Need some support - out here alone

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Hey everybody - kind of need a little support.

My family and I have committed to making a very public stance in support of equal rights for the LGBT community in our state (Mississippi). We are part of a campaign called "All God's Children" that the Human Rights Campaign is running. And while supporting LGBT rights in other parts of the US/world may not be as big of a deal - we are probably looking at losing a majority of our friends as well as being asked to leave our church - and quite possibly encountering a great deal of turmoil in our workplace.

We knew that. We were okay with that. We wanted to do what we felt was right, ensuring that we took a stand for the rights of others - even though culture deems them too different to be treated as equals.

But as the campaign launched this week, we are already feeling very lonely - very isolated, and avoided. And our TV spot won't even run until December 1.

So if you don't mind - could you just send a little encouragement our way? Just something that I might be able to come back to on dark days and know that we aren't as alone as it seems?

Freddie, I think you are doing the right thing and yes, it will be difficult/ possibly life changing. However, I believe in you and think that you are courageous for taking a stance for the LGBT community.

Thank you for that. We are already being called to the carpet at our place of work over our role in the campaign. Life is pretty dark right now.

I think what you are doing is admirable and you have my greatest respect for it.
No matter how alone you feel, you are not alone. There will be many silently supporting you. Hold onto the courage of your convictions and take a long distance hug from me.

That is a bit confusing.....I thought that all workplaces forbad any prejudicial behavior on the basis of religion, race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual preference.....if there is any campaigning at the workplace for ANY political, it is usually forbidden, and clearly stated when someone is hired.

Could the scolding be for campaigning at the workplace, and not for the cause itself?

Right now there are a number of US states that do not have workplace discrimination policies in place based on sexual orientation. My home state is one of them.

But none of our involvement was at our place of work. In fact, at this point the only thing that has come out is that our names were mentioned in a print article stating that we were part of the campaign. Our employer was never mentioned in the article, or in the video that was shot. We never even mentioned what town we live in.

I actually called the president weeks before we shot the video, to let him know we were taking part in it. And I was told that everyone was entitled to their own opinion. But I don't think they understood how public the campaign would be.

We are trying to figure out what to do right now. We, naively, assumed that backlash over our involvement would be contained to our social sphere.

This is a wonderful thing you and your family are doing. Don't forget that.

Just an update - after meeting with some higher ups, and talking through how our involvement could affect our employer financially (since we live in a very conservative area and rely on an older donor base for financial support) - I told them that my wife and I would consider resigning in an effort to still allow us to participate in the campaign, but also distance ourselves from our work, in an attempt to protect them. We did this because we really love what we do, and believe in our employer's impact on the community - and the last thing we would want to do would be hurt them.

Ultimately, we were able to work out a compromise, that would make everyone happy by altering the media plan with the HRC to help minimize any potential damage to our employer. We were really pleased with this - and truly appreciated the fact that our employer would risk a great deal to allow us to do what we knew was right.

Thank you all for your words of encouragement.

Keep it up! Thankfully I live in one of the few states where we can't be discriminated in the workplace, but I wish it was like this everywhere.

Best of luck to you and your wife!

As for the Christian fundamentalist - I have always wanted to ask them "What is Gods plan for the transgender and hermaphrodites? If everyone has a purpose in His eyes then whats really the story behind them? Why do they exist if God didn't want them to.

Companionship is necessary for all social creatures. Even the Catholic Church is beginning to realize that.

I believe what your doing is right, Good on you.

God Bless

*P.S I hope i didn't miss the point of this discussion*

Thank you, freddie_mercury, for doing the right thing for all of us. Many of us take equality for granted but I realize it starts with the efforts of people like you. You have my greatest admiration. Please keep posting to keep us up to date.

They just launched our video! I also posted it as a new topic in the Random Discussion thread...hope I don't get hit for posting it twice!