Daniel Pierce, a 19 Year old from Kennesaw, Georgia, USA, was disowned by his parents for being gay [1]. He initially told his family that he was gay in October 2013, but months later, on August 26, 2014, he came home from work to a delayed 'pray the gay away' [2] intervention that didn't go well.
WARNING: This YouTube video [3] contains graphic language and scenes of a violent nature. Viewer discretion is advised.
Here are my notes:
- Love Transcends Science and Religion:
- Science isn't the answer and religion isn't the answer.
- Connection is the answer. We have to connect with each other in mutual bestowal where we all seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
- Selfishness:
- Today, we're all immersed in selfishness, seeking to benefit ourselves with no regard for others.
- A statement such as "I will not let people believe that I condone what you do" is about seeking to benefit oneself instead of others.
- Parents Should Be Role Models:
- Parents have a big influence on their children and children pick up things that their parents say and do. Children learn from their parents' behaviour.
- Parents who disown their children - are they teaching their children that it's okay for parents to disown their children? Around the world, parents disown their children for many reasons - for being homosexual, for dishonoring the family, for marrying for love, for becoming Christians etc.
- Daniel's family is Christian. Would they be upset if they found out that another family had disowned their child for becoming a Christian?
- Daniel isn't perfect, no one is. Our social environment has a big influence on us. Has Daniel picked up his defensive behaviour from his family?
- Are Daniel's parents afraid that people might blame them? That people may think it's their fault?
We have to change from personal selfishness to mutual bestowal. We have to rise above our egos, stop harming others, then seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Remember, there is none else besides Him. Nothing bad has ever happened to us or to anybody else. We're surrounded by love, we just have to realize it. This may seem hard to believe given the graphic nature of this video. However, it's simply a matter of perception.
This doesn't mean that people have free license to do whatever they want. Not at all. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Forget about everything else and just love. Love is when you seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
Remember, there is none else besides Him. Nothing bad has ever happened to us or to anybody else. We're surrounded by love, we just have to realize it. This may seem hard to believe given the graphic nature of this video. However, it's simply a matter of perception.
This doesn't mean that people have free license to do whatever they want. Not at all. In everything we do, we should seek to benefit others instead of ourselves.
Forget about everything else and just love. Love is when you seek to benefit others instead of yourself.
_________
References:
- #BBCtrending: Disowned on video, gay teen speaks out. www.bbc.com. Retrieved Sept 7, 2014.
- Conversion therapy. www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved Sept 8, 2014.
- How not to react when your child tells you that he's gay. www.youtube.com. Retrieved Sept 7, 2014.
Copyright © 2014, Carter Kagume. All Rights Reserved.
