Dear editor:
“The queers are coming. The queers are coming.”
Slow your roll there and pull up on those reins, John Patriot, Mr. Chairman Emeritus, or whatever you want to call yourself.
The queers aren’t coming anymore than the black community was back in the 60’s. People just want what is rightfully theirs.
These are the United States and we are in the state known for equality. Just like other marginalized groups throughout this nation’s history, the LGBT community has always been here.
For most of us, they were easy to overlook, because a large majority of people grew up with maybe three television channels, one local newspaper and no internet.
Growing up in the south, “the gays” were those people who lived out in San Fransisco, or up in New York City.
It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I finally figured out the truth about my mother’s youngest brother. Hell, even my family had one. Unlike the LGBT people of today though, and lucky for them, they weren’t raised in small town Oklahoma back in the 1940’s and 50’s like “Uncle Funny” was.
Thankfully for most of us, we have evolved past our hatred born of ignorance and we can see these people for the value they bring to society.
Even as a conservative, straight, middle aged white male who works in the oilfield, I can appreciate the differences of perspectives and contributions they bring to the table. This nation would be a pretty bleak and gray place if it was left to just me and my ilk.
What many people, especially those of us out here in flyover country don’t understand, is the LGBT folks aren’t trying to force their lifestyle on anyone.
You are just seeing more of them, because you’re watching satellite tv and dinking around on social media just as much as everyone else, even those liberal SOB’s you disagree with.
Whether you are a welder, cowboy, queer, homeschool mom, Bible thumper, or any other group, social media has made it easier for people to connect. People who used to feel alone and disconnected have been able to discover they aren’t fighting by themselves and they have realized they can feel a little safer in coming out of their closets. They are here and they always have been.
That confidence along with a sense of widespread community has allowed people to express who they are. Every single one of them has had to fight their own battles with their family and community in whatever locale they call home. They get it. They have seen the hate. They have felt the hurt of ridicule. They know what it feels like to be beat up and ostracized for being different.
When you see the books they write in the library, or when you see them taking a cautious step into society, it isn’t because they are trying to recruit your child into the gay community.
They are doing it in an effort to let your family member know they aren’t alone. Others have gone before them and they understand the struggle. It’s a cold cruel world out there, but being gay shouldn’t be a reason to commit suicide, even though many of our legislators wouldn’t give a damn if they did.
Rest easy, young person. There are others out there who know your pain and they can help you navigate the hate and ignorance.
In this state, we have a cancer trying to take root which wants to eliminate these people from our midst.
They would have you believe that thirty or forty books in your local library geared toward the young people trying to figure out who and what they are will somehow turn your kids “queer” while giving no credence to the fact the other tens of thousands of volumes located therein failed to turn that gay child straight. That is their thinking. Seriously, who would grow up in Wyoming and choose to be gay?
This is a blue collar state known for its conservative values. We are hard workers with staunch beliefs. Nobody is going to willingly choose to go against the norm. We are also known as the Equality State though and we need to evolve past the point of believing everything that is different is somehow going to be our downfall.
Let us stop with the hate and remember these people are our family members, our friends and our neighbors. We are all on this rock together and we all bring value to the table. We are better than hating one another and we will not accept it from our legislators, or outside groups whose sole purpose is to divide us.
Articulate your policy differences with the people around you, but stand up for what is right and remember, as rights are chipped away at, yours could be next.
Red, yellow, black, white, gay, trans or straight….. People just want to live their lives. We are the Cowboy State. It’s time we all stand up to the goddamn bullies.
Sincerely,
Tex McBride, Campbell County