I have never been part of the ingroup. I’ve always looked in wanting to belong, but over the years I realised it’s just a societal standard. They tell you that fitting in is what’s best; everyone should be who they think we should be, and not who you want to be. I believe that society’s “recipe” (Schütz) is that different is bad, until it becomes mainstream, or more people believe in it, and it is a concept that has been bred into us. No one says anything, but you feel it. You feel it when someone gives you a weird look, or when a parent whispers to their child with a look of disgust on their face. You feel it when people ignore you when you say hello, or treat you differently because you’re you. The truth is they’re afraid of you, and the change you start. I hope one day that this recipe will be re written, and be sprinkled with love, acceptance, and a dash of open mindedness, but this recipe won’t change until we take an action. As a country, we need to stand together to end this world of hate, and racism, and sexism, and homophobia, and transphobia. We need to better, stronger, and love, because if we don’t love who are we really.
