To the editor,
I want to begin by situating myself. I was raised in Milverton and spent my formative years as a student in the Perth County public education system. Like some people in the community, I left for further studies in other places, and have, at times, returned to Milverton to live, but today I am situated in Toronto, where I am in ministry within the United Church of Canada.
I write today because I am dismayed by the conversation occurring across Perth County, and particularly in my hometown. A conversation that is predicated on the lack of dignity and respect for people like me – people whose gender identity and sexual orientation are not dominant throughout the county.
Growing up, I experienced homophobia, so much so that for years I tried to hide who I was, and three times tried to take my own life.
As a Christian, it was shocking to read the tropes being presented by candidates for municipally-elected positions that the Gospel message is to be utilized as a weapon against people like me. I have spent a great deal of time in this life studying theological thought and scriptural reasoning; and have concluded, in conjunction with many other scholars, that if we are to live by the truest sense of God’s message, it is to be a presence for those who are most marginalized in our society. We must ensure that we understand that God’s call is always to seek to reduce harm in the lives of those whom the dominated society has neglected, persecuted, and legislated against.
In Milverton, I grew up with a certain level of privilege. My parents and our family were well respected, and yet, I always viewed myself as an “other.” I was not like my parents or grandparents, at least not in a specific physiological sense. I was different. For that I was taunted with words like “f*ggot,” “fruit,” “homo,” and “fairy.” I was beaten up and pushed around. I even had members of my family and the community call me “p*ckerhead,” a name that to this day strikes me to my deepest core. These people, thankfully, were not elected officials.
When it comes to good governance, the one piece I have always, and will always continue to advocate for, is that politicians take the responsibility of care for those who live on the margins of their society seriously. We desperately need elected officials who are willing, now more than ever, to recognize the existence, even if it is very marginal, of us living in your wards who lack the same accessibility as others. I say this because if the Gospel message, that seems to be professed by candidates throughout Perth County, is to be built around the cherry-picking of specific scripture sentences, they lack the very essence of what the entirety of the scriptures calls upon Christians to do and be.
I do not live in Perth County anymore. I left. Sure, I can tell you it was for work or for school, but the reality is that I often felt as though I didn’t truly belong, not fully, as myself. The privilege I had, is not the reality for others. They don’t have the opportunities my family was able to provide for me, and for that, I will be forever grateful to my parents.
I call on each and every person running for elected office who stands in relationship with people of marginalized sexual orientations and gender identities to denounce the type rhetoric that is being professed, because somewhere in your ward is a young person, standing in their parents’ basement with a utility knife to their wrists preparing to leave this world, and we cannot let them feel as though they are alone. Believe me. I’ve been there before.
I thank you for your time,
Jeffrey Dale
Toronto
