Recently, I caught part of an interview with British actor-comedian Suzy (Eddie) Izzard. At one point, she talked about the 1st time in her life as she put it, she felt seen, really seen.
She and a friend were out shopping, browsing when her friend called across the shop for her to look at what she’d found. “Suzy,” she called, “you have to come see this.”
At that moment Suzy felt “herself” for the very 1st time and that someone was speaking to her. To Suzy.
It was the first time she’d been publicly called, Suzy.
Her whole life, she’d been Eddie, playing a role.
But she never truly felt the part. And now, in her mid-50s, she has decided she can no longer live a lie.
Suzy Izzard made me finally get it, the point.
It’s about feeling seen.
Being seen, and being heard, as the person you are.
Suzy’s been waiting her whole life to be seen.
Just imagine… living inside your body, thinking you are an imposter because community expectations have labelled you something you are not.
Not being allowed to be who you are.
Waiting for years for someone to call you, the real you, by your name.
Watching Suzy talk about how she felt at that moment helped me to see, that members of the LGBTQA2S community only want to be seen for who they are.
Not for what makes you or I or anyone else comfortable.
Like the rest of us, they have a right to be comfortable.
Columnist Dave Glover
There is no reason to hide, out of shame or guilt or some other form of pressure.
They are who they are, and that frightens people.
Actually frightens people.
The morally righteous, the homophobes, the frightened, they claim it’s about the children… or some other moralistic trope.
It’s not up to me or anyone else for that matter, to tell anyone who they can and can’t be.
It wasn’t too long ago we were saying these same things about “other people”.
People who were different, spoke a different language, or came from another part of the world. People of other faiths and beliefs.
Imagine going thru life just being tolerated? Having to fight or prove oneself to be accepted into the community.
How would that make you feel?
Knowing your existence is just tolerated, because you might bring something to the table…
For all too many, this is how they live.
Seems to me that there will always be an “other” to fear and rail against unless we keep our minds open.
I was in the bank recently and a man was talking to the teller next to me about the upcoming birth of his grandbaby.
When asked what gender the baby was, he said he didn’t know and that its parents (the man’s son & daughter-in-law) are going to let the child decide.
I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe that’s the point. Maybe we need to just let people be who they are… who they decide to be.
Beginning at birth, parents are obliged to teach their kids how to behave and survive. Not as feral beasts or prejudiced monsters, but as productive members of society
We also have to teach them to be themselves and to love themselves.
We mustn’t teach our children to hate. Because hate is taught, it’s not genetic.
Prejudice is really just fear masquerading as righteousness and let’s be honest, what are we really afraid of? Is it usually something we haven’t made an attempt to understand or something we fear whose cause really exists within ourselves in not the other.
When I was a child I was taught that we are all free to be you and me.
Dave Glover is a well known cultural and political commentator in Northumberland. Thousands of listeners, both locally and worldwide, know Dave because of his “Drive Time” radio broadcast that ran for more than 8 years and his 15 years hosting political programs on a local cable channel. Listen to/Contact Dave Twitter: https://twitter.com/legant66?lang=ar-x-fm Online: https://holisticpoliticalchat.com/ Email: HolisticPoliticalchat@gmail.com
“We All Just Want To Be Seen”
I know Pride Month has just ended but…
A Dave Glover opinion article
Image: Suzy (Eddie) Izzard./lgbtqnation
Recently, I caught part of an interview with British actor-comedian Suzy (Eddie) Izzard. At one point, she talked about the 1st time in her life as she put it, she felt seen, really seen.
She and a friend were out shopping, browsing when her friend called across the shop for her to look at what she’d found. “Suzy,” she called, “you have to come see this.”
At that moment Suzy felt “herself” for the very 1st time and that someone was speaking to her. To Suzy.
It was the first time she’d been publicly called, Suzy.
Her whole life, she’d been Eddie, playing a role.
But she never truly felt the part. And now, in her mid-50s, she has decided she can no longer live a lie.
Suzy Izzard made me finally get it, the point.
It’s about feeling seen.
Being seen, and being heard, as the person you are.
Suzy’s been waiting her whole life to be seen.
Just imagine… living inside your body, thinking you are an imposter because community expectations have labelled you something you are not.
Not being allowed to be who you are.
Waiting for years for someone to call you, the real you, by your name.
Watching Suzy talk about how she felt at that moment helped me to see, that members of the LGBTQA2S community only want to be seen for who they are.
Not for what makes you or I or anyone else comfortable.
Like the rest of us, they have a right to be comfortable.
There is no reason to hide, out of shame or guilt or some other form of pressure.
They are who they are, and that frightens people.
Actually frightens people.
The morally righteous, the homophobes, the frightened, they claim it’s about the children… or some other moralistic trope.
It’s not up to me or anyone else for that matter, to tell anyone who they can and can’t be.
It wasn’t too long ago we were saying these same things about “other people”.
People who were different, spoke a different language, or came from another part of the world. People of other faiths and beliefs.
Imagine going thru life just being tolerated? Having to fight or prove oneself to be accepted into the community.
How would that make you feel?
Knowing your existence is just tolerated, because you might bring something to the table…
For all too many, this is how they live.
Seems to me that there will always be an “other” to fear and rail against unless we keep our minds open.
I was in the bank recently and a man was talking to the teller next to me about the upcoming birth of his grandbaby.
When asked what gender the baby was, he said he didn’t know and that its parents (the man’s son & daughter-in-law) are going to let the child decide.
I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe that’s the point. Maybe we need to just let people be who they are… who they decide to be.
https://youtu.be/VUpLiJfV4_A
Beginning at birth, parents are obliged to teach their kids how to behave and survive. Not as feral beasts or prejudiced monsters, but as productive members of society
We also have to teach them to be themselves and to love themselves.
We mustn’t teach our children to hate. Because hate is taught, it’s not genetic.
Prejudice is really just fear masquerading as righteousness and let’s be honest, what are we really afraid of? Is it usually something we haven’t made an attempt to understand or something we fear whose cause really exists within ourselves in not the other.
When I was a child I was taught that we are all free to be you and me.
It has to be true I saw it on television…
https://youtu.be/nCUGMMEF2Zk
Dave Glover is a well known cultural and political commentator in Northumberland. Thousands of listeners, both locally and worldwide, know Dave because of his “Drive Time” radio broadcast that ran for more than 8 years and his 15 years hosting political programs on a local cable channel.
Listen to/Contact Dave
Twitter: https://twitter.com/legant66?lang=ar-x-fm
Online: https://holisticpoliticalchat.com/
Email: HolisticPoliticalchat@gmail.com
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