I can’t wait! It’s another short visit but I don’t mind. My plans are loose which initially bugged me, but now I’m kind of liking the idea of doing whatever I want. For instance, maybe I’ll take in a Giants game? One of the MCs in my upcoming release Better Than Friends is a Giants fan, so it might be a nice gesture. My daughter isn’t sold on baseball, but if we shop and take a trip down to Baker Beach, everyone will be happy. This trip is about family so I’m looking forward to just being with everyone.
I wanted to quickly acknowledge this cool photo of members of the University of Virginia’s swim team. I heard about the school’s advertisement for the “We Are All UVa” campaign and how this pic was included while I was on my way to Starbuck’s this morning. The radio announcer was talking about Derrick Gordon coming out and all the wonderful support shown on twitter and Facebook for the young college basketball player. He mentioned the UofV photo and the story behind it. The caption on the poster they’re holding reads “2 of us are gay, the other 3 don’t care”. The guy on the radio commented on how cool it was and someone else added “hopefully one day the sentiment will be… “you’re gay? whatever.” As in…why would that be news? For now it is news because there are a lot of stupid people out there. But there is hope.
For as many idiots as there are (I know there are quite a few), there is also a strong new young generation that doesn’t see homosexuality as an issue. I have a gay son and a straight son. The straight one can’t wait to go to the Castro when he gets to SF because he wants to go to Hot Cookie. He claims the butch bars (basically peanut butter and fudge)are the bomb. The masses of men in the Castro on a Friday or Saturday night don’t intimidate him in the slightest. And because he’s not bothered, his gay brother gets to be… himself. He doesn’t have to pretend to be someone he’s not or be interested in things others consider more “masculine”. He is who he is and he’s accepted.
It’s not so simple for all gay teenagers. I know that. It can be a terrifying world of uncertainty and it is brutally unfair. Seeing the young men at UofV support one another in a nonchalant show of acceptance is a heartwarming signal of hope that one day equality will reign.
