Saturday Night Was Frightening For Me.
I hang around with a certain group and within that group there are a lot of bisexuals, transgenders, cross dressers, gays, etc.....We had a convention over the weekend, as we do every year. It is filled with so many fun things and it is not unusual for anyone to be dressed in a way many may find unusual or sometimes people are basically nude. We do things a lot of people, like my ex-husband, might call sick. There is a reason we pretty much keep the event, and where it is held, a secret.
Saturday night we were all at the hotel doing what we all like to do. There are so many rooms filled with fun and different things we may not get to do at home. Most of us are at home there because these people are our tribe. All of a sudden the fire alarm went off. In past years I would never have had a second thought about it. I would have marched outside and just waited to be told we could come back in. As I walked down the convention space hallway I could not help but think that this could be the perfect scenario if someone hated people like us. We would all feed down into the reception desk area and a lot of us could easily be taken out.
The reception area was clear but then we had to pour out into the street. We had to stay there until the fire trucks arrived and everything was given the all clear. My concern then turned towards anyone passing by who might be homophobic or hate people who may look like weirdos to them. All you need is the wrong person and the right moment.
It was a false alarm and after everything had been inspected we were allowed back in to continue our fun and games. But it occurs to me that no matter how much you sympathize or feel compassion for a certain group of people, you just cannot conceive what they go through until you have walked a mile in their shoes. I understand I do not know all the pitfalls people go through, but Saturday night made other people's fears that much more real to me. I understand them in a way I might not have before. I wish other much less understanding people could go through what I did. We need more love and understanding in this world.
