OK – I admit that I have a friend who is a ‘known homosexual’. Yes, I admit, I talk to him when I see him, Yes, even in public. He looks like a regular person so people who see us talking probably don’t know – so that makes it OK to speak to him in public. What do you think? Am I way off track or are you sympathetic to my position? What did you feel when reading these opening lines? Were you angry with me for my prejudice or did you feel my pain? What does your sense say about you?

My friend Raymond struggles with life issues. He grew up in a horrific abusive home. His father was so violently abusive that Raymond’s mother installed a dead bolt lock on a closet door – it locked from the inside – so Raymond had a safe place to go when his father came home. And by chance Raymond is a sixty year old homosexual who grew up in a time of nasty prejudice. I can add that Raymond is a self-described alcoholic who has been in and out of treatment centers and AA for years. He struggles to stay sober.

About 30 years ago Raymond was working as a night attendant at a Convenience Store. He had access to the safe. One night Raymond impulsively took $3,500 from the safe. He does not remember if he had been drinking or not. The next morning he realized what he had done and took the money back to the store. The owner and the police were there and Raymond was arrested. The owner pressed charges. Raymond confessed.

The judge accepted the confession and set a date for sentencing. At the sentencing hearing Raymond was remorseful and had made every effort to atone for his crime. The judge seemed sympathetic and listened to Raymond’s sad confession. But the prosecutor, zealous for a reputation of forceful justice, intervened. The Prosecutor said, “Judge, I must remind you that Raymond is a known homosexual”.

The judge was taken aback, visibly moved, and turned with contempt to Raymond, “You are convicted of a heinous crime and I sentence you to five years in prison with a minimum of two years before being eligible for parole”.

Raymond served two years in prison.

The people I associate with today are aghast at the notion that being a ‘known homosexual’ had anything to do with the criminal case against Raymond. But the point of the story is to note that these prejudices are powerful and permeate our society today. There is a local Pastor of a Christian Church that was kicked off the Library Board because his is openly gay. That Pastor is running for School Board in St. Joseph, Missouri, and there is an open and active campaign against him simply because he is gay. These prejudices have been affirmed and given strength by the MAGA movement in America. It is as if we have stepped back in time to the Salem Witch hunts, to The Inquisition, to times of horrific ignorance and mystical thinking.

It is time to protest. Time to take our country back.