Well I was bullied for being fat, and when I grew up I became active against bullies, not in the activist way, but kicking their asses and intimidating them to stop their abuse..
But that is not what I wanted to say here
When I was in my early thirties, in a pub a young guy, maybe twenty-something joined me at the bar and I noticed right away he was nervous..
We talked a little and then out of the blue, he told me he was in love with me..
This surprised me, I would have expected anything but that.. I looked at him and yes I saw that glow that only shows when someone is in love, then his expression turned nervous again , ready to duck for a punch.
But I have been raised to accept other people as they are and I wasn't ignorant about homosexuality.
However, since I am not gay, I looked him in the eyes and said: "Look, I am very flattered, but I don't have anything to offer you, I like girls..".
He relaxed, "Well I just had to try, even if it meant the risk of you punching me in the face"
I replied, "why would I do that ? you just told me a sweet thing, I just have to decline, I am not gay"
We talked for a while, and then he left and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.. He was just a sweet gay kid..
Of course my friends there in the pub made fun of me that evening, but I just went with it because I knew also for my friends, it wasn't a big deal just an opportunity to be silly.. I chose my friends carefully
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| Gay wedding cake |
I met him a few times after that and years later he surprised me once again, he asked me to be the best man at his wedding, -yes a gay wedding- , one of the first here in the Netherlands and I told him I would be honored and I accepted..
Even though my open minded upbringing it felt awkward but that wore off, it was a nice wedding, a nice wedding party, and again a guy wanted to get close to me.. and again I answered him that I like women.. But it was not a big deal we had fun I sang a few songs with the band and that was it.
It was an enriching experience and thanks to that I have a number of gay friends who accept me as being straight, as I accept them as being gay.
Shit we are all humans, we all have different feelings , but that does not make one less than the other..
And Bullies ? I think that they are so ashamed of themselves that they need to hide that by taking it out on others, preferably easy victims who are afraid to fight back..
Bullies are just plain disgusting, however some of them come to realize what kinds of assholes they have been, and my bullies actually apologized to me, many years later.. That also took much courage and I accepted their apologizes after all, people can change to the better..
