Originally posted by immaturerainbow
I stumbled across a stupid post on facebook.
Basically it talked about how they were going to throw a coming out of the closet party for their child who came out to them.I said something along the lines of:
I love people. But why pamper them just because they like the same gender or they don't want to be the gender they are? We don't get parties when we are straight, so why do they deserve parties?
I'm all for gay rights. But why do they get special treatment, parades, etc?
I'm proud of my sexuality, but I don't need a ****ing party or a fair to display it.
Equality. That's what I believe in.
If my son came out to me I'd kiss his head, tell him I loved him, and ask who he liked. That's about it.
He'll get a party on his birthday, or for any accomplishments he made in school,etc. Not because he likes guys.
I think you are coming from a good place, and I believe you are for equality. However it is not as easy as looking at a situation without the circumstances to compare whether they are equal.
For example, being straight, there is no stigma attached to it. If you tell your parents you are straight you don't have to fear that they will disown you, you don't have to fear violent repercussions from people around you for it, in fact, you don't even have to tell them, cause they'll already be assuming it. So the circumstances, the starting position, is different. As such, you shouldn't look at it as the parents of that child giving them special treatment because of throwing them a party. It is really more them trying to make a situation that is unequal (i.e. their child having to worry about their sexuality, and people's reaction to it) a bit better and more equal by showing the child that they support them fully.
Now, the same goes for gay pride parades on a grander scale. Homosexual people have to deal with things that heterosexual people never have to consider, that's not fair to them. Society passively, and some people actively, attack the value and the self esteem of homosexual people. Whether that's by not finding themselves represented in media, their peers joking about this or that being gay and those "f*gs", or a myriad of other ways. That's the circumstances in which gay pride parades exist. They are not about saying we are special, and we deserve special treatment. It's about giving a group that's often invisible, and if they aren't invisible often derided or attacked, an outlet to claim their equal share in pride, as any other person.
Again, the message being sent is not one about superiority or demands for special treatment, it is in essence saying "We are a minority, but we deserve to be equally proud of ourselves as the heterosexual majority"
So, I do think you are a good person, and you strive for equality, but when you say you would accept your son, that's wonderful, but also think about how so many people in the rest of the world would not accept him, how his life would be different, because of this silly, trivial fact about him, and then think about whether you wouldn't double down to make sure your son gets as close to the equal treatment he deserves, even if that means you have to give him "special treatment" compared to a straight child, that does not need to worry about these issues.