I must admit, I was a bigot once. Or more like, the majority of my life. Maybe not as bad and brutal as some of those you can see online, but still, I'm not proud of it. Sometimes, I'd throw racist remarks on people. Not directly at people, but something like when hanging around with friends or family, because racist jokes and insults are considered "normal" somehow. Moreover, I was also not too fond of LGBTQA+ people. Just like what the elders taught me, they're not normal, they're sick and need to be cured. I always believed that. I also looked down on women sometimes. I have even said something uncalled for in front of my teacher in college, and I fully regret it to this day. I was a horrible, horrible person.
But everything changed after I joined GAF back in 2012 or so. Say what you want about the owner and some of the staff over there, the community was fantastic, full of compassion and very welcoming of everyone from every background and situation. There, I learned a lot for the first time. Mostly, racism and bigotry are not okay. They're people too, just like me. How would I feel if someone throw insults at me like I did to them? The time I spent there completely changed my worldview. And then the exodus happened, but fortunately the community and culture mostly stays the same in this new place. There's no place for racism and bigotry. I'm glad I found this (and the previous) place, or else I might have hurt people around me. Even today, I'm still learning new things from here, and I will continue to do so to become a better person. For me, and the people around me.
I wish all the best for this place and everyone who's working hard on maintaining it.
But everything changed after I joined GAF back in 2012 or so. Say what you want about the owner and some of the staff over there, the community was fantastic, full of compassion and very welcoming of everyone from every background and situation. There, I learned a lot for the first time. Mostly, racism and bigotry are not okay. They're people too, just like me. How would I feel if someone throw insults at me like I did to them? The time I spent there completely changed my worldview. And then the exodus happened, but fortunately the community and culture mostly stays the same in this new place. There's no place for racism and bigotry. I'm glad I found this (and the previous) place, or else I might have hurt people around me. Even today, I'm still learning new things from here, and I will continue to do so to become a better person. For me, and the people around me.
I wish all the best for this place and everyone who's working hard on maintaining it.