I began writing for Meaws.com out of sheer curiosity at first, but then I started meeting some really impressive life stories and dramas that completely changed my perception about sexuality, freedom and hate. We receive weekly letters from people all over the globe telling us their stories and it is my job and our writers’ to make their stories public so that the free world find out how some people struggle in achieving things that may seem common to many of us, like the opportunity to express love and freedom of thought. It still bedazzled me that there are countries around the globe where you can still die for reasons as simple as being gay.
I have never been able to understand what makes one people to kill another based on what the victim does with its own body in her privacy. I believe that hate is inherent in every human being and I have met people who hated the gay population simply because those individuals were different from what the homophobic part of the society considered normal. But there is a difference between thought and action. This is where religion comes in. I do not believe that a man stripped away from all religious belief can kill another for expressing a different sexuality. He can hate that individual, of course, but not kill him. Religious people not only can and do that, but they also feel like they are just in their actions and that it is right to do so.
I grew up with the impression that these extreme behaviors are a thing of the past and that we have evolved out of those barbarisms, but people have constantly proven me wrong on a daily basis. Most of those writing to us prefer to keep their anonymity and the stories that they have shared with us are heartbreaking and hideous at times. Do I support freedom of speech? Yes, I do.
I believe freedom of speech should be absolute, because having freedom of speech doesn’t mean to say what everybody wants to hear, but do the contrary. What I do not support is freedom of actions. You can believe whatever you want to believe about me, as a gay individual, but you are not free to take actions against me. I am not against religious mentalities that condemn gays to eternal hell. This doesn’t affect me in any way, unless I am religious myself and even then our opinions may differ. I am against those who force their beliefs on me and that attack my rights in doing so.
We have published quite some stories from people facing discrimination and hate for being who they are and we would like to bring into your attention the ones that I found to be the most impressive and heart-touching of them:
- “My dad wanted to kill my little gay brother. We had to run from home” – http://meaws.com/my-dad-wanted-to-kill-my-little-gay-brother-we-had-to-run-from-home/
- “My country killed my boyfriend for being gay. He saved my life” – http://meaws.com/my-country-killed-my-boyfriend-for-being-gay-he-saved-my-life/
- “I’ve made love to my brother” – http://meaws.com/ive-made-love-to-my-brother/
- “I am cheating my girlfriend with her dad” – http://meaws.com/i-am-cheating-my-girlfriend-with-her-dad-part-1/
- “We were denied love, but he gave me his heart so I can live” – http://meaws.com/we-were-denied-love-but-he-gave-me-his-heart-so-i-can-live/
Now excuse me, I have to paint my house