WHEN Innocence FACED DOWN Protesters Against Gay Rights
By Eric Tito
I remember when I was about 16 years old and my parents and I went to visit my sister at West Chester University. We went because it was parents' weekend and West Chester also was holding an event called “Restaurant Day."
The restaurants in downtown West Chester opened kiosks outside their storefronts where visitors could purchase food from a limited menu. The idea was for people to try a bunch of different food without having to commit to one restaurant.
When we went to West Chester that year, I had Cajun-cooked alligator and it was delicious! I also saw Bam Margera, who stared in the show "Jackass" and the subsequent movies. Going to West Chester was really fun. A ton of people were around.
West Chester University has a population of 12,000 students. When you combine that number with the parents of those students, along with the natives of West Chester, the local restaurants are provided with a great business opportunity to showcase themselves and their food.
Sadly though, people can use events like this to promote their agendas. I am specifically talking about protesters against gay rights, who were protesting on the corners of Main Street, which is the most crowded area on Restaurant Day. While it is true that everyone has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression, it makes me sad to see people abuse an altogether happy and good-willed event for their malicious protests. Still, I managed to see the most beautiful thing happen amidst all the negativity.
My dad and I were standing across the street from the protesters, just hanging around, waiting for my mom and sister to get their food. I knew why these people were protesting gay marriage and gay rights, although I still didn't understand it. To this day, I still don't understand why anyone would protest against love. I know they claim that it’s against the Bible and all that jazz, but the only reason they say that is to hide the real truth, which is that they just don't like gay people.
I looked at my dad and asked, “Why do they find it necessary to protest it? Like, do they really think they're going to change people's minds?”
He responded, “They must, or else I don't think they'd do it. But it doesn't matter. People like that just want to be seen and heard. It doesn't really matter what their signs say.”
That stuck with me to this day because I totally agree with what he said. This philosophical stance of my dad was later solidified by another experience.
Later that day, I saw two women walking down the street, holding the hands of a boy, who I presumed was their child. I started to think that the kid, who must have been no older than 5, probably didn’t even know what "gay" means. He didn’t seem to be upset that he didn’t have a dad, probably because he didn't know that he does not have a dad. He has two moms and to him, that’s what normal is.
In the triangle that was forming, there was my dad and I, the protesters, and the homosexual family who was approaching the protesters. That child represented the innocence in what was sure to be an uncomfortable situation. I was curious to see what would happen when the family and protesters met.
Sure enough, the two mothers walked straight up to the protesters like a couple of proud lionesses protecting their cub. I wish I could have heard their conversation, but I could only see their body movements and assume what was actually happening. The two mothers had their arms crossed over their chests and were sneering at the protesters, almost as if they were showing off how normal and great their son was.
The boy did not cry or make a scene. He didn’t look angry. He was simply standing there, in front of the protesters' line, staring up with a slight smile. You could tell that the women were starting to get angrier, moving their arms with angry gestures. Most of the people in the crowd didn't take notice. They just continued to enjoy their food and time with their families. This made sense because most of the people hadn't seen their families for a couple of months; they just wanted to enjoy every minute they could with them.
When my mom and sister met back up with us, we started to walk in the opposite direction of the family, but I couldn’t help take one last look at them before I walked away. In that second when I turned around, I saw the most beautiful thing. The child’s parents were still shouting in the protesters' faces while he was standing next to them, looking at one person they were shouting at. The protester was looking back at him, too, when the child raised his hand and waved at him like one would wave at a friend.
The protester waved back and then the child held his hand out like a proper gentleman to initiate a handshake, which the protester reciprocated. Through all of the anger and negativity happening on that day, was a beautiful moment of understanding between the child and the protester that gave me insight into the bigger picture.
It was in that moment that I knew my dad was on to something with the comment that he had made earlier. He was right. This protester was just caught up in a belief system that didn’t really mean anything. I saw in that moment that he would change because of this kid's blind ignorance to the hateful protest he was quietly putting an end to. The child allowed me to remember that hate isn't something you are born with. Hate is something that you learn.
Read more from Eric Tito on his personal blog.
I remember when I was about 16 years old and my parents and I went to visit my sister at West Chester University. We went because it was parents' weekend and West Chester also was holding an event called “Restaurant Day."
The restaurants in downtown West Chester opened kiosks outside their storefronts where visitors could purchase food from a limited menu. The idea was for people to try a bunch of different food without having to commit to one restaurant.
When we went to West Chester that year, I had Cajun-cooked alligator and it was delicious! I also saw Bam Margera, who stared in the show "Jackass" and the subsequent movies. Going to West Chester was really fun. A ton of people were around.
West Chester University has a population of 12,000 students. When you combine that number with the parents of those students, along with the natives of West Chester, the local restaurants are provided with a great business opportunity to showcase themselves and their food.
Sadly though, people can use events like this to promote their agendas. I am specifically talking about protesters against gay rights, who were protesting on the corners of Main Street, which is the most crowded area on Restaurant Day. While it is true that everyone has the right to freedom of speech and freedom of expression, it makes me sad to see people abuse an altogether happy and good-willed event for their malicious protests. Still, I managed to see the most beautiful thing happen amidst all the negativity.
My dad and I were standing across the street from the protesters, just hanging around, waiting for my mom and sister to get their food. I knew why these people were protesting gay marriage and gay rights, although I still didn't understand it. To this day, I still don't understand why anyone would protest against love. I know they claim that it’s against the Bible and all that jazz, but the only reason they say that is to hide the real truth, which is that they just don't like gay people.
I looked at my dad and asked, “Why do they find it necessary to protest it? Like, do they really think they're going to change people's minds?”
He responded, “They must, or else I don't think they'd do it. But it doesn't matter. People like that just want to be seen and heard. It doesn't really matter what their signs say.”
That stuck with me to this day because I totally agree with what he said. This philosophical stance of my dad was later solidified by another experience.
Later that day, I saw two women walking down the street, holding the hands of a boy, who I presumed was their child. I started to think that the kid, who must have been no older than 5, probably didn’t even know what "gay" means. He didn’t seem to be upset that he didn’t have a dad, probably because he didn't know that he does not have a dad. He has two moms and to him, that’s what normal is.
In the triangle that was forming, there was my dad and I, the protesters, and the homosexual family who was approaching the protesters. That child represented the innocence in what was sure to be an uncomfortable situation. I was curious to see what would happen when the family and protesters met.
Sure enough, the two mothers walked straight up to the protesters like a couple of proud lionesses protecting their cub. I wish I could have heard their conversation, but I could only see their body movements and assume what was actually happening. The two mothers had their arms crossed over their chests and were sneering at the protesters, almost as if they were showing off how normal and great their son was.
The boy did not cry or make a scene. He didn’t look angry. He was simply standing there, in front of the protesters' line, staring up with a slight smile. You could tell that the women were starting to get angrier, moving their arms with angry gestures. Most of the people in the crowd didn't take notice. They just continued to enjoy their food and time with their families. This made sense because most of the people hadn't seen their families for a couple of months; they just wanted to enjoy every minute they could with them.
When my mom and sister met back up with us, we started to walk in the opposite direction of the family, but I couldn’t help take one last look at them before I walked away. In that second when I turned around, I saw the most beautiful thing. The child’s parents were still shouting in the protesters' faces while he was standing next to them, looking at one person they were shouting at. The protester was looking back at him, too, when the child raised his hand and waved at him like one would wave at a friend.
The protester waved back and then the child held his hand out like a proper gentleman to initiate a handshake, which the protester reciprocated. Through all of the anger and negativity happening on that day, was a beautiful moment of understanding between the child and the protester that gave me insight into the bigger picture.
It was in that moment that I knew my dad was on to something with the comment that he had made earlier. He was right. This protester was just caught up in a belief system that didn’t really mean anything. I saw in that moment that he would change because of this kid's blind ignorance to the hateful protest he was quietly putting an end to. The child allowed me to remember that hate isn't something you are born with. Hate is something that you learn.
Read more from Eric Tito on his personal blog.