Imagine being viciously attacked over holding the hand of the person you decided to be with for nothing more than demonstrating the most modest public displays of affection.
This is sadly the reality for millions of couples around the world, such as one that was recently swarmed by several adolescent males on a double-decker bus in the United Kingdom (U.K.). The young men, who fearlessly ganged up on the pair that had been minding their own business, were subsequently arrested and charged.
The suspects reportedly accosted the women when the two refused to put on a make-out show, in the process leaving both bloodied and bruised. Adding insult to injury, they robbed the women of personal effects.
This is not the first time ignorance and bigotry broiled over into violence against a gay couple, and it depressingly won't be the last. In an embarrassing testament to how far humanity still has to go, one could argue the two women in the U.K. were actually really lucky — in some repressive countries, they might very well have been murdered.
Meanwhile, when was the last time anyone heard of a heterosexual couple being attacked because they held hands on a bus, or anywhere in public?
Well, perhaps in cultures that force prearranged marriages — individuals who elope with a flame don’t always successfully escape the deadly wrath of families.
Yet in Western nations, I cannot recall a single instance wherein a straight couple was taunted, harassed, beaten — and much worse — for no other reason than who they were out on a date with. I’m sure there have been, for example, muggings, but that intent is far different.
An egregiously erroneous assertion keeps making its way around that the LGBTQ+ community only wants special treatments and rights that elevate them above everybody else.
This malignantly misinformed talking point apparently considers “special treatment" as not being beaten up in public for no good reason.
All the LGBTQ+ community seeks is the equal respect and decency extended to everyone else. To not be terrified to hold hands in public, as some two-thirds of LGBTQ+ couples are.
Why that seems so difficult for so many people to understand is beyond my humble ability to comprehend. All I do know is anyone who complains about pride parades, petulantly moaning about why there’s no "straight parade," might benefit from some soul searching.
Because until LGBTQ+ couples can all openly feel comfortable holding hands in public without fear of suffering physical violence at the hands of hate, ignorance and intolerance, the community will not be equal to the rest of a society's population that has never — not even once — thought for a fraction of the most fleeting second to worry about being sure not to hold hands.
