“Don’t Leave me this Way” The Prayer for so many of us
Im not going to editorialize too much about this song and our community because we understand it well. For a community with few heroes before stonewall and AIDS. Growing up denying our existence to be politicly correct we most be a hell of a bunch of people by getting out from under the bus, out of the closet and saying “I’m here” “ You will NOT deny me anymore”.
There are casualties to a bad way of being and one of our casualties is been our relationships. It’s been tough for us to sometimes even live with each other. What is to be expected? Some of us carry LTR’s as medals on our chests and if not long term then the short ones. The short ones we don’t show but only because they wont fit on our chests to show. Look back from where we come from and how decent, smart and human we have approached the straight world and gays in the closet to say “I need to get out from where I allowed you to chain me.”
Some say this is not a civil right struggle, I wish they would tell me what other struggle it could be. If we have not been slaved, chained and murdered and still are, not even for economics reason but just because a hear say, a custom, a religion? Tell me the type of struggle this is if not a civil rights, human rights struggle. To those that say the opposite they don’t follow their religion when it asks to put yourself on the shoes of the other. As people do, we find freedom. No, don’t leave me this way! So much food for thought.
Still, as we have failed in relationships and other ways we keep trying to do better, to try again and not give up. I suffered a bad Equestrian accident. While I was laying out after surgery there was nothing I wanted more besides Darvon was to be on top of my horse again. Why? My love for the animal and what it did for me. The security, fun, adventure, freedom.
You get all of those in a good relationship. As we passed Valentines’ and approach the spring and the victories in Arizona, Texas and midwest is good to remember every time we sang to our selves that song because we fell off but we did get back on the horse again and tried to do better.
Adam Gonzalez
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