7.11.17 QAL Kansas City Reviews
Jul 11, 2017 20:24:24 GMT -5
Post by lorraine on Jul 11, 2017 20:24:24 GMT -5
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Jul 11, 2017 16:11:11 GMT -5 @pattihum said:
I hate the Kyle Harris review. Pretty much every presumption he makes about Adam pisses me off. He knows nothing about his struggles! Assumes things have been easy for Adam! Grrrr! I live here in San Diego,about 15 minutes from where Adam grew up in Rancho Penasquitos, and I have several friends who have children who grew up with, and went to school with Adam. As a transplanted New Yorker, I first moved to LA, and have lived in San Diego for the past 30+ years. My own two children went to HS here and I can tell you that this area is a very conservative one and it has been a challenging place for my husband and me to live. Of course there are many loving, kind, caring and open-minded people here, and we are able to enjoy a fulfilling life in one of the most beautiful areas in the world, surrounded by the seaside communities that beckon me every day.
However, I must say I have encountered deeply rooted bigotry, unlike what I had experienced before, especially when my children came home from HS and wanted to talk to me about some of the ugly and degrading remarks directed towards classmates that were deemed gay. They, especially my son, wanted to know if I thought homosexual people were going to hell. Of course I reiterated my fundamental belief that all people are equal and deserving of love in the eyes of our Creator and that those words he heard at school would never be uttered in our home. The other prejudicial remarks about different religions, etc, were also quite painful to hear,especially since my husband is Jewish and my children were told they too, were going to hell. The hatred just continues to divide, alienate and isolate. But I'm glad my children could come to me and talk to their dad and me about these things that they heard, not only from classmates, but also adults. Now, to relate this to Adam....
I don't presume to know ANYTHING ,personally, about his growing up years here, and have never met Adam's mom and dad. But I DO know the community he lived in, and the political and social environment is one that would have been difficult for any young child to navigate issues of sexuality in his or her middle school and high school years. Haven't you ever wondered as have I, why Adam ,living in such a liberal family as he has often acknowledged, STILL did not feel free to come out to them until he was 18 years old? For a teenager, that sense of loneliness,is a LIFETIME of struggles, and one that leads, even in this time of enlightenment, as Harris alludes to, to tragic ends for far too many. These experiences leave scars, and I don't believe for one moment that Adam's beautiful smile and sense of JOY that radiates from him on that stage every night,means that he is carefree and without pain. I can't imagine going to school every day, feeling different, ashamed and confused---it breaks my heart just thinking of any child going through this just because of who they are.
Those of us who have followed Adam since his AI days in 2009, have seen Adam's struggles continue, and marvel how he deals with endless questions, remarks etc with grace and dignity. He has been blessed, not only with an incredible voice, but also a personality that endears him to so many ,often in spite of themselves. No, he's not flawless, and he certainly hasn't had an easy path to navigate, contrary to what some people might think. Just had to get this off my mind today.....
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