Hi. My name is Benjii and I am 100%OK with whatever you identify as – gay, straight, bisexual, transgender or intersex.
Which is odd that I am reaffirming this because, in reality, we shouldn’t. We’re all equal, we all live on the same planet and we all breathe the same air. But sadly, there are people out there in this thing called “society” that don’t feel it’s ok to be different.
100%OK is an initiative that looks to demonstrate that, by virtue of a social media campaign, 30,000 people support the rainbow community and we are all ok with whatever your orientation is – hopefully by July 12th the cause can hit that number (here’s the plug ) and the sacred Twitter hashtag trends.
Why though, when we live in a country that has legalized gay marriage and is pretty progressive in terms of its social equality, should we undertake something though? Does this make me a “bleeding heart liberal”? Do I dare utter the words “I have gay friends” as a means to justify why I am doing this?
I think that given the problems in Russia, Uganda and the right-wing politics that have crept up throughout Europe, that it’s important to ensure our friends of Dorothy that we still do care and we still do support them. There’s seldom much that can be more isolating for an individual that the feeling of discomfort in their own skin – now consider how isolating it would be that a number of people have a problem with that person for who they choose to enter into a relationship with. Dare I even say, in many cases, who they fall in love with…
That there are still cultures that regard homosexuality as illegal, evil, morally reprehensible is backwards – but it still happens. There is music that implores it’s listeners to kill “the batty boy”, religion that decree two people of the same gender entering into a relationship is unholy; this isn’t me bagging on religion (that would prove me a hypocrite, not being 100%OK with what someone else believes in).
I was always told to treat others as you’d wish to be treated yourself; I think it’s a good philosophy to have in this day and age. Having said that, I also believe in the idea of an eye for an eye making the world go blind and at times I also believe that you have to fight for what you believe in. There’s so many clichés that it becomes evident that, for me, there should be levels of compromise with the human psyche to accept these different varying degrees of how to live your life. It’s called the grey area… that “there is no such thing as simple black and white” is something I do strong believe in. I feel that much is definitive.
That complex series of my own emotions must be completely miniscule compared to what I can only fathom is what those within the LGBTI community go through – and it would be completely condescending of me to say that I understand what “you” are going through. Because I can’t – because I’ve never walked in those shoes.
But I can empathise – and more importantly, whoever you choose to fall in love with, whoever you choose to walk hand in hand with and spend your life with, I’m 100%OK with that, as I am sure (and hopeful) that tens of thousands of New Zealanders are also.
Benjii Jackson MUZAI Records
