Saturday, October 7, 2017

Life can be too ironic.

Speaking of stats, I heard some funny ones last month. There were something like 30 or 35% of Canadians that didn't think they knew or had met a gay person. Another 45% felt that they probably haven't spoken to a gay person in the last two weeks. This made me laugh out loud for real, this was my favorite stat. I could understand if you lived up north where your neighbor is Morris the moose but anywhere else is pretty much infiltrated by the homo crowd. Even the small towns and farming community, once people knew they were safe, it was surprising how many people came out. I wonder how the guys I eat lunch with would have answered that, how funny if they put themselves in the 45% group. ............................................ With the younger generation it's a non issue, I often see groups of young straight people that have gay friends in the mix. I am overwhelmed at times when I hear them being protective of their gay buddies. It's the older generations that are still working through their beliefs about the LGBT community, even then it is not that bad, just more comical than anything. Time has jumped forward for us, our parent's generation is fading away, our grandparents are mostly gone. The flower children have moved into the senior role and they are a much more accepting generation. To my point, I was at an event and speaking with two acquaintances, a man and a woman, they are nice people and are in their late sixties. We were talking about getting information from a guy called Ron, then the man suddenly said "you know Ron is gay". I said that I already knew, the man went on to say he was shocked, that Ron certainly didn't fit the stereotype, but that he didn't care. It was kind of cute the way he was trying to be accepting, you could tell that he was still uncomfortable with the idea. The woman was the same, she said similar things, she doesn't judge, not her business, nothing really wrong with a gay couple but there was still that awkward acceptance. The thing that was making me laugh like crazy inside, was the part where they were saying that Ron doesn't look gay, that you neeeever know, that you could be talking to a gay person and not realize it! I said, "I know, it's crazy, there could be a gay person standing right in front of you and you would never know it"!

12 comments:

Mistress Maddie said...

I have about as many straight friends as I do gay. And the straights guy friends are so ok with it. One didn't know I was gay for sure but suspected it, so I though I may as well tell him. If friends are ok and cool with gay things, then I will come out to them. But at this point everybody I know, knows I'm gay. And it is cute, because many of the straight guys do get protective....it cute and flattering. My neighbor is adorable and already said if someone ever gave me issues he'd kick their ass.

John Going Gently said...

In our lifetimes, I am sure, we will come to a time where no one is bothered if you are gender fluid, gay, straight, bi, or asexual when you stand before each other

Vivian said...

That is a funny story! I don't know how you get to be that age and never knowingly talk to a gay person. I'm a hick from Pennsylvania and even I knew gay kids in high school. You have to be oblivious to not know.

When I was dating the man who became my husband (we were in our 40s) I took him to meet two of my friends for dinner, a gay couple I'd known for years. My future husband told me he was nervous about meeting these friends because, he said, he'd never met a gay guy before. I burst out laughing. I said, Of course you have! You just didn't KNOW it!! He had never, ever considered that before. In the end, the dinner was enjoyable, rather like every other dinner we've had with fun and smart people, except these guys have a really cute dog so we got to see pictures.

I am writing from America, where it seems that for every two steps we take towards a more progressive, inclusive, loving society, we take one step back. Although this year it feels as if we've taken two steps back...maybe three.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the great post. I am hoping that someday we will live in a world where your sexuality really won't make a difference to anyone, and we all can just be who we are. Like Vivian above, I am afraid I am living in a country (USA) that is actually taking steps backward, and that really does weigh on my mind.

Ur-spo said...

I enjoyed it too; you have a wit with writing.

Anonymous said...

Loved the punch line!
JP

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Steven, the first friend that I ever told was a straight guy, he was so supportive of me beyond belief. I would never have thought the first person would be a "straight" guy.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

I really hope so John, I often wonder about the people who have a problem, is their fear about their own feelings???

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Vivian, it's actually the same for a gay person, I remember meeting a gay woman, she was the very first openly gay person I had ever met, I kept staring at her in surprise by how ordinary she seemed.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

Michael 54, this may be a lesson for your country, a cautionary tale about people not getting out to vote and letting freedoms get taken away. I feel you guys will turn this around. I warned you earthlings about the Klin-tawns, now the dark Lord has taken over because of their failures.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

I'm so witty.... my mother used to say that about me all the time, unfortunately it wasn't meant as a compliment Dr. Spo.

Sooo-this-is-me said...

JP, I love doing inside jokes, part of the reason I don't want to fully come out lol.