A message to all the dinosaurs out there, including Bryan Fischer, John Kasich, Mike DeWine, Vladimir Putin, the Westboro Baptist Church, One Million Moms and all the other closed-minded bullies: Evil never triumphs over good. I will admit that referring to what you do as "evil" may be somewhat extreme, but it really isn't any different from what most of you believe or say about what people like me do.
I don't go a day without reading or hearing about one of you or others like you saying that gays are evil, sick, unnatural, the cause of everything wrong in the world and who knows how many different versions of basically the same thing: essentially, that gays are bad and you are good. What confuses me each and every time I read or hear about one of these incidents is how love and acceptance could ever be bad. You see, love and acceptance is what the LGBTQ community believes in. I can understand how there are parts of my community that you don't understand, and I will be honest: There a parts that I don't understand either. However, in the end, all we want is for everyone to be treated with respect and be considered equal. I will also tell you a little secret: That even means you.
I know that you may find that shocking, because somehow you have equated our desire to be treated as equals with a desire to destroy the world and cause civilization to fall, but it is quite the opposite. All we want is to better the world -- unless wanting everyone to experience acceptance, love and equality equates with trying to destroy the world. You see, in our vision of what the world should be, there is room for everyone. Think of it as us trying to bring Gene Roddenberry's vision of the future to life.
Yes, I will admit that there is hope that you will come around and realize that when it comes right down to it, we are no different from you. We don't see whom we love as something that separates us. For us, love is love and should be something that unites us. However, if that doesn't happen, we are more than willing to accept you. Why is it that you are not willing to do the same?
I will also tell you another little secret: A good majority of us are religious. Some of us may call it something different or even show it in a different way, but when it comes right down to it, it is all a belief in something greater than us.
I also understand that your opinions are based on your religious beliefs, but guess what? Those beliefs where passed down by dinosaurs just like you: individuals, sects, religions, etc., whose beliefs were based on fear. I feel the following quotation sums up fear the best: "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you."
I don't know about you, but I don't want to live in a world for of fear, anger, hate, and suffering. So please overcome your fear.
This blog post originally appeared on Diary of a Drag Queen's Husband.