A Rant # "Ghettos"

So I was having a chat with a friend of mine the other day and he mentioned something that sparked something else in my head... that seems to happen quite a lot, conversations within conversations.

For anyone who's unaware West Hollywood, which just so happens to be West of Hollywood :P, is a city here in Southern California that's a hub of homosexuality, a man-on-man mecca. I have a love-hate relationship with the place. I love it in the same way that I love the Navajo reservation. There's something about being around people who are like you, there's this familiarity and safety. It's just a pleasant feeling. It's hard for me to imagine myself being anything other than exactly what I am but I would think, I would hope, that even if I were straight I would be enamored with West Hollywood for this overwhelming sense of freedom and acceptance. The place is less about being accepting to the GLBT community and more about being accepting of acceptance. It's a lovely place when you think about it. Everyone is exactly who they want to be, doing exactly what they want to be doing and there's no fear of being shamed or threatened into anything else. There's a spirit about the place... a strength, a courage, a fearlessness, a bravery... heroism.

The thing I hate about West Hollywood and places like it is seeing people shut themselves off in self-imposed ghettos. The picture's not all rosey. I don't see everyone as courageous or brave. I know people who are there because they are the exact opposite. I see people living in fear. There are people there whose entire life is that one place. It's the literature, it's the theatre, it's the community, the culture, everything... all of it is centered around this one perspective. We live in a global community, there is no disputing that. I try not to be judgemental and rarely do I say something is wrong for fear of being wrong myself. But our greatest threats as a global community are these rabid and fanatical enclaves of exclusivity, these self-imposed ghettos. There's this fear and resistance to change that's fostering a toxic xenophobia. It's a dangerous state to live in, literally and metaphorically. But y'know, I don't pretend that my story is that of everyone else. There might be... I'm sure there are reasons for the way things are. People can be ugly, vicious, brutal, violent... and if that's all you've ever known of others who am I to say what you're doing and where you're living is wrong? I don't say it for exactly that reason. I don't know everything and I don't know what's going on... but I feel like something's off.


DS333, doubtful.