For several years now, I had formerly been at the helm of a campaign within RuneScape to try and make the game and the website more inclusive. This included the removal of words such as "gay", "lesbian" and "bisexual" from the website/game censor, which doesn't allow the words to show, and then primarily the allowing of LGBT discussion in the off-topic area of the forum.
Both spawned several threads, many supporters, many debaters, and in the end did not achieve their goals. But both were fascinating to discuss among the people with a vested interest in the topic, both for and against. And one particular point made by the against is something that really resonates throughout the whole area of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights.
I'm talking about the direction we have to move in for progress.
What this person said basically amounts to this:
But the big issue is that we are NOT normal. By that I mean, we can't simply blend into the background because we're already picked out for our sexuality, whether for good, bad, or fatal. And so if we don't make a big deal of this, if we don't push the bigotry, fight for our equal rights, educate people and take away the ignorance, then we will never be able to simply blend in; all our progress will be for nothing. It is only once that people stop viewing us as demons, aberrant, deviant, that we can let it drop and fade away.
Only in going in the opposite direction to our aim can we achieve it. There's a poetry to that.
~Love Leonidas
Both spawned several threads, many supporters, many debaters, and in the end did not achieve their goals. But both were fascinating to discuss among the people with a vested interest in the topic, both for and against. And one particular point made by the against is something that really resonates throughout the whole area of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights.
I'm talking about the direction we have to move in for progress.
What this person said basically amounts to this:
So, if all you people want is to be treated normally, and not be identified by your sexuality all the time, then why are you making a huge parade of it?The thing is, it's a really good question. While some members of the LGBT community are more than happy to be known all the time by their sexuality, often, most people get tired of it and wish in the end that LGBT could be normalised and seen the same as anyone else. So why the gay pride parades and fight for freedom and even things as small as what I did in campaigning for the freedom to talk about LGBT in RuneScape forums?
But the big issue is that we are NOT normal. By that I mean, we can't simply blend into the background because we're already picked out for our sexuality, whether for good, bad, or fatal. And so if we don't make a big deal of this, if we don't push the bigotry, fight for our equal rights, educate people and take away the ignorance, then we will never be able to simply blend in; all our progress will be for nothing. It is only once that people stop viewing us as demons, aberrant, deviant, that we can let it drop and fade away.
Only in going in the opposite direction to our aim can we achieve it. There's a poetry to that.
~Love Leonidas
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