Faggot

It has always struck me as odd how some religious groups, fundamentalists and right wing supporters worldwide seem to think being gay is a life choice, a lifestyle and therefore basic citizen rights and human rights should be denied, since you simply "chose" wrong and should rectify immediately.

I remember when I chose to be gay, I had just been born and yelled and cried for a big long while, not at the prospect of finding pleasure in having intercourse with people of my same gender, but at the long winding road where people would simply assume I'd end up marrying a woman and people for years would either try to hook me up with one, expect me to "settle down" and "get over it", even well meaning family and friends.

But it wasn't as bad as I expected, after the initial coming out, the crying, the denial, the blame and the screaming, comes the acceptance and I know deep down -although I may not live to see this- that a day will come when your sexuality is not assumed but openly left for experimentation and seeing what feels right for you. The odd thing about coming out is that, as a gay man -or anything for the matter that falls out of the "norm"- you are constantly coming out, every time you meet someone new there comes a time when you just have to come out and say it -unless you are openly flamboyant or FABulous, in which case this last point is moot for you-, so in my particular case I just get it out of the way, introduce it in the conversation and clear the air from the very beginning.

In SL however different rules apply, the LGTB community and the "rest of the world" move in very different circles, so the chances of you going out clubbing to your particular choice of venue and running into someone who is not openly accepting of you and your "choices", are rather slim. I have always felt that the "governing bodies" that organise events for our gay community could be more inclusive and have a few lesbians, transgendered and even femboys alike being part of the main board for a wholesome representation, but then again that is a topic for another article.

Be as it may, don't judge and you shall not be judged, it is a concept that I not only try my best to live by, but have raised my boys under, you have to practise what you teach after all; you can't expect society to be accepting of you if you go around excluding others.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls

Gossip, Pride, Lies, half truths and other monsters

One of the things I have learned recently in life is that words have a powerful effect on people, depending on how you word something and under which context you say it, it may have an effect or another, words can hurt like fists or have an incredible healing power, more so -as I have mentioned before in other articles- in SL, where all we have -or at least 90 % of our communication is- based entirely on text and words.

I for one, am the type of person that values friendship in SL as something precious and do have in fact a close circle of friends I am very proud of calling my SL family, people that have been with me through thick and thin and, share my victories and tolerate me when I have a bad day; something I appreciate when recently, the people you can trust blindly in SL seem to be lacking, but it's really nothing you can personally blame yourself for, it comes with the platform, where people hide behind an avatar and show the best and most of the times, worst of themselves and quite often, finding you as the target of gossip, lies and secret agendas this close friend or acquaintance had and you didn't know about.

Second Pride has been recently a true example of all the thing that are wrong with the platform as a concept and how the road to hell is paved with good intentions, I am sure that most people running in the elections have the best of intentions and want to do a good job that will represent and benefit the gay community in SL as a whole, but sadly, I for one do not feel myself represented by the organisation and after the non ending drama oozing from the campaigns, I stand firmly on my very safe distance, since I learned this organisation existed.

There have been many people in our community that didn't need a fancy title, some form of recognition or even winning an election so badly as to badmouth and embarrass themselves while perverting what I believe was created from good intentions and the wish to change our reality while making us proud of being who we are; these people did start change in SL, but from anonymity, humilty and doing the hard work that some don't wish to do, these people created wonderful things as the gay archipelago and many other things in SL that do represent us as a whole and brought us some form of recognition, people whose names seldom get mentioned, but their work is there, at plain view for everyone to see and whose hidden agendas was the greater good.

Take the hint, our community as a whole is embarassed and bored to the end and back from all the gossip, pride, lies and half truths that seem to be on the rise in these elections and that are truly doing no one, no good.

If you really want to do some change and do some good, do the hard work and leave the dirty politics and drama, to those who only seek recognition and praise.

https://www.facebook.com/spikecls