A few days ago, I was discussing something related to homosexuality with a friend. Ironically, the very next day came out the Supreme Court of India’s ruling to decriminalize gay sex. It became the headline everywhere one looked, whether the newspapers, television or social media. Some people were happy, some not and others confused. It is a small segment of this confusion that I wish to address.
Back when I supported the cause of the LGBT community to my friend, the first thing that she asked me was, “Are you gay?” My simple answer was, “No.” But what made me hesitate to utter that single word was the unnecessary hype around the whole issue. That unnecessary interest that one arouses when one supports other human beings no different than everyone else.
My stand is that one doesn’t have to be gay to understand the basic freedom that they are pleading acceptance for. One just needs to understand love.
We all very easily get a grasp on the basic necessities of life and how inevitable they are to our survival, be it food, shelter or clothing. But we all also know that just having these three in our lives is not enough. There are so many little things that go into making us happy – absolutely different things for different people. Above all, love is the magic ingredient that holds all of these things together.
The very thought of losing my loved ones scares the daylights out of me. I cannot even imagine what it would be like to not be allowed to love. As though one has any control over it! Then how is it fair to discriminate someone for whom they love? For who they are?
So the next time you feel like defending this cause, do it with pride. The world is in dire need of more love. Every single one of us coming out in our friends’ support only shows that we know to love. We care too.
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