Here's what I find very sad about the world. I live and work in what is a very progressive city. I also work for what most people consider a progressive company. But in the need to expand faster than one can think, they have diluted what they are. So, we hire anyone and everyone. As long as you can get past two interviews and a background check, you're in.

That's not sad to me. What's sad is that my company used to be a place someone like me could feel comfortable working. Some gay, Asian, foreign-born, and outspoken. A place where people who didn't fit in went. Because nobody looked at you but at what you could do. But with all the people being hired to "fill" spots, that no longer exists.

What exists is this world's closed-minded, uneducated, and meager attitude toward people who are not like them. It's why I abhor closeted public figures.

If you wonder why it's important for there to be gay characters and gay public figures and gay celebrities, then you are not thinking. Because you aren't. What we all want is to be acknowledged as equals. Women fought for it. Blacks fought for it. It still isn't there. But there are laws protecting women and blacks. There are no laws protecting gays. Like me.

So. For those public figures who claim that it is their prerogative to stay closeted, I blame you for all the suicides of gay youth. Gay youth who are bullied by their peers. Gay youth who are ostracized by their families. Gay youth who are abandoned by their communities. I blame you. I blame you for not being the example that it's okay to be gay. To help change the minds of the people who watch you. To teach the unknowing that being gay is normal. Your hands are stained with their blood and marked with their pain.

Because if you had the courage to stand up and say it's okay. It's okay to be gay. It's okay to be you. Then maybe they wouldn't feel alone in this world. And maybe I would not be the lucky one who made it through all that hate. The one who has the battle scars. Because maybe if you had stood up to say, I am gay. It's fine. Then maybe the bullying and hurting would stop. And our politicians would realize that being female, or black, or gay is just part of life. And not a reason to be held back.

So thanks to you cowards. For nothing. Later.  ¶ 12:09 AM