I remember one day a few years ago my parents and I were chilling in the hall. My dad was watching Eat Street, the show where they show us mouth-watering street food all around the US. One such feature was that of a food-truck owned by two guys. Later, as they talked about themselves it turned out they were a gay Couple.

To this, my mother mouthed ‘Chhi!’ which is Indian for an expression of disgust, ( in case you’re unaware.) I asked her what’s wrong.

She said ‘They’re gay!’.

I said ‘So what? What’s wrong with that?’

To which her reply was ‘Why? Are you gay, too?’

I was thirteen years old at that time.

I acted all broad-minded in front of my mother, but I wondered if I really was that accepting. I remember making gay jokes every once in a while in school like it was nothing and although extremely rarely, I find myself poking fun at homosexuality just so I could make my friends laugh, even today.

That was 2011 and this is 2018, and the situation is somehow still pretty much the same. Although there is progress among the younger generations with Pride marches happening across the country (which actually started in 2011 in my city, when I didn’t know about Pride at all) and media, there’s still the better part of the country to be considered: the adults, the real decision makers, the people in charge. Without their support, there’s really nothing that can progress. Homosexuality’s still illegal here, and the sexuality of many stands closeted.

As we know, Pride Month just ended, and I was reading all the blogs that highlighted the bloggers’ experiences related to the subject. It got me thinking about all this and I wondered about, in my Opinion, the underlying problem.

Some of us are curious about other people’s lives too much. Up to a point where we make it our mission to judge how they spend their lives, and tell them how they should live instead. We critique their beliefs, opinions, values, and when we disagree with them it offends us. This results in us mocking them for the same. We stress on why someone’s opinions are ill-natured simply because they’re different. In quite a few cases there’s violence, too. It’s not uncommon for me to read about people beating up couples on Valentine’s Day just for sitting on park benches, for example.

I have a set of views of my own, and I see someone having different views. I think they’re wrong, occasionally I let them know that, but I don’t disrespect them for it or take it personally. I don’t think of hurting them for it. If they’re friends I hang out with them, if they’re not I find a way to co-exist. But what would happen if this difference of opinion becomes dangerous for the other person? What happens when it isn’t safe for someone to speak up because they have a physical or mental attack hanging over their head?

That’s when people decide to stay hidden, for their sake and the sake of their families. They no longer voice their concerns and the herd mentality has to be adopted. Majority wins, or you’d rather say minorities lose.

So, in the end, this is what I propose to start bringing about a change: Let Others Live.

Take violence out of the equation and we could balance it. This way everyone gets to voice their opinions and walk out unharmed. Of course, nothing’s perfect and there’s a chance even this might go wrong in a few places. It’s a good start nonetheless.

Peace out!

This artist is from Pune, Maharashtra. He is currently in the third year of his Bachelor’s in Computer Engineering. He likes to read, write and hike. His favorite artists are Eminem, Linkin Park, and Ed Sheeran. He started writing ever since he read the Harry Potter series and hopes to become a published author in the future. You can find his work here.

The title of this post is L.O.L denotes the motto he used in this post which is Let Other’s Live.