Communication breeds understanding

I haven’t had to deal with much direct discrimination in my life. I think I’ve had it rather easy, actually. I suppose this is why I don’t understand why someone who’s not even from this area would choose to send me a derogatory e-mail bashing this column’s existence and me personally.

The world is made up of millions of kinds of people ranging in race, ethnicity, religion, politics, age and sexual orientation. If it weren’t for these differences, the world would be a much more boring place. I work hard to understand this diversity, because if I choose to ignore it, I am choosing to be close-minded and selfish.

Now, I admit I can’t always grasp why people believe or practice certain things. But I listen to them, because by doing so, I am educating myself and I may eventually understand where they are coming from.

This is what I’m trying to do by writing this column. I’m attempting to highlight what is going on in the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and questioning community, and reinforce that it does exist here. I don’t expect everyone who reads this column to understand immediately what is going on. However, I do hope for it, because if there is no communication, there is no chance for unity.

Without unity and communication, ignorance can lead to emotional or physical assault. When I walk with my girlfriend, hand-in-hand, I worry that passers-by may spit on us, call us names or assault us. I have been in small cities in Washington and felt if I wasn’t on constant guard, my life would be in danger. A lot of GLBT persons choose to hide behind a straight façade when in public or in tricky situations, such as at work. This may be a protective barrier, but it can be just as strenuous as being “out.”

One example of ignorance leading to assault occurred recently in Seattle when “gay- bashing” left a 23-year-old seriously injured. Three men, between the ages of 17 and 20, attacked Micah Painter outside the Timberline, a gay bar. The men asked Painter if he was gay, and he answered honestly. They then attacked him with broken bottles. They had no reason to attack him except fear and ignorance. Seattle police Chief Gil Kerlikowske declared it a hate crime.

There is a way to help people who are victims of hate crimes, which are motivated by actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation or disability. A bill being discussed now in the House of Representatives is designed to further federal aid to states and Indian tribes for hate crimes cases. The U.S. attorney general may provide federal grants or technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any hate crime. The Human Rights Campaign for LGBT has a letter that can be sent to your state representative to encourage him to vote yes. Check out the site at www.hrc.org and get involved, for everyone’s sake.

I’m not trying to convince everyone to believe what I believe; people are entitled to their opinions.

But, when I write about “this rubbish that liberal Americans continue to believe,” as the e-mail I received put it, it may make people angry, but it also may make someone more open-minded.

Just understand that some acted-on opinions can seriously hurt others.