[ttgj]

When I read the artucle "Buddhist & Gay - A Recipe for Middle School Suicide" I felt the strong wish to thank all of those who helped me to survive my time in school emotionally. No matter in which way you are different - as soon as you are excluded by a group who's members overrule any compassion and understanding in order to stay part of the group life can turn into hell.

Now - as I'm more than 24 years old - I can still feel this. Even if a group follows some kind of leftist/liberal ideology and keeps repeating like a mantra "everyone has to be accepted as he is - leave people as they are" - as soon as you don't accept the rituals, opinions and role models of the group you will feel disregard and the frostiness of exclusion. If you don't believe this - try to go out in Ljubljana without drinking beer and refusing any other kind of drug which is polular in this place (maybe because you just don't feel the need for drugs and don't want to have a headache/stomach ache the day after). You will be the one who attacks the lifestyle of those who don't refuse it, even if you don't say anything about this topic and (try to) accept everyone as he is, leaving people as they are.

All the very best
Alexander

[Michael John Smith]

I am very happy to read this Alexander, as you are thanking those people who helped you survive school.
I would like to say that I recently became a vegetarian and I expected all kinds of trouble regarding this from my wife taking it into consideration when cooking to the people I associate with - none of them vegetarians. But I have been pleasantly surprised at the way people have gone out of their way to specially cook or prepare food for me. I also gave up drinking alcohol nearly two years ago and am happy to report I was never made to feel bad about this either. So I too would like to thank those people I know who support me in my struggle to be a better person, a person more true to myself. Be the change you want to see Alexander and please count me as one of your supporters.

[LamaShenphen]

ttgj, on 02 October 2010 - 02:12 PM, said:

try to go out in Ljubljana without drinking beer and refusing any other kind of drug which is polular in this place

Alexander, I understand what you say but it also all depends with whom you are going out, and where. Accordingly, people will have some type of expectations or other ones.
I don’t drink beer (I actually don’t like the taste of it , and don’t do any drug, and no one with whom I would go out, and in the places I might go, ever reproached it to me
The point is: you can also choose your friends and where to spend your time…