"You! You an orgy-er! You going to hell because you an orgy-er!"
If you're a follower of this blog, you know I purposely keep things upbeat & funny. I write about television. I write about poop. I write about the people I've observed in my neighborhood - shopping, snooping, taking children to the liquor store at ten in the morning. I've written about the apocolypse twice, about nuns too old to play the organ, and about looking like William Shatner as I grow older. I've compared Uncle Phil to Shain Gandee from Buckwild, and I wrote three posts while attending IML. Fun stuff, I hope. And with no soapbox rants.
That being said, I need to vent - a little.
The town that I live in is very homophobic, and my experiences with neighbors, police, and now even my local grocery store have made me regret the fact that I presently live in Aurora, Illinois. And that's really a shame. I've been here since 2006. And until recently, I've genuinely loved my neighborhood.
If you're a follower of this blog, you know I purposely keep things upbeat & funny. I write about television. I write about poop. I write about the people I've observed in my neighborhood - shopping, snooping, taking children to the liquor store at ten in the morning. I've written about the apocolypse twice, about nuns too old to play the organ, and about looking like William Shatner as I grow older. I've compared Uncle Phil to Shain Gandee from Buckwild, and I wrote three posts while attending IML. Fun stuff, I hope. And with no soapbox rants.
That being said, I need to vent - a little.
The town that I live in is very homophobic, and my experiences with neighbors, police, and now even my local grocery store have made me regret the fact that I presently live in Aurora, Illinois. And that's really a shame. I've been here since 2006. And until recently, I've genuinely loved my neighborhood.
Historic downtown Aurora. Next to Chicago itself, Aurora is the largest city in the area. Aurora is a massive suburb - with a charming downtown, stunning historic districts, and a rich history that's as fascinating as Chicago's. Our motto "City of Lights" was created because we were of the first townships in the area to embrace electricity.
Aurora has both old parts and new, working-class neighborhoods and upscale streets near Naperville, Batavia, and Oswego. Our demographics lean heavily towards Hispanics, with whites a close second, followed by other ethnicities. We're an American melting pot, but with an extra dash of chili powder.
Aurora has both old parts and new, working-class neighborhoods and upscale streets near Naperville, Batavia, and Oswego. Our demographics lean heavily towards Hispanics, with whites a close second, followed by other ethnicities. We're an American melting pot, but with an extra dash of chili powder.
The riverboat casino's landscaped walkways. But despite our size - and huge gay population - Aurora is far from gay-friendly. The few businessmen who have opened gay bars/restaurants over the last 20 years have closed quickly because of neighborhood backlash - as well as an unaccommodating city council.
Aurora has no gay-friendly churches, no openly-gay businesses, and definitely no gay social clubs. And it's not because such organizations haven't tried; they've opened - but we're soon forced to close. Aurora - like Putin - has made it clear that gays are not welcome.
Aurora has no gay-friendly churches, no openly-gay businesses, and definitely no gay social clubs. And it's not because such organizations haven't tried; they've opened - but we're soon forced to close. Aurora - like Putin - has made it clear that gays are not welcome.
"You! You an orgy-er!," the woman shrieked in the supermarket. "You going to hell because you an orgy-er!" The woman was dark-skinned - not black, but not quite Latin American either - and she stood behind my roommate in line at Cermak, our local, upscale Hispanic grocery store. The woman had pegged him as gay, and she was far from happy. "You orgy-er, you're going to hell!"
Cermak grocery stores. My roommate - Jack - was completely stunned. He was just standing in line alone, buying a handful of groceries, when the woman went ballistic, and yelled as though he'd just stolen her purse. Jack took a step back, then looked to the cashier in bewilderment. His eyes said "WTF?" - as he doesn't look in the least bit gay, and certainly hadn't done nothing to antagonize. But the woman's gaydar was on and Jack was in the crossfire. As she shouted bad-ju-ju-curses, the unapologetic cashier told Jack, "She's from Zimbabwe...and she tends to speak her mind." Jack couldn't help but laugh.
When Jack posted this story on FaceBook later, I was stunned and disgusted - especially with Cermck management. Everyone was watching, but no employee intervened. If one customer verbally attacked another customer at my place of employment, every single coworker would come to that customer's defense. But the Cermak cashiers, stockboys, and managers all took the sideline - despite the African woman's pattern of assaulting customers. And I can't help but think this happened because the Cermak managers agreed with the shouting woman: We don't like gay people either. That's definitely what their actions said.
When Jack posted this story on FaceBook later, I was stunned and disgusted - especially with Cermck management. Everyone was watching, but no employee intervened. If one customer verbally attacked another customer at my place of employment, every single coworker would come to that customer's defense. But the Cermak cashiers, stockboys, and managers all took the sideline - despite the African woman's pattern of assaulting customers. And I can't help but think this happened because the Cermak managers agreed with the shouting woman: We don't like gay people either. That's definitely what their actions said.
Until fairly recently, I've sided with Aurora's Hispanic community. I figure that I'm the minority on their turf, and as a smoker would never light up in a nonsmoker's living room, I (as a gay man) wasn't going to make waves in a town that embraces family values. I've kept to myself, kept my house in tip-top shape, and I've kept visiting friends to a minimum. But even though I enjoy my home/privacy, there's something to be said about sharing a neighborhood with likeminded people. I might not want to gossip with sidewalk passerby, but I also don't want to see mothers hastening their children, pointing at me and speaking in bitter Spanish. It's frustrating. And it's because machismo doesn't tolerate gay.
To fully understand the size of Aurora's LGBT community, just take a ride on the Metra on the day of Chicago's Gay Pride parade. More specifically, try to ride the Metra; the last time I did (in 2010), the last six stops were cancelled because the cars were standing room only. It was wall-to-wall gay people, and Aurora's passengers alone filled almost eight cars. And that was just one of the trains bound for Pride, not counting those who drove.
On that particular Gay Pride Sunday, there were thousands of gay Aurorians...many young, many my age, and all of whom were enjoying the one day of the year when The City of Lights couldn't hide its LGBT community. It was both exhilarating and sad - like watching unjustly incarcerated being freed from prison, and walking out of the courthouse without being hassled by angry reporters. I remember looking around and thinking, "Where the hell did all you people come from?" And on the ride to Chicago, I learned they were my neighbors - many from blocks near my home. There were just so many of us, and it's shameful that Aurora has yet to embrace that fact.
I wonder what the Zimbabwean lady from Cermak would say if she had been on the train next to me.
I definitely know what we would have said back.
On that particular Gay Pride Sunday, there were thousands of gay Aurorians...many young, many my age, and all of whom were enjoying the one day of the year when The City of Lights couldn't hide its LGBT community. It was both exhilarating and sad - like watching unjustly incarcerated being freed from prison, and walking out of the courthouse without being hassled by angry reporters. I remember looking around and thinking, "Where the hell did all you people come from?" And on the ride to Chicago, I learned they were my neighbors - many from blocks near my home. There were just so many of us, and it's shameful that Aurora has yet to embrace that fact.
I wonder what the Zimbabwean lady from Cermak would say if she had been on the train next to me.
I definitely know what we would have said back.