Anger is not an emotion I am overly comfortable with.
I don’t like it in other people and I certainly don’t like it when I’m angry.
Who does, you ask? Well some people must, because they seem to go out of their way to be angry, rude and disrespectful of other people’s feelings.
Recently you might have seen a video on social media taken by a man at Tamborine Mountain Library.
The police had been called to the library because the man was making a video regarding a book in the young adult’s section and was asked to leave. He refused and police were called.
Now, this man was pretty angry about the contents of this book, What’s the T by Juno Dawson. The book is aimed at 14-18 year olds and that is where it sat in the library – in the Young Adult section.
The book offers uncensored advice on coming out, sex and relationships and is aimed at helping young LGBTIQ people to navigate the often difficult world around them as they come to terms with their gender and sexuality.
What made me angry was his obvious hatred towards the LGBTIQ community – and the comments of many of the people who shared the video.
Young people in the LGBTIQ community have some of the highest rates of self harm and suicide in our community and this kind of thing doesn’t help.
Imagine being in a household where you are afraid of being yourself, where you can’t find information to help you and where you don’t feel accepted. If you found a book in the library that might help you to navigate this, wouldn’t that be useful?
Gender and sexuality are not a choice – being angry and discriminating against people certainly is. It’s 2023, not the 1800s.
