Look, though never see.

Cut, yet never bleed.

Inhale, but never breathe.

Never bound and never free.

This is you, this is me.

This is our eternity.

I am...

...the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian.

...the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman.

...the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights.

...the parent who buried my daughter long before her time.

...the man who died alone in the hospital because they would not let my partner of twenty-seven years into the room.

...the foster child who wakes up with nightmares of being taken away from the two fathers who are the only loving family I have ever had. I wish they could adopt me.

...one of the lucky ones, I guess. I survived the attack that left me in a coma for three weeks, and in another year I will probably be able to walk again.

...not one of the lucky ones. I killed myself just weeks before graduating high school. It was simply too much to bear.

...the person who had the realtor hang up on me when she found out my partner and I wanted to rent a one-bedroom for two men.

...the person who never knows which bathroom I should use if I want to avoid getting the management called on me.

...the mother who is not allowed to even visit the children I bore, nursed, and raised. The court says I am an unfit mother because I now live with another woman.

...the domestic-violence survivor who found the support system grow suddenly cold and distant when they found out my abusive partner is also a woman.

...the domestic-violence survivor who has no support system to turn to because I am male.

...the father who has never hugged his son because I grew up afraid to show affection to other men.

...the home-economics teacher who always wanted to teach gym until someone told me that only lesbians do that.

...the man who died when the paramedics stopped treating me as soon as they realized I was transsexual.

...the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I did not have to always deal with society hating me.

...the man who stopped attending church, not because I don't believe, but because they closed their doors to my kind.

...the person who has to hide what this world needs most, love.

...the person who is afraid of telling his loving Christian parents he loves another male.

...the friend who lends her shoulder to cry on when the world turns their backs, her ears to listen when all anyone else will do is hear, and her strength to keep going - even when, especially when, all the others repeatedly wound those "unnatural freaks of nature" with their words, their eyes,... and their weapons.

The true question is: Who are you?

Are you the mother who kicks out her own dear child?

Or the one who holds his hand and reassures him it's okay, that he's loved?

Are you the boy who gathers his football buddies to beat up the guy who just asked you out?

Or the one who smiles apologetically and tells him that although you're not the one, he'll find that special someone, someday?

Are you the "friend" who spits in disgust on her homosexual classmate when they reveal the truth?

Or the one who says "...so?" and hugs her; who treats her exactly the same as before?

Are you the student who joins in on ganging up on the "homos"?

Or the one who stands up for them?

Who are you? Why not share? Copy and paste this, if you so desire; then italicize, bold, or underline you. Add your own chapter to the story, so long as it is true. The important thing is to get this out there and keep it up, to keep it growing - in length as well as in support. This is the new revolution of our era. Inaction is just as bad, if not worse than, the wrong action. Speak up. Stand up. Let's do this thing Martin Luther King Jr. style: peacefully. But be too loud, too stubborn, too persistent to be ignored. Do not allow any more acts of violence, on "their" side or on "ours." There should be no more casualties, because there are no sides, no monsters to slay - just people, some more ignorant then others.

Remember: The pen (and the keyboard), is mightier than the sword.

Controversial Issues:

1.) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, liposuction, and air conditioning.

2.) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3.) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4.) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5.) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6.) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7.) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8.) Gay marriage is not supported by the Christian religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9.) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10.) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.