Stories looking out for love

Hi all,

Lately I've been having lots of discussions regarding the GLBT community, love, abuse, christianity etc. It's been quite a tiring few weeks but also quite enlightening and 'growing'...

One comment I had from a Christian friend was as follows "I have looked into the Christian Support pages on FB for homosexuals and transgender... this may sound harsh but interestingly I don't read a lot on them that displays genuine Christian character ... confused and disillusioned people finding comfort on other confused and disillusioned people" ... it was a statement that amazed and confounded me ...

I thought maybe it would be a good opportunity to share some stories of people I have met either in person or online. No real names are used and I'm keeping it brief to ensure privacy is assured.

People often wonder why I am so passionate about loving the GLBT community and working hard to stamp out abusive and potentially harmful messages that can lead so easily to positions of hate and prejudice. When you hear what people have gone through you can often understand better why they may feel disillusioned and why they seek comfort with each other. In many cases they have not experienced it anywhere else.

1. Jane - is a lovely TG girl who since transitioning has never seen her two youngish boys. Her ex is very bitter and refuses to allow contact. She sees it as her reponsibility to be supportive with finances and hopes when they reach 18 they will seek reconnection with her.

2. Tom - A lovely Christian man who loves people and God and helps others struggling with their identity. After spending his life with his ONLY life partner of 29 year's before he was killed in a car accident, his brother asked him to meet with his pastor under the guise that his pastor wanted to perform the memorial service. After a 40 mile drive to meet his brother's pastor, he was immediately told that his deceased partner was in hell and he was to join him IF he did not convert to heterosexuality.

3. Jill - A lovely Christian woman in her 30's. She recently came out to her family. Their reponse? Her family is pushing her to give up her kids to her ex. They believe that she's going to ruin their lives if they grow up in a gay household. My sister, who is married to a pastor, keeps sending me text messages with scriptures saying I should choose life.

4. Grace - a TG girl in her late 40's. Adopted young she tried to find her real mother. Eventually she tracked her down. After 3 letters she received a reply not to contact her again or an AVO would be instigated. She has since been disowned by her adopted prents and asked to never be in touch again. She is unable to work, does not see her children and lives in a caravan park.

5. Martha- a lovely Christian mature woman who when she came out to her family was told by her christian brother and his wife told she should be put to death... to quote 'It still hurts me now as badly as it did then... All because I am a lesbian and their kind of christianity disapproves of me..'

6. Jim - a beautifully warm hearted and giving gay man. When he came out to his family his father screamed at his mother in front of him that he would rather have a dead son than a gay one.

Now not all stories are bad. Many people find love, acceptance, grace and support from their friends and families. But there are so many like these simple examples I have given. At the root of it all is a bigotry that bypasses the person and looks only at one attribute for total judgement.

This past few weeks there have been many stories of youth suicide and bullying because kids are often different. Where do these attitudes of hate, of abuse, of judgement come from. Well many places... but esentially it comes down to what messages we believe, what messages we give out and what messages we teach our children.

I'm passionate that the church do a complete about face on their attitudes to the LGBT/GLBT community. I believe that the conservative legalistic views of the religious right are feeding the 'hate' crimes toward this community by teaching a strong message of judgement and not love. This has to stop!

And you may have wondered why many GLBT people feel confused, hurt and disillusioned... think about the messages you would give!

Ciao for now...

Scott