Re: Coming Out
Here is what I think.
It is never
impossible to come out and let people know that you are gay.
But there is always a price to pay. For some, it's low; for others the price is incredibly high.
Here's the question: Is the price (losing friends, disappointing family, being laughed at, being attacked, in some places being thrown into prison) worth the benefit of being completely yourself (truth, integrity, not having to keep track of lies, being able to express everything you feel).
Some will decide that the price is too high. Others will feel that the benefits are too valuable to lose. But while the external cir
stances are a big factor - they are not the only consideration. Because two people in the same environment might make different decisions.
Before I go on, let me say that for me right now, the price of being out is amazingly low. When I came out 30 years ago - it was a lot harder and I eventually had to move away from family and friends and start life over.
But now I live in a big American city and the gay community is large and influential. So I am in no position to be telling someone living in a strict religious conservative culture to come out and everything will be fine. I am not in your shoes and I would not presume to push you into taking on enormous risk.
But I will say this - some people in your position do pay that price. Which is why I say it is not impossible.
There have always been parallels to this in religion and politics. The Christian church honors the martyrs who did not deny their faith, even when condemned to death. Some Jews in Germany during the Nazi era refused to go "into the closet" and pass for gentile, even though they knew it would cost them their jobs, social position, and eventually their lives. Black civil rights leaders in the US were lynched because they wouldn't "stay in their place". Gandhi led a nation in rebellion, not by attacking oppressors, but by being willing to suffer and die if necessary for what was plainly right.
Some of their friends thought that they were self-destructive fools. Most of them we know now as heroes.
Everyone has to set their own path. Cir
stances never completely determine the way we go. I humbly respect your decision not to come out if you feel you are in danger. I only suggest that you see if there are ways to minimize the threat (like moving somewhere else?), and also weigh that danger against the price you will be paying to stay safe (loss of love, having to pretend you are someone you are not).
And know that while you are faced with difficult decisions, you have family around the world praying for your safety and peace, and working for change in the way we are all treated.