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Wednesday 7 August 2013

Being Different. Waiting for Change.


Growing up different can have its consequences.

I didn’t know what I was until I met people who were like me. Attracted to the similar sex and felt trapped in a foreign body. Instead of holding a ball, I was holding barbie’s hair and braiding it. Instead of getting grimy and dirty, I was neat and proper. Instead of ogling at sexy pictures of women, I wanted to be like those women!

Culture shapes bullies. From the beginning of time, the weaklings are regarded as useless. And the power to intimidate people dictates authority, aristocracy and strength. The beautiful and the mighty are segragated. To this time, the majority of the rich still looks down on the poor, and this is passed on to their children.

If you are weird and different, people will throw derogatory remarks. I have felt this at school, from grade school to university. Usually the rich kids get away with it because of parental influence. The school would just give them a slap on the hand. But if it were someone from my social strata, they would pass on a stern warning with a stress on expulsion.

I know better than to engage in a fight just to justify who I am. Ignore and it will go away eventually, is my mantra. Problem is, it never goes away. So I just laugh it off , try to ease the pain. And distractions are very much a welcome mat that I have established as part of my life. From watching tv, reading books to studying hard to shopping. Anything to get my mind off from the cruel world.

Everyday we read some sort of hate crime going on in all the parts of the world. Just recently, a Pride Parade in Russia was greeted with homophobes. Gay kids committing suicides. People commenting online regarding gay issues are rude and harsh, calling the live we lead as an abomination and acts of the devil.

On the bright side, there is more tolerance now more than ever. Some parents are more embracing of their children opting to be different, even at the most tender age. Angelina Jolie even lets her daughter dress up like a boy, “ because that’s what makes her happy”. More people are coming out of their closets. So I guess change is coming

Yes change will come. Slow but it will come. And for now, I’ll wait here.