The things you do on a blog

August 19, 2007 on 8:04 pm | In Uncategorized |

I was moved during the week by a piece in the SMHerald by a young bloke called Daniel Swain. Daniel wrote openly about his experience as a gay kid at high school.

The reason I was moved is that I know how much courage it must have taken for Daniel to come out in the first place, and how much courage it must take every day for him to remain true to himself.

I can speak of his courage because I know how much I lacked it when I was Daniel’s age and every day since. I took the easier path of being a celibate closet case. In retrospect I don’t know if it was the right thing to do but I was never under any illusions about the kind of life that I would have had to lead if I had been open and honest with people. I hope it will be easier for Daniel’s generation but I wouldn’t put money on it. History suggests that gays are only tolerated for short periods, following which oppression and persecution becomes the norm once again.

BTW this is the first time in my whole life that I’ve admitted the truth about my sexuality - to anyone. If you’re wondering “Why now?” I can only answer that I was inspired by the example of another young bloke who lives in Georgia, USA, of all places.

So there you go … never say I don’t try to provide a smorgasbord of blog topics.

7 Comments »

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  1. I read the piece too and was impressed at his courage. And humour. I can see why you were inspired. I hope you’re wrong about the cyclical nature of toleration, but yeah…Anyway, thanks for this.

    Comment by Tim — August 20, 2007 #

  2. Thank you Tim. Adults are supposed to be role models for the young … it’s just depressing when it’s the other way round.

    Comment by Administrator — August 20, 2007 #

  3. Good on you, Ken. And I reckon it’s a good sign when the young are leading by example.

    Comment by Damian Doyle — August 20, 2007 #

  4. good onya Ken for sharing something so personal. personal posts can leave you feeling a little exposed sometimes, so i’d like to pass on my appreciation and support too. i hope that you will have positive reactions in your real life as a consequence of this honesty.
    i really thought Australia had moved on and that it’s the norm to accept gays these days. given the popularity of gay contestants on shows like Big Brother, i’ve had the sense that the general population is actually very tolerant towards gays, treating them just like anybody else. i guess it’s just that the virulent homophobic minority are so loud sometimes (you know, the fundie Ted Haggard types exhibiting classic reaction formation).

    Comment by Gianna — August 21, 2007 #

  5. Last person you probably care to hear from but, yeah, cool.

    Comment by Invig — August 21, 2007 #

  6. Thanks Gianna, and Ben, much appreciated.

    I think it’s true that the overt discrimination against gays has largely subsided - or been suppressed - but the widespread stereotyping continues. Last place I lived there were rumours about a new arrival in the street … my neighbour’s immediate response was to forbid her grandson to go near the house. Just in case … well you can’t be too careful, eh.

    Tolerance I think only extends so far and most gays instinctively refrain from pushing their luck. In 10 years I’ve yet to see two guys in an apparently gay relationship on any of the campuses where I’ve taught, or indeed anywhere else, but that might reflect the conservative attitudes of northern NSW and the Gold Coast. It’s probably different at Sydney or Melbourne.

    Comment by Administrator — August 21, 2007 #

  7. Ken,

    I’m a bit late to this discussion, but well done for having the courage to share with the world. Why people are so hung up on other people’s personal lives, I don’t know, but I wish they’d just mind their own business.

    You (in the collective sense like the French vous) should be able to live life exactly as you choose, as long as you don’t affect others. And being gay certainly doesn’t affect others.

    Comment by Seamus — August 30, 2007 #

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