Education against homophobia

WINNER of a choice of E-book from my back list
(or an up and coming book) is:

Christy - allstarjumperstx2

Education against homophobia

Life is about learning. It's all about taking steps in the big wide world and seeing what is beyond those horizons -- you know, the ones that you were told you should stay away from 'cause it wasn't safe.

I sat on a bus once. I was twenty one or there abouts.

I was sat with Sam; an outspoken friend and neighbour who passed briefly through my life and has since been resigned to the *stuff that happened in the late eighties* bin. She told me they had a gay guy starting at her office. She said she could tell he was, and the office gossips confirmed her suspicions. We spoke about it in hushed tones. I was intrigued and even a little nervous. I am not joking when I say this was all new to me (can we say sheltered upbringing?).

I remember clearly what I said that day. I said, "I don't know what I would say to someone if they told me they were gay." Glad to say I met Mark from accounts about a week later who was very happily settled with Colin. I met GAY and I knew exactly what to say, and this is what I said: "Any chance you could pull the reports from January so I can reconcile them?"

Now let's look at my daughter. Her education focuses on respect; for religious beliefs, for gender equality, and for same sex marriage and union. She is learning and watching and forming her own opinions of what is going on around her. Pop culture, books, my writing, our family, her brother... they're all showing her things I never even knew when I was her age. I hope education is the key to help us all move forward.

I just think that her generation could be the start of something new. Something bright. Something hopeful.

And most of all something one hell of a lot more inclusive.