Coming out....

This is going to be a tough blog to write, it makes me uncomfortable to a degree to write it.  It may or may not make the reader uncomfortable as well, but my intent is to cause some thought.

Jason Collins, an NBA player currently looking for a team (so read active and not retired), came out today.  I read his story and can relate to the religious exposure he had growing up.  I can relate to his story of feeling "free" with this announcement.  But I hedge to call him a hero as many gay organizations are doing.

Not because he isn't.  But because the only thing that makes him different than many of my friends and our stories is that he is an NBA player.  He breaks the "athletic stereotype," but guess what, so do I and so do many of my friends.  Quite a few of my best gay friends have been made on the softball field, on the volleyball court, or by talking at a sports bar while watching college football.  Many of us are athletes but many of us aren't.

But regardless of athletic ability or design aesthetic, we all have a story.  And because we have that story, we came to terms (hopefully) with being gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender, and we overcame our doubts about ourselves and our future.  We are heroes.  We can also be the villains - of our own destinies.  We should be shouting out accolades of support for each other...until the day that coming out isn't necessary, much like coming out as "straight" isn't even a thought.

If you've read this blog and agree with my takeaway - that we all should be lifted until the need to lifted is gone - then do two things for me...
1- Share this with friends.  It opens me up to being more vulnerable than I'd like but I also want people to know - I carry the gay flag for all of us, but most especially for those that came before and to never forget our struggle.
2- Ask the G/L/B/T's in your life their story.  Seriously.  Ask.  We all have a story.  And we all deserve the recognition.