Liar, Liar, Now You're Fired

[Mad4stevie]

Originally Posted by Johnny Stew

This is the last post I'm going to make regarding the current topic of this thread, but I just wanted to highlight something from the website dedicated to Jimmy Wheeler....

"Jimmy tried to pretend that he was completely comfortable with who he was. He tried to pretend that it didn't bother him when the kids called him names like 'Faggot' or 'Queer' or that it didn't totally humiliate him when they pulled him out of the gym class shower and peed on him."

My experiences growing up were not too dissimilar to Jimmy's. I was subjected to a lot of violence and abusive behaviour, due to the fact that I was "different."

But the actions of the individuals who directed their anger, hatred and violence toward me, is solely THEIR responsibility. No one else's.
And for me to blame the entire straight white male population for the heinous actions of a few, would be near-sighted and unfair. Not the least of which to myself.

It took me a long time to find forgiveness, but I did. And, these days, my goal is to make friends and allies of those who don't happen to share my sexual orientation... rather than living my life suspicious of people because of my childhood and teenaged experiences.

Ok, back to work.

Jimmy lived less than 30 miles from where I am living near Harrisburg, Pa. The controversy over Fred Phelps and his proposed "monument" to Jimmy stirred alot of local media attention to Jimmy's case. It makes me ill the kind of hatred that is present in some people. You can read all about it here:

Fred Phelps Article