As my friend puts it: she fell in love and she’s going to Europe.
Tonight I went to her farewell soiree on the Lower East Side for about an hour or so to drink wine and share laughs. On the way back, I was crossing the street on Delancey alongside some blond-haired man on a bike. A white car decided to ignore the traffic light and cut in front of us.
“Faggot,” said a 30-something Indian man from the backseat.
He shouted another stream of hateful words as the car drove off.
Especially in lieu of the recent suicides of young men after homophobic harassment, I felt a little sick. I thought about turning to the stranger next to me. But before I could formulate any words, to my surprise, the man on the bike went after the beat-up white car. He pulled up next to it.
I paused to watch them exchange a brief conversation. I heard the biker say something along the lines of “What, do you seriously want to fight about this?”
But he seemed to be the bigger person. He biked away.
“Faggot,” the man in the car shouted again.
Sometimes the world is such an ugly place.
Things like this do make me feel sick. Luckily Obama got on board with the "It Gets Better" campaign. And luckily, there are places where gay and straight people can thrive together. I went with a friend to Cubby Hole (a West Village lesbian bar) last night, and was surprised by how friendly and engaging everyone was. Gay, straight, whatever. It was jam-packed and Halloween-themed. I left with a sense of all-right-ness about the universe.
ReplyDeleteI hope Obama follows through with actions that reflect his campaign. I feel like I'm in constant limbo between having faith in people and being 80 kinds of cynical. But I completely agree and know the feeling.
ReplyDeleteAnd because I am the queen of non-sequiturs, love Cubbyhole and their $2 margaritas. The place definitely has a great vibe. We should go and talk LES there sometime.