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Wednesday, September 06, 2017

Are homosexuals treated fairly?

Homosexuals are NOT treated equally with Straights
Thoughts from The Wizard of 'OZ' - You know... I have got to thinking.. (I know.. some of you are thinking THAT'S DANGEROUS!), but in any case.. I am not so sure that we (The GLBT people that make up 10+ % of the general population), are REALLY being treated EQUALLY in Canada.

Think for a moment. We can now get married. We are protected against hate crimes. We now can get benefits in a non-married (Common-Law) relationship. But are we EQUAL? I don't think so.

1. We cannot donate blood - even though the blood is tested anyway - also most GLBT (mainly men who have sex with men are targeted - even before we are asked if we have practiced safe sex. What about hetero-sexual people who have slept with men who have had sex with men? Shouldn't they not be allowed to give blood as well? I used to prize the number of donations I used to be "allowed" to give.

2. We cannot donate organs for transplant - or rather we can - but we face greater scrutiny. It is not even 100% scientifically proven that there is an elevated risk - They will test all organs received for pathogens including HIV and Hepatitis anyway, so why will the powers that be, speak with the donor's family or friends to get information about their behaviour? (Can you imagine health officials asking the Prime Minister's wife if she thought that ol' Stevie maybe played around with some guys , on the sly?)

3. We (The Gay and Bi-Sexual) cannot safely hold hands in public without being shouted at "Why do you gays insist in shoving your homosexuality in our faces!??" Do we say to you when we see public displays of Heterosexual affection: "Why do you straights have to shove your heterosexuality in our faces?" I think not!

4. I may be legally married to another man, but again - why are people (not all people, granted), bothered when I would introduce my partner as my husband or my boyfriend as my partner?

5. What about office Christmas Parties - Is it safe to bring your partner? Sure there are policies in place to prevent harassment based on sexual orientation - but why should we even need these in the first place?

6. What if I want to bring a picture of my life partner, boyfriend or husband to work and place it on my desk? Will I be ridiculed or will people just talk behind my back?

See what I mean? We are NOT treated as EQUALS. Heterosexuals can do any of the above because it is considered "NORMAL" and thus gets ignored. I guess that makes homosexuals abnormal in this regard, because doing any of teh above WILL get noticed.

Part of the responsibility for this does rest with the GLBT community. We must take the chance and go ahead and challenge people by holding hands, giving a hug or kiss at the door, just like the other folks do. I am just thinking that there will always be a nagging feeling that someone is watching and taking note of say, maybe my car - find out where I hang out, work, or live and could very easily become a target for a gay-bashing.

If you have comments on what I have said, feel free to make a comment. The Wizard is listening.

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