WHY NOT ME?

I'm adopted. 

In truth I know nothing about my roots, who I really am. 

When you don't have all the answers, that gives you the
freedom to dream about who you might really want to be.
Growing up WASP was actually quite boring. 

My Jewish friends lived very different lives from mine.
Yet somehow I connected with them in a special way.

Ultimately, all I wanted was to be just like them!

Totally cool...

There was a difference.

Their mother's were chicer.
Their homes were bigger.
Their cars were newer.
Their families were funny.
Their food was delicious.

They were special...

All that I knew was that my Jewish friends and their families loved life. Everything about them was unique. From their vacation resorts, to Hebrew School, to their holidays.

Why can't I?

At age thirteen I had a total "hissy fit". All of my friends were having Bar Mitzvah parties so why not me?! One day my Mother sat me down and firmly said, "Christians do not get to have a Bar Mitzvah." I was devastated (and pissed)!

Restricted?

At that point I knew nothing about the prejudice my Jewish pals suffered. My parent's circle of friends included Blacks, Jews, and all sorts of variations thereof. At school, nobody talked about the Holocaust.
I was completely ignorant.

Now I get it.
Later on I learned the shocking facts
of prejudice, murder, and exclusion.
Who would want to hurt the coolest
people in town? Were they idiots?
But it wasn't until I came out that I
truly understood my Jewish friends.
My transition from straight to gay
meant that I immediately lost some
of my civil rights. Suddenly I wasn't
an equal - I was an anomaly. That
harsh reality of being truly excluded
is beyond painful. Distorting or even
blatantly celebrating the difference
brings us together, relieves the pain.

The world is changing.
Prejudice and stereotypes are
quickly disappearing. Yet the
extreme schism between red
and blue, conservative and
liberal, "us" and "them" grows
deeper. One can't just sit back
and assume all will get better.

History repeats itself...
Berlin once had a vibrant and
integrated Jewish community.
It's gay population was totally
"out". Then the economy went
bad and a nut with an agenda
took over. We all know what
happened, and it could again,
if we let it.