A former gay lover of mine killed himself two weeks ago. Now, do you care?

I am gay, and I am seething with anger. A former lover and still a good friend killed himself two weeks ago. He was not out of the closet. He was middle aged like me.

In this thread, many jellies report that they do not care about the sexual orientation of a professional athlete. What an insult to Jason Collins’ courage!

LGBT teenagers are five times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight counterparts as reported in the journal Pediatrics. (source)

Anoka, Minnesota, found itself in the middle of a rash of teenage suicides and was dragged kicking and screaming to change its policies. (source)

Living in the closet is deadly. Living out is hard. Being gay is no picnic.

Times are changing, and it’s much easier to come out now than in my youth. As a gay boy and youth, I was bullied and harassed relentlessly. I am thankful that behavior is on the decline.

However, it exists. Where there used to be open hostility to sexual minorities, there is now an attitude that proclaims “I don’t want to hear about it.” It still represents a closed mind.

Are you playing the ostrich with your head hidden? Have you got your fingers in your ears singing “la la la” pretending not to hear?

Would you like to know something?

We’re here! We’re queer, and we won’t go away!

Now, do you care?