This is not your ordinary Valentine
diary-worthy entry. It’s something much more. I urge you to please continue to
read.
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It’s the 13th of
February 2014, a day before the much-awaited-hearts-day for others, the
much-avoided-normal-day for some. I was pretty much excited to make plans in my
mind for another Valentine’s Day surprise, and was very much glad when I saw
that the transport to office is relaxed today. Much to my satisfaction, I can sit
and daydream of what might lie ahead for me and my husband. There were only two
of us waiting to board the train. Arrival said five minutes to four, three
turned to two. Then the recorded announcement boomed, informing the passengers,
which in this case only the maiden and I, that the train is about to come. When
all of a sudden, from I don’t know where, arrived five ladies… No wait, they
didn’t behave ladylike. So they don’t deserve to be called such. They showed 6-year-old
rotten behaviors. So there: when all of a sudden, from I don’t know where, arrived
five overgrown girls, overtaking two silently patient ladies, just to get into
an almost-empty train. They kind of shrugged us off, literally. And oh I
shouted so loud in my mind, “Hey! Be gentle!” That was what I would have told
them, should I possess a bolder attitude. But instead, I just casted down a
glare that was not so much as a solid-squint stare, which would normally be
ignored by anyone. So there I was, sitting on my corner of the train, and
started cursing them girls on my mind. Shesshh! Pet peeves. Not a wonderful way
to start my pre-valentine day.
Later that afternoon, I opened up www.upworthy.com for some change of mood. For
those of you who have not been introduced to Upworthy, it is a site for
things that are of worth, that have social significance. To quote what they
are: “Upworthy
is a social media with a mission: to make important
stuff as viral as a video of some idiot surfing off his roof… At best, things
online are usually either awesome or meaningful, but everything on Upworthy.com
has a little of both. Sensational
and substantial. Entertaining and enlightening. Shocking and significant. That's
what you can expect here: no empty calories. No pageview-juking slideshows. No
right-column sleaze. Just a steady stream of the most irresistibly shareable
stuff you can click on without feeling bad about yourself afterwards.” (http://www.upworthy.com/about)
So again, I visited
their site and a recently featured video shared by Rossalyn Warren caught my
attention. This video is of gay men in Russia being beaten and humiliated by an
anti-gay group. This group video-records these abuses and uploads them to
social media. Here is the link should you wish to view it, http://www.upworthy.com/here-is-the-shocking-footage-of-gay-men-being-beaten-on-camera-in-russia,
but be warned that it is graphically atrocious.
Upon seeing the video,
I felt really awful. I was thinking about my own petty nonsense that day – a Valentine’s
date, overtaking childish women, my wishful revenge. While others are suffering
brutality and from inhumane acts, in a land far from I call my own. I felt
worthless comparing myself to those brave young people who had to fight everyday
for their right to live.
And I felt shamefully
lucky to be given this life I have where my everyday struggle is not about
where and how to find food but about how to cook mine appetizingly delicious;
not about where to run and hide for safety against grenades but about whether a
Victorian or a bungalow type is nice for a house; not about protecting my body
against sexual torment but about how to keep my body flawless; and not about deciding
if it’s time to clean my closet, tell my parents that my partner and I have the
same copulatory organs but about whether we should kiss in public and plan the
best wedding ever.
Shameful because these
petty problems of mine should be theirs too, nothing more, nothing less.
But then again, these
petty problems can lead to something bigger. If we are just respectful enough
to let others go first because in the first place, they waited in line first. There
is no need to rush to get things; our time will come to enjoy the same. LGBT
are human beings too and they deserve to live and love and be free like any
other human being. Regardless of religion or gender or sexual orientation or race
or skin color, each and every one has that innate natural right to listen and be
heard, to live independently and generously, to benefit from the basics the
society offer, to enjoy and demonstrate the complexity of human emotions.
We become less
deserving of the gift of life once we exist with the belief that one is
superior or inferior to the other. We are all endowed with free will but yours
is no better than mine, nor is mine to yours.
I only have my words
against these injustices. So I will use this capability to tell the world that
we are humans and we should remain kind and nurturing and compassionate and loving
to the Earth and to our fellow humans. And that we are all capable of such humane
acts.
