LGBTQQIP2SAA is quite the mouthful, isn’t it? The vast majority of people probably couldn’t even guess what most of those letters stand for, and I know I’m guessing at a couple. Better known as; the gay, the queer, the LGBT, LGBTQ+, LGBTQI+, LGBTQIA+ community. All of these are different descriptors of what many people consider the shades of the rainbow umbrella to be a part of. My personal favorites to use are LGBTQ+, and Queer. Queer is a rough one for many people, since not so long ago, it was a very common slur term for our community. But I think that is what gives it the power that we need.

Our groups have always taken a lot of slack all over the world, with the US being one of the places that still treats the ‘Gays’ as something of either a novelty, or something to hate. Gay marriage was legalized in 2015, and with that came the parades and joyous shouts of ‘Love Wins,’ but I don’t think love has won just yet.

Sure, that was an amazing step in fighting for our rights, but that does not mean that the fight is over. We still have a long way to go. In our country, we still have transgendered people struggling to be treated with basic respect, and families who treat their LGBTQ members as some sort of disappointment. The fight is far from over, so it isn’t time to get comfortable yet. I want all of us to stand up strong, and keep making steps forward. With every passing day, society progresses, and it is up to us to control the speed of the progression.

Many people of the Queer community took the time to sit back and relax, knowing that there were many people in the country who still hated them. They decided to just shrug and ignore those prejudices, deciding that there was nothing they can do about it. The idea that they would just sit off to the side, and slowly fade away was comforting, but false. It is an illusion to think that they will go away anytime soon.

We need to keep going. To fight and stay strong. So don’t give up on your efforts just yet. Keep going. I believe in you.

Now I want to talk to those of you with prejudices one to one.

You are wrong.

Plain and simple, you are wrong.

Denying us our rights just because you can’t understand it, is wrong.

You are part of an old hate, that has always been wrong, and always will be.

Society will treat you as a speedbump. You will slow us down, but we will pass over you. You may think that your hate and prejudices are being conducive to your goals, but all you are doing is hurting people who never did a thing to you.

But congratulations, for you will be remembered. Not as the righteous combatants against a band of perverts as you think you are, though.

You will be remembered in the same book as the men and women who stood in the way of Civil Rights as well. The bus driver, the governor who blocked the school entrance, the lynch mobs, and you.

I don’t hate you, nor do I want to. I want to treat you with the same love and respect as I would treat anyone else. So please, do the same for me? You don’t have to understand me or the LGBTQ+ community, to accept us.