The Story . . .

He was like just another guy on the campus. He loved bikes and designing one himself was what he lived for. It was around when he entered college that he realized he was a little different. He was what other people called ‘not normal’, ‘not straight’.

Jokes on people like him were flying around everywhere – in movies, award shows and among his friends. Every time there was a gay joke cracked, he would smile. He would laugh. But every single second he laughed, it was killing him inside. He thought, in being what he was, he was wrong. He was ashamed of that part of him. He began hating himself for what he was.

Not knowing what to do, he killed himself.

Most homosexuals may not kill themselves like he did. But many of them do kill that part of them and camouflage themselves in the normalcy of the society. And the ones who are brave enough to go against the wind and stick to their identities, in their struggle for acceptance, meet with humiliation and mockery by people like us at every step.

Why aren’t we ready to accept homosexuality as something normal? If it’s ok for Guy A to like Mango ice-cream and Guy B to like Chocolate ice-cream, why isn’t it ok for the same Guy A to like a girl and Guy B to like a guy? (The comparison was silly, but it had a point.)

There isn’t much that we as individuals can do to help their cause. But maybe we can at least stop making fun of them.