@riparianlife97701

9 years ago

I'd like to share my straight ally story. I'm a 46 year old straight, Atheist male. I was raised Christian, and told that though MANY of the verses of the Bible are either Old Testament verses negated by the New Testament, or metaphors. I was taught that the Bible's verses against homosexuality were definitely literal, that being gay was a sin, and that gay people were degenerates. I was pretty brainwashed into the whole thing, so I went along with it, and hated who I was told to hate. Then I went to a job interview.  I had answered an ad in the paper looking for employees for the town's waterslide park. I was 18, which made me just barely eligible. I thought I'd finally meet pretty girls, get a good tan, and maybe lose my virginity. I went to the interview, and was asked a series of questions about how I got along with others, how well I could swim, what my work ethic was like, etc. Then the interviewer stopped me cold with a question that seemed to have no place in a job interview. He said "Do you have a girlfriend?" I said "No.". He said "Do you like girls?". I asked "Why do you need to know that?" He said "We don't hire homosexuals."  What he said should have made perfect sense to me, given my beliefs up to that point. Of course a waterslide park wouldn't want to hire homosexuals. Who would? I mean you'd have boys who like boys around a bunch of kids, and that would be completely inappropriate, right? So why did I suddenly feel so bad? I must have sat there for a minute, unable to speak. The man said "I don't think you're right for the job. Thanks for coming, and good luck finding a summer job." I walked out, and completely re-examined my life. Someone had guessed I was gay, and had discriminated against me. Empathy replaced all the lessons, all the conditioning, and all the threats. I lost my faith that day, and I've been an ally and advocate for equal rights ever since.  People say that "Love is all you need". But that's not right. People who discriminate love their partners, their kids, their friends and their country. I don't think love really is what we need. We need empathy. Empathy saved me, and now there's no limit to who I can love. 

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