Embrace life – what have you got to lose?

I don’t know why it is so many people fear homosexuals.

They are not a different species, they are human. They are just extremely feared in this part of the world. Why?

Are people going to say homosexuals came to Nunavut because of the music, because of the things shown on TV, or magazines? Because of the “qallunaat?”

People are going to say that homosexuality never existed in the “old days” just so they can avoid talking about it.

How can you know that for sure? Just because you didn’t see Inuit homosexuals back in those days, that does not mean it did not exist. Why is this so feared? Why do Inuit fear homosexuals, especially Inuit homosexuals? They are still Inuit, still human. They are no different than we are.

I am a Christian. I know I am because I was baptized when I was a child in an Anglican church. It is heartbreaking to hear someone talking to their fellow Christians about how they don’t accept certain things.

I am not against the Bible or my own religion. It’s just that sometimes people are out of line when they speak of what they believe in.

Why must we always follow what is printed in the Bible? How do we know for sure that something was missed and never written there? How do we know for sure that there was maybe someone who did not agree with something or someone, and so it was never included in the Bible?

I admit, I do not know the Bible from the first word to the last. I use to go to Sunday school as a child. When it came time for me to attend church in the evenings with many other young people, my feelings changed completely.

Here were these people talking from the Bible and they did it passionately. But I noticed that they would put people and things in a category so as to not confuse people about who they are.

I often heard when they spoke of things they did not agree with, that it was the “devil’s” way. I just knew that what I was hearing at church was not right most of the time.

I believe in embracing life, any kind of life, never to shut out people just because they are different. Especially those who have a different kind of sexuality than most of us Inuit do.

We can’t shut out those who have another way of life, especially if they are Inuit. As small as Nunavut is, the people we know as homosexuals could be your brother, your sister, your mother, father, cousin, friends, teachers… they are simply human.

To be a homosexual in Nunavut is rare indeed, but always remember they are human. They shouldn’t be as different as someone who is a hockey player.

What if people were saying they are against people playing hockey here? Think about it. What if people were saying they don’t agree with people who like playing hockey just because they themselves don’t play hockey?

People who do not agree with homosexuality here are just talking nonsense. Why must you be against your own people? It is just heartbreaking to hear.

Embrace life. What have you got to lose?

Rita Anilniliak
Pangnirtung