Sanctuary
The community theater was my first sanctuary, where I felt un-judged, loved unconditionally. While I pretended to be someone else, I could more fully be myself. The friends I met there, my community, loved me and accepted me. They took me to Bretz in Toledo for the first time, where many times over the next year, I would leave my worldly struggles behind, and just dance. I would meet friends there who are friends still today.
Charlie's was my sanctuary in Chicago. At 2am the music changed from country to dance, and my friends and I would sweat it out to the latest Britney Spears remix. Many a birthday party of mine ended at Charlie's with my friends, no care in the world.
Where is your sanctuary? Your book club? Your kickboxing class? Your church? Where you meet friends to catch up and hang out. Where you feel so safe that you could never imagine having to carry a gun there.
Now imagine someone deciding that you and the other people like you are wrong and worthless and so the world would be better off without you. And so he enters your sanctuary and tears it apart. He enters the place where you feel safe and steals that from you.
There are so many factors: somebody taught this man that same-sex kissing is gross. Somebody taught him that what he believes is sin makes people less human, less deserving of breath. Somebody taught him that being a man is about being powerful, that he should have power over these sinful people and that somehow he would be doing the world a favor. And he learned from recent tragedies that obtaining an assault weapon and exercising his power wouldn't be that hard. That he could do it legally and easily gather enough ammunition to carry out his mission. We taught him that. We taught him that we will offer "thoughts and prayers" but we won't change laws. That we will cry over murdered schoolchildren, but we won't allow any talk of sensible gun control.
Shame on us for allowing this man to believe that gay lives are worth less, that "sinners" don't deserve sanctuary. And shame on us for letting him learn from our response to previous tragedies that he'll be able to do something to make his point.
But I pray we do not allow him to steal from us. I pray we continue to gather. At clubs, bars, theaters, everywhere we can. To celebrate Pride in our loudest, most joyful way. Show the next kid waiting in the wings that gay people will conquer each tragedy with strength and grace, as we always have. That we will not stop smiling, celebrating, loving.
#loveisloveisloveislove
Charlie's was my sanctuary in Chicago. At 2am the music changed from country to dance, and my friends and I would sweat it out to the latest Britney Spears remix. Many a birthday party of mine ended at Charlie's with my friends, no care in the world.
Where is your sanctuary? Your book club? Your kickboxing class? Your church? Where you meet friends to catch up and hang out. Where you feel so safe that you could never imagine having to carry a gun there.
Now imagine someone deciding that you and the other people like you are wrong and worthless and so the world would be better off without you. And so he enters your sanctuary and tears it apart. He enters the place where you feel safe and steals that from you.
There are so many factors: somebody taught this man that same-sex kissing is gross. Somebody taught him that what he believes is sin makes people less human, less deserving of breath. Somebody taught him that being a man is about being powerful, that he should have power over these sinful people and that somehow he would be doing the world a favor. And he learned from recent tragedies that obtaining an assault weapon and exercising his power wouldn't be that hard. That he could do it legally and easily gather enough ammunition to carry out his mission. We taught him that. We taught him that we will offer "thoughts and prayers" but we won't change laws. That we will cry over murdered schoolchildren, but we won't allow any talk of sensible gun control.
Shame on us for allowing this man to believe that gay lives are worth less, that "sinners" don't deserve sanctuary. And shame on us for letting him learn from our response to previous tragedies that he'll be able to do something to make his point.
But I pray we do not allow him to steal from us. I pray we continue to gather. At clubs, bars, theaters, everywhere we can. To celebrate Pride in our loudest, most joyful way. Show the next kid waiting in the wings that gay people will conquer each tragedy with strength and grace, as we always have. That we will not stop smiling, celebrating, loving.
#loveisloveisloveislove
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