Probably, the nature of homophobia will never be widely interrogated, while we will continue to be excluded from school curricula, subjected to vicious media distortions, or entirely ignored, denied basic civil rights while our demands are ridiculed and derided. But in the midst of all this only one thing has changed for certain. We have changed. We will never go back into the closet.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the resilience and determination of the LGBTQ+ community despite ongoing discrimination and exclusion.
In this quote, Sarah Schulman highlights the persistent nature of homophobia and the challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ community, such as lack of representation in education and media, as well as denial of civil rights. However, she also emphasizes a crucial shift: the community's own transformation, which signifies that they will no longer hide or be silenced, showing their strength and resolve to stand openly and proudly in the face of adversity.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech at a pride event to inspire courage among LGBTQ+ individuals.
We owe this freedom of choice and action to those men and women in uniform who have served this nation and its interests in time of need. In particular, we are forever indebted to those who have given their lives that we might be free.
The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave.
Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the granddaughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me.
I've participated in many demonstrations since I was a child. When I was at medical college, I was fighting King Farouk, then British colonization, against Nasser, against Sadat who pushed me into prison, Mubarak who pushed me into exile. I never stopped.
Closing down in the midst of pain is a denial of a man's true nature. A superior man is free in feeling and action, even amidst great pain and hurt. If necessary, a man should live with a hurting heart rather than a closed one. He should learn to stay in the wound of pain and act with spontaneous skill and love even from that place.
It never occurred to me that I was not going to challenge segregation.
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