A Different Angle: a random collection of essays and observations, mostly about lesbian/gay/bi issues. © Todd VerBeek, Radio Zero(tm)

Forget "Just Say No"... "Just Do It" by Todd VerBeek

"Why do you do it?" They don't actually ask it. But the question is still there, in the vaguely puzzled expressions on their faces, when I comment about what I've been up to lately. "Why do you spend so much of your time working on this committee, that group, or such-and-such project?"

I get that unasked question from my straight friends and my family, who know a little about the Pride Celebration, Windfire, or Network News, but don't really understand what this "lesbian/gay community" stuff is. I get the same question from members of that community, who don't always see what the big deal is about one undertaking or another.

I have to admit that it's a good question. Why on earth would anyone risk a reprimand (or worse) by writing articles for a gay newsletter while they're supposed to be fixing computers at work? Why would someone tell their boyfriend living in another city that they can't get together because of a committee meeting? What would compel a person to spend time and money corresponding with a religious fundamentalist, trying to explain homosexuality to her?

The answer is simple: I can't help it. Nancy Reagan tells us to "just say no" to drugs, and I think she'd probably say that same thing about working for the lesbian and gay community. That's because community involvement is better than any mood-altering drug. I got into it harmlessly enough, just going to group meetings and such. But when I took the next step, of actively doing some little thing that needed to be done, I got hooked.

There is nothing that compares to the "buzz" of seeing a big feature article about Windfire on the front page of the Flair section of The Grand Rapids Press last April, knowing that I had helped make it possible. Well, almost nothing... a quiet word of "thanks" for some little thing I've done is even better.

That's not to say that I don't get tired of it all or burned out sometimes. That happens from time to time to anyone doing something exciting or ground-breaking. And I'll admit that it can be pretty darn hard to keep at it sometimes.

But it's worth it. Because when I stand in front of the mirror on a particularly bad day, I can look myself in the eye and say with confidence, "You matter."

And if that's not enough reason to "just do it"... I don't know what is.

Comments?

To the Different Angle main menu