Disclaimer: The views of the blog are strictly mine, not anyone else. I have the freedom to say exactly what i want. So hear me out before you go along on your judegemental ways people.
I'm in the kitchen with my host mom making some lovely canned salmon and potatoes for supper. I'm telling her about the beach today and how we met the same dog that was there when i went with her the other day. This dog was the cutest mutt on island and seemed to really be interested in our group. One of the volunteers approached him and started petting him. Before we knew it he was lying ON Katie and drooling as he slept. Cutest thing EVER. We thought he was a stray dog til we noticed he had his toe nails painted pink, yes pink. Now i knew Americans cruelly punished their dogs this way but had no idea it had traveled to Grenada too. Anyways, back to the story.
So I'm telling my host mom that the dog was laying on us and yada yada yada, and that his finger nails were painted pink. Before i could even finish the word pink she subconsciously says, "that dog is a damn faggot!" Well WAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM! Thank goodness her back was turned to me as she said it because i couldn't let her see my chin to the floor and my eyes wide open in utter amazement. Now many other times when she is referring to not so manly men she says "he is just feminine," but tonight she unloaded with the F bomb!
It made me sit back and think a bit at just all of the rights and privileges we take for granted in the States. Many times people are so busy fighting for equal rights and human rights in general we forget just how advanced we are compared to other parts of the world. The culture here on gay issues is years and years behind America, so much so that its even ILLEGAL here. The minor assumption that you could even possibly be gay ends with a prison sentence of up to 7 years. My host mom cant really be punished or thought of as a lesser person for her comment. She merely spoke out of simple ignorance. Its not her fault that her country hasn't yet been exposed to people of different lifestyles, or that there is a stigma attached to such acts of "moral impurity."
So as i reflect on the comment that i heard tonight, i cant help but be disappointed that Grenada is so far behind. But yet again i find myself reflecting on all of the human rights i took for granted in the States. Things of self expression and social rebellion are unheard of here. Hopefully by the end of my stay here we will see some change in the mindsets of people, but until then i must learn to desensitize myself to the big F bomb.
First of all, I want your weather app! Second, your writing style is so comprehensive, you have me hooked! Sadly, my own boyfriend drops the F word, too, and Im trying to get him to ease up on it. His bias is no different from your homestay mom and he's someone I have a lot of respect for. Keep your chin up, keep trucking through the grueling days of training, and keep writing! I get so much off my chest by blogging. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteThat would be really hard for me to get used to. A of all for not being able to be who I am openly and Two for forcing myself to not cringe at the use of the "F bomb". I mean I know the wonderful US of A still has a long way to go but other places have much further. I have some friends here (probably not super close friends) that due to their own ignorances and not necessarily any fault of their own like to throw demeaning terms around but once I express my distaste for such things they usually attempt to respect that. I'm not used to keeping quite about such things. That would definitely be an adjustment.
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