And I see no bravery

And I see no bravery
No bravery in your eyes
Only sadness…

James Blunt

Once upon a time there was a tavern
Where we used to raise a glass or two
Remember how we passed away the hours
Dreaming of the things that we would do…

As I scan the inner reaches of cyberspace
I come across this news item from Iraq
That some ‘moral enforcers’ entered a neighbourhood
Dragged out a fourteen year old boy and butchered him
Because he was ‘gay’ …
The reality was that he had no other option but to have sex with other men
In return for food or cash
In order to feed his starving fatherless family
This is the fallout of the so-called war against terror
It has reduced a secular nation, no doubt a dictatorship, but a fairly stable, secular one
To utter chaos, anarchy, and it has unleashed the blinkered forces of unreason.

I see the look of defiance in the eyes of many an activist
fighting for the basic rights of those in same-sex relationships.
I read about the protests and processions in Bangalore, in Bengal, and elsewhere
These protests by Hijras, transgender people, kothis, Gay men, lesbians calling for an end to discrimination and that they be granted basic human dignity …
And I sense, not just the bravery of these activists who speak for the silent majority
But the infinite sense of sadness ...

Heterosexuality isn’t any more natural than homosexuality, it’s just more common.