In this edition of Community Comment… boy Tim, Great Lakes Leather boy 2015 shares his thoughts on the reaction by some to this years IML Top 20’s diverse line up.
It’s amazing that a marginalized group of people residing within a marginalized group of people contains so many assholes trying to marginalize those people even further.
For my part, I’m proud to be represented by each and every person that stepped across the IML stage this weekend. Whether they were wearing a few extra pounds or a few extra years or a few extra inches on their bootheels, they are all family to me.
I heard several stories about people being told over the weekend that their opinions don’t matter (in turn implying that those people themselves don’t matter). If you spent this weekend bitching about people who are fat or old or femme or otherwise different…if you tried to marginalize them and their impact on our community…if you for one second think you’re better than someone else because you’re more ‘this’ or less ‘that’ than they are…I want to say something to you:
STOP.
You are the single biggest problem this community faces. You have chosen to live your life breaking other people down instead of building them up. You have chosen to bully others as if you have never been bullied yourself. You have chosen to make this world a more hate-filled place to live in. You have chosen to throw shade at others in hopes that the light will shine brighter on you because of it.
I make choices too. I choose to love others because they are different. I choose to find unique things in others that help lighten my world. I choose to take the pain of my past and use it to heal the pain others are feeling in the present. I choose to bring light into the life of others even if it means I’m standing in their shadow.
Each of us makes the choice of how we behave in this life. We choose what we bring to the world. Please choose wisely and with a warm heart.
