LGBTQ+

As June draws to a close, I hope we have all had the opportunity to celebrate in some way the joy of living in a country that celebrates GAY PRIDE.

What seems obvious to us today in a modern, democratic and open society, namely the right to be as we want to be or as nature created us, was still a utopia a few decades ago. My children's generation can hardly imagine this and has no idea how we fought and suffered to achieve this truism.

I still remember a moving story from the late 1990s that opened my eyes to what it means to live in a society like mine, Spain, even though we have been living in a democratic and open society for a long time. We must not forget that Spain was one of the first countries to legalise same-sex partnerships. At the time, I was teaching singing in the choir of the Gran Canaria Philharmonic and was in a long-distance relationship with my now husband. We saw each other once a month and every time I left him at the airport was a drama that took me several days to recover from; distance is really hard when you are in love in the first few years, especially in a time without smartphones.

A student I had at the time was living with his boyfriend, who was also in a relationship in another city. When I spoke to him, he said to me:

- Yes, but at least you can kiss him at the airport when you say goodbye to him.

And then a world of even sadder possibilities opened up to me: I would have to say goodbye to my loved one for a while without even being able to touch him.

In a city like Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where Carnival is almost a Gay Pride Parade, where we almost invented drag queens who shifted the interest from the Carnival Queen's Gala to their own gala, not even two guys could hug or kiss goodbye in an airport.

From that time until today, "only" 25 years have passed..."

But who can guarantee us that the freedom, the naturalness, to live one's sexual or asexual life as one wants will last forever? NOBODY...

Religion, or rather the intolerant tendencies of religions taken to extremes, the theocratic dictatorships of countries with governments run by religious authorities (I'll explain it in case someone doesn't know the term...), the extreme ideologies of terrorist groups in the Middle East, the political dictatorships of governments in Eurasia... In all these countries, people are still imprisoned, tortured, vilified and killed just for being GAY.

I find it very strange that today the LGBTQ+ community has a reason to celebrate Gay Pride but not to denounce what the rest of humanity suffers in these countries. It's not about being called a lesbian or a faggot at school, about not being allowed to kiss your boyfriend-girlfriend in public (in many of these countries it's also forbidden if you're heterosexual), but about being deprived of your life for being what the authorities expect you to be.

The LGBTQ+ community should be the first to take the lead in not allowing these ideological influences to seep into the countries where they have fought so hard to achieve what they have. We should all stand shoulder to shoulder to ensure that none of these sick ideas, coming from a non-existent and intolerant God (if there is a God... then he surely doesn't give a damn what we do in bed), ever have a place in our daily lives again!

To tell the truth, I am very angry about this issue, I am also sad to see that the ivory tower in which we live in Europe and the USA has put a veil in front of our eyes that prevents us from seeing where the real danger of regression lies... So much has been fought to get here, so many people have died and suffered in our countries too to get here. We are betraying their legacy of struggle and sacrifice to create a free society where we can grow up, be and love as we want.

I, who am nobody but cannot remain silent, will not betray them. That is why I write what I think in this blog, even if no one reads me. Because it is not only what my heart asks of me, but also my duty and my conscience as a citizen who lives and wants to live in a society where LOVE and SEX between adults in ALL FORMS is celebrated. Because it is a gift of life... and I repeat, if it exists, which I do not believe... of GOD.