was discovering several breakdowns in my body. Do I feel the exchanging of vows in a church is the only way to do this? Not by a long shot!

Along the same lines, I DO NOT NEED to have an overpriced festival to share my so called "uniqueness" and, even if I did, I DO NOT NEED TO HAVE IT on the expensive park by the lake. Furthermore, I would not have to show it by going on a 3 day drunk, - Just like the thousands upon thousands of other festival goers do.

I share my uniqueness with everyone I meet or have contact with everyday.
It has been said that conformity is a crutch for the weak… and I agree! For all those who spend their efforts into conforming and being "just like everyone else" are losing who they really are.
All that I am, the good, the bad, and the ugly, have been formed by all my experiences.
I have survived bar politics, Leather club in – fights, and even the birth, maturing, and death of a social club in this town. I will still be going strong in the future no matter what may come my way because I know I am fine just as I am. I am not the majority, nor would I want to be.
I can not give up any aspect of myself. It’s just a price I am not willing to pay.
The queer folks at Stonewall felt the same way and they took a stand. They got tired of being harassed for being different. They refused to cave in to pressure to "Be like everyone else" and they refused to deny their inner selves for conformity’s sake.

It’s time we do the same.
T.C.
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