We are so alike, yet so different. Unlike you, Bez, when I left my family I did not find friends in the LGBTQ+ family. What I found was resentment, anger, that I could, did, pass for straight. It was not a "priveledge" that I wanted, yet it was one that I had and that had been my survival strategy for a cool decade before I finally worked up enough nerve to "come out." When I "came out" ... when I came out, no one seemed interested in what had kept me "in". When I came out, no one thanked me or hit on me or even so much as spoke to me. I was on my own, with neither "Church" nor "State" to console me. Let's be clear about something. Being judgemental and holier than thou is not the special providence of religious Christians. And LGBTQ+ is a relatively recent reframing of what we used to call simply homosexuality. At the end of the day, what you have are people who are all not perfect and lez b honest not understanding of themselves and their purpose in the world, let alone others'. And being honest about who you are is rarely rewarded, nor is it its own reward. It is simply the only option you have if you want to take a shot at being rewarded. And your shot is just that, happiness is not guaranteed. Whoever said finding bliss was the reward of the faithful was lying through their teeth. The truth is painful. The truth is hard. The truth is very much discouraging. Yet we go on. We persist in existing, led on by a longing, a "need" to make sense of it all. To make a game of it. To make it something you could possibly win. Thank you for giving me the space to clarify myself, Bez. I really needed a space where my voice could potentially reach others.