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sparkindarknessI have said before that GBLT youth are among the most vulnerable in society. If there was any “cause” I would have to consider above any other in the GBLT movement, it would be the protection of our kids.
Our kids absorb all of the vileness of societal hatred. All those negative media images? Go straight to their brains. And there’s virtually no positive images to counter it - in media, literature, gaming anywhere - these kids are HIGHLY unlikely to ever see a reasonable, positive GBLT image. The only realistic way to find one is to go out looking - and that isn’t easy with the pressures of the closet, self-denial and plain old fear and hate.
Worse, they have no support net at all. Their parents are highly unlikely to be GBLT, their immediate family is highly unlikely to be GBLT. Even if they’re lucky enough to have an immediate family that isn’t actively homophobic, they’re still going to have straight and cis privilege and the accompanying cluelessness. They’re still going to hurt those kids.
It is no real wonder that many of our kids self-harm. It is no wonder that many of our kids commit suicide. It is no wonder that the homelessness rate among GBLT kids is horrendously high.
The Albert Kennedy Trust is a homeless charity that works particularly with homeless LGBT kids.
And, sadly, they say homelessness among gay kids from Muslim backgrounds is on the rise.
again, religion is one of our greatest oppressors and greatest attackers
These kids face abduction, beating, horrific abuse and even forced marriage (and I pity their spouses as well, in those conditions) to try and force them to be straight. Some families even try to “exorcise” their kids. They are ruining these kids lives and it makes my heart bleed to see it. Even if they emerge without physical scars - the emotional damage such intense prejudice from the people who you trust and love the most is devastating.
Gods preserve us from people who value their dogma over the lives of their children.
Our kids absorb all of the vileness of societal hatred. All those negative media images? Go straight to their brains. And there’s virtually no positive images to counter it - in media, literature, gaming anywhere - these kids are HIGHLY unlikely to ever see a reasonable, positive GBLT image. The only realistic way to find one is to go out looking - and that isn’t easy with the pressures of the closet, self-denial and plain old fear and hate.
Worse, they have no support net at all. Their parents are highly unlikely to be GBLT, their immediate family is highly unlikely to be GBLT. Even if they’re lucky enough to have an immediate family that isn’t actively homophobic, they’re still going to have straight and cis privilege and the accompanying cluelessness. They’re still going to hurt those kids.
It is no real wonder that many of our kids self-harm. It is no wonder that many of our kids commit suicide. It is no wonder that the homelessness rate among GBLT kids is horrendously high.
The Albert Kennedy Trust is a homeless charity that works particularly with homeless LGBT kids.
And, sadly, they say homelessness among gay kids from Muslim backgrounds is on the rise.
again, religion is one of our greatest oppressors and greatest attackers
These kids face abduction, beating, horrific abuse and even forced marriage (and I pity their spouses as well, in those conditions) to try and force them to be straight. Some families even try to “exorcise” their kids. They are ruining these kids lives and it makes my heart bleed to see it. Even if they emerge without physical scars - the emotional damage such intense prejudice from the people who you trust and love the most is devastating.
Gods preserve us from people who value their dogma over the lives of their children.