No Pride

One of the most difficult things about writing for, "No Pride", is the amount of bullying, harassment, and discrimination I have to revisit. First, there's the direct. Second, there's the indirect. Third, there is all the internal aftershock like pings I feel when talking about my experience with being openly gay. I've never been afforded a "safe space". I've lived my entire life in areas largely known to be openly and proudly homophobic. As far as direct effects, I'd have to count all the times I've been called a homophobic slur. All the times I've been told to move or get out of town. All the times I've been threatened with physical violence. All the times I've been made to feel uncomfortable in the workplace, with sexual comments, innuendoes, or jokes made at my expense. I've come to understand, I'll always be the odd man out. It doesn't make things better, though. Being pointed out for being gay ...

Edited 04-16-2018: Grammatically and Readability _________________________________________________________________________________ I am a firm believer in the saying, "If you're not a part of the solution, you're a part of the problem.". "No Pride", will have a wide range of stories but, for the most part, my life as an openly gay man doesn't have nearly as many positive stories to tell in comparison to the negative ones. This is going to be a positive story, and I hope, one day the story I'm focusing on today will come true. It starts with this article. I came up with an idea for a non-profit organization. An organization focused on helping the LGBTQ community participate in sports. No fear of judgment, discrimination, harassment, or bullying. It would require the participation of openly gay professional athletes. The organization would be called, "Come Out And Play". When I was younger, I played several sports. I play...