Homophobia on the Train
When I was still a high school student, many of my friends thought of themselves as pretty tough guys – and with this self-perception came a very precise idea of what could be considered manly, of how a “real man” was supposed to behave: they liked the taste of beer, crude jokes and conservative politics. And then of course there was their very explicit hatred of gay men – or “fags” as they liked to call them.
One day I was on a train with two of these friends (here I will call them John and Eddy). They were both quite drunk and I can no longer recall what most of our conversation was about that night. What I do remember after all those years, however, is a very particular comment that Eddy made. I am not sure how we got there, but I can still see his drunken eyes full of contempt when he said: “You know what we should do? We should dig a deep hole somewhere, shoot all those disgusting fags and just put them in there to rot.”
A tense silence followed as the train fitfully raced through the summer night. Even John, who would usually say pretty bad things about “those fags”, was stunned by what he had just heard. Soon the conversation went into another direction again, but I can still remember those words very well. They continue to remind me that many people in this world still have to live their lives in fear – even today – that somebody like drunken Eddy might actually dig such a hole for them.
Markus
GSAPS
A poem written by Markus:
The Rainbow Children
Beautiful,
The rainbow children.
How they play
In sand, grass, clouds.
How they love and lust
In all their different ways.
To make one rule for all —
Now, wouldn’t that be silly?
Their splendour shining louder
Than all those ancient lies.
