Yesterday was the first time I felt any negativity towards my choice to be openly gay. We met a friend for lunch and were waiting in line to pay when I noticed one of the employees glaring in my direction. I tried to ignore it, hoping he was looking at someone else or possibly just frustrated with his current task; but he didn't look away. In fact, after a couple of minutes, he had a friend with him who was also casting hateful looks in my direction.
At first, it did hurt a little, but those feelings were quickly replaced by anger. I wanted to yell at him, or flip him the bird, or at least give a dirty look back. But in the end, I decided he wasn't worth it. Those few fleeting moment of hurt and then anger lasted only long enough to remind me to look at the bigger picture. The LGBT community has fought so long for tolerance; equality. Who am I to treat anyone in a way other than how I would want to be treated? Why even let myself become upset by the ignorance of others? And then what I realized was that I felt sorry for the employee. Sorry that he wasn't brought up being taught the golden rule and to love one another. Sorry that he is closed minded and unable to share in the happiness I feel and the joy I have come to know by living openly.
It is humbling to again have it brought to my attention how naive I can be. As much as I want to believe that everyone has the potential to be good at heart, that just isn't so. And that's not to say this guy isn't a good person, but that I can't expect everyone to see things the way I do and to be willing to give people a chance. Definitely leaves more to think about...
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