So, I started this article to articulate to my more “trumpian” lodge brothers that their understanding might be incomplete about a few things.
I toyed with tackling a “hot topic” issue like trans rights or abortion. But I wanted to make it more approachable for both myself and my target audience.
When I started playing tennis in the TLGTA, Toronto Lesbian and Gay Tennis Association I didn’t really know what to expect, nice people, probably but what I found was transformative to me. In the “community” I was able to put down survival tools that I’ve been carrying around for a lifetime. For instance, imagine a place where you don’t have to “put on a stiff upper lip”, stifle your emotions because you didn’t want to appear weak or worry about, well, anything. And to be honest, it’s bliss! The funny thing is that the transformation was so subtle that I might have missed it if I had not had a strange conversation with a senior brother that didn’t seem to see the entire picture in my opinion. Because the man I knew wouldn’t disregard someone else’s pain to save himself. So it is now my mission to do just that. Not by arguing but by presenting the facts and hopefully we all can have some meaningful discussions in the future.
I cherish the time I spend in the presence of the LGBTQ+ community (sorry if I missed anyone) because I didn’t know how many unconscious traits I was carrying around.
Thank you LGBTQ+ community for showing how to be a better Mason, husband, father and son.
