Don't ask Don't tell

Travelling home from Green Park station last night I settled into a seat and adjusted my headphones. Taking in my surroundings, the carriage had its usual eclectic group of people including the ipad flasher, the boy sponsored by Ed Hardy who's "noise cancelling headphones" clearly only worked one way and an elderly gentleman holding a deep conversation with his reflection. 
Ah late night London...

But just as I was about to place the headphones in my ears I overheard a conversation between two "upper class" older men alongside me. They were discussing the recent story line of Eastenders, in which two men, Christian and Syed, got married. An episode that aired the previous night which had Natalie and I blubbering on the sofa with joy. I've chosen to para-phrase most of the conversation because I was raised better and will not repeat their language; 

Man 1: "That's the last thing I want to see after a hard day's work, you just cant seem to get away from these fairies.. and she refused to switch the channel so I had to watch the whole ****** thing!"

Man 2: "I didn't see it but I know what you mean, watching those guys prancing around the street is bad enough and now its been shoved down our throats everywhere we go, suddenly the whole bloody world is gay. There was no such thing as "gay" when I was younger"

"And it was a better time, people had respect for themselves and for their families, Thank GOD my son is right in the head. I don't know how these parents can even look at them. Disgusting ****. 

"What I don't get is why they have to be so blasted feminine, going around acting like women. I remember being taught it was a sin, i'm telling you its all in the bible but that's just another thing this generation doesn't care about"

"Well I told her that shit wont being watched in my house ever again"

"Rightly so"

I was never so happy to see Seven Sisters, where I got off, a little dazed and confused to say the least. I'm not naive, I know there is a lot of prejudice in the world but what stunned me the most was the venom dripping from words such as "Gay" and "women". But above all, I cannot believe that people are still using the bible as a guide on how to conduct our lives in 2012! If anything was in more need of any expiry date it would be that book, it really needs to crawl out of the reference section and take a seat back on the history shelf.

As a Catholic I do own a bible but it sits alongside my copy of the Malleus Maleficarum "The Witch's Hammer" - a guide book on how to seek out and destroy a witch written in the 1400's. Because that's how I see it, a piece of human history and a reminder of how far humanity has come. Clearly there are still those who think otherwise, I just hope the Maleficarum continues to stay up on the shelf or there will be a lot more bonfires on November 5th!

The bible passage they are referring to is from the;  Book of Leviticus 18:22

"Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination."

But if they continued to read on, which I highly doubt they did, underneath the would also see;

"You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together."

It also goes on to say we shouldn't eat shellfish! Well today I have on cotton & wool and a lovely helping of prawns in my belly from dinner last night. Lets hope I'm in heaven before the devil knows i'm dead eh?

As for the "women" comment. Please correct me if you think i'm wrong in saying this but after listening to these ignorant meanderings last night, I have a suspicion that the fear behind some egotistical men is being seen as a woman. Even now when I think back to comments such as "you throw like a girl" and "you're acting like a bunch of little girls out there on the field" (references to Hollywood movies through the years), I am a little offended. Are comments like these still aimed to motivate young men to achieve?? 

I cant help but think that is what some men fear the most. They think that being a gay man means you wish to be a woman. Which of course is totally incorrect as gay men are attracted to other men and if they wanted to be with a woman that would make them straight. Personally I prefer women and gay men being in the same category, it would be a very strong, respectful, honest and daring category... and one hell of a party! 

So to all of you who think this kind of conversation is acceptable on public transport (or at all!) I suggest you visit websites such as Stonewall or LFG and find out how many people have DIED as a direct result to your ignorance and poison. 

And go for a night out in Candy Bar, Heaven or G.A.Y. As a straight girl I prefer these clubs, the staff and customers tend to treat each other with more respect and admiration than any other club i've been to in London.

As for the bible references...like ANY book, please read it before you quote it!

Susan Buckley