I have been fortunate that I have not had to face much hate. But the executive editor of the Washington Blade, Washington's local gay publication, was not as lucky -- in Amsterdam, no less. Quoting from his post on the paper's blog:
If you would have told me when I first came out that at some point in my life I would be beaten up for being gay, I would never have imagined it like this. As a child of the South, where "fag" and "queer" were everyday insults, I would have expected a fist to the face somewhere back home for sure. For years now, in big city and small, I suppose I've tempted fate, living my life as I have always seen everyone else live theirs. If the mood strikes me to hold my boyfriend's hand, I do it. If a chill in the air makes me want to put my arm around his shoulders, I do that, too. If he says something romantic that deserves a peck on the lips, he can expect that's coming, too. As it happens, I tempted fate one too many times in arguably the "gay-friendliest" place on the planet. By almost any measure, the equality movement in the Netherlands was won years ago. There are laws protecting against discrimination based on sexual orientation, there are hate crime laws, and Holland is one of only a handful of countries where gay couples can legally marry.
"60 Minutes" recently did a piece on how the Netherlands has been changing. Once known as the bastion of freedoms, that has started to change. It is sad. And I feel particularly sorry for Chris Crain. Perhaps that is only because it touches close to home -- I have met Crain once at a meeting of the National Gay and Lesbian Journalists Association, but I certainly don't know him other than meeting him in passing. But his story sure touched close to home. It's just sad.
Comments