Gay Like Me Quotes

“Pride isn’t just for a parade one day a year. It is not a miniature rainbow flag or rubber bracelet with a corporate logo on it given freely on that day, like beads tossed during Mardi Gras. Pride is foremost our gay self-esteem, but it is also our bond with everyone in the LGBTQ community, everywhere. Pride is our unique way of letting everyone know that we are here, that we belong in this world. If we can say we are gay, we must not do so just to make our own lives better, easier, more transparent, and authentic. We do so to clear a path for those who can’t come out—for all the people who live in places where their freedom is not a given or who don’t feel safe in their own families—to make inroads in the straight world for them. Each time we come out, we send up a flare of hope and direction, showing the way.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“Being gay is a gift. It's the world revealing itself in all its glorious otherness, saying go it your own way, make it yours. The revelations are endless. There are no expectations of what you need to be or to do. It is the blankest of canvases. It's freedom. It's the gift of possibility.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“You are out, but you are not done coming out. Coming out never ends. It’s every day, numerous times a day, and each presents a critical decision, often needed to be made in a split second, as to your safety, and to the consequences, the price, and the gain of that decision.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“The manageable disease I have been dealing with all these years is grief. It’s cunning, insidious, and not curable; it never goes away. It flares up at unexpected moments brought on by a long-forgotten scent, the unexpected street you find yourself walking, a taste you vaguely remember.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“After years and years of being on the outside—being told we are less than a full citizen—being sanctioned by the State was healing.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“There would be no Marriage Equality had AIDS not happened.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“Being gay is not a lifestyle; it’s life. My gayness is the most important, best part of me. It is the blessing of my life, and I want that for you. But it takes daily managing, because it can be as much of a challenge as it is a joy.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“The advice I have always given to you is to be ambitious in your personal life. There are going to be plenty of people in your life who push you to work hours longer than the normal workday, expecting you to overextend yourself, and situations that pressure you to concentrate on your career. Some of that pressure may likely be self-imposed, as you focus on your pursuits and goals. But only you can prioritize your heart, and ensure that you work to nurture it. Your well-cared-for heart will be evident to all, opening you to those who will add promise and purpose to your life. The noblest ambition is to love someone.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“Don’t just love someone your way; love them the way they need to be loved.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“My gayness touches every part of myself and each aspect of my life. It’s how I define myself. I organize my life around it, and it informs who I am, how I act, how I react, how I think, how I feel, how I love, how I care. It’s my outlook, my station.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“Each place where you look and fail to find yourself reinforces the fact that you don’t exist, that you aren’t worthy, that you don’t belong. To partake in only mainstream entertainment is crippling and damaging. Love songs that don’t comfort but isolate; jokes that suppress and stereotype; franchise films that expunge you.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son

“So marriage isn’t a small thing. It’s not a pretty, shiny trinket to trot out for special occasions. Its weight, its significance, is both personal and political. It’s heart and history. It’s intimate and communal.”
― Richie Jackson, Gay Like Me: A Father Writes to His Son