Know When to Hold 'Em, Know When to Fold 'Em

Those who are familiar with my posts, or with me in general, know how I feel about LGBT rights, equality, and homophobia. In short, I'm an LGBT ally. Even though being an ally, for me, means speaking up, and supporting the gay community, sometimes a person, such as myself, needs to know when to zip the lip, and bite the tongue. This evening was one of those occasions.

I won't drop any names, but I will say that I was with people I very much enjoy. This made biting the tongue much more dufficult. You'd think expressing an opinion about, or support for, the gay community would be easier and more accepted. Given their religious background? Find me a casket, and start digging my grave.

The household I was in currently has a guest from south of the Canadian border. Mention had been made of an area to visit in said guest's home state. Apparently, such an idea was great and all, but there was problem: it catered greatly to the LGBT community. Considering there was an extreme homophobic in the room, you can imagine just how well that idea went over. You have better chances of spotting a flying pig.

I wanted so badly to speak up, especially when the homophobic in the room started going on about how unnatural and wrong being gay is. The person sitting next to me, who knows I'm an LGBT supporter, kept looking at me and mouthing, "don't say anything about your friend." Keeping quiet was hard. Thankfully, I was able to speak up without being skewered when the homophobe made mention of the time a gay person built up the courage to ask him for his number. I said, "did you take it for the complement it was?" Naturally, the answer was no. I'm pretty sure you can figure out the reason why.

I really can't explain why it was important that I bite my tongue for the minutes-long homophobic rant. I don't fear persecution, and I don't fear a lack of respect, or being viewed negatively. Sometimes, your intuition speaks to you, and you'd be wise to listen to it. It spoke to me this evening (to go with the mouthing member of the house I was in), and I reluctantly chose to listen.

I still have a huge problem with homophobia. I also hate that my intuition encouraged me to resist the urge, and keep quiet, along with a resident of that house. It would have been a messy battle, but at least someone else in the room knows where I stand and why. If only the other homophobics in this world would open their eyes, and see the light. Maybe then we could all get along... And I'd no longer have to hold my tongue.