This letter was sent to Voices@TODAY on 22 September 2018 but was not published.
At a time when
people with disabilities and mental illnesses are encouraging the general
public to look beyond labels, it is ironical and regretful that a certain
community cling on and take pride in their label as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and queer).
In our sincere
interactions with people, do we introduce ourselves by our sexual orientation,
our disability or mental illness or do we engage in meaningful conversations
about our personalities, our likes and dislikes, our aspirations and our
contributions to this nation that we are bred in?
We may shout
slogans without understanding the meaning of the words used. How healthy is
sodomy? Who did the research?
Does freedom mean
we can do whatever we want regardless of consequences or does it mean that we
are no longer under the bondage of our minds and bodies such that we have true
liberty? Does love mean total agreement with our loved ones or do we agree to
disagree because we choose to esteem others higher than ourselves?
Our search for
truth that is absolute and unchanging is critical, without which human life is
doomed to futility. In seeking out this truth, we must first accord one another
with the utmost respect that we ourselves would want to receive. Being pro-LGBT
cannot be seen as being trendy or politically correct for that would be
demeaning to any person who is seriously asking existential questions like,
“Who am I?”, “What am I doing on this earth?” and the aching universal
question, “Am I loved, based on the number of people who accepts me?”
Does anyone have
immunity to negative comments, rude stares or bad treatment?
377A is not just a
law. Repealing it would mean that sodomy is the same as natural sex between a
man and a woman. How true is that?
If we are to engage
in a meaningful discourse, let us strip away the rhetoric and get to the root
of our identity crisis, both individually and as a nation (“Various forms of
discrimination against LGBTQ community reported to support groups”; 21
September).
