{"id":40548,"date":"2015-12-01T08:00:15","date_gmt":"2015-12-01T16:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/?p=40548"},"modified":"2017-10-24T14:11:52","modified_gmt":"2017-10-24T21:11:52","slug":"better-off-dead-if-hes-gay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redeeminggod.com\/better-off-dead-if-hes-gay\/","title":{"rendered":"He\u2019s better off dead if he\u2019s gay"},"content":{"rendered":"

Below is the fourth letter in the series, \u201cLetters To Dad<\/a>.\u201d They are written by Sam Riviera, and are based on the true stories of people he actually knows in real life.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Dad,<\/p>\n

You probably thought you\u2019d never hear from me again. Well, it\u2019s me. I\u2019m alive. <\/p>\n

But now I\u2019m somewhere where you can never find me or hurt me.<\/p>\n

\"LGBTThere\u2019s a public library near here where I can get on the internet. I check Facebook. Sometimes I see your posts. I read that you found out I\u2019m gay. Did you really say \u201cHe\u2019s better off dead if he\u2019s gay\u201d? What is that supposed to mean? Is that some kind of threat? To your own flesh and blood? You want me dead? Seriously?<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have a choice to be born. I didn\u2019t get to choose who my dad is. I also didn\u2019t get to choose that I\u2019m gay. Regardless of what you think, I didn\u2019t choose any of those things.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t kidnapped. I had been planning my escape for a long time. I had to get away from you. Why? You scare me. Actually, you terrify me. I figured sooner or later you were going to find out I\u2019m gay. I had to get as far away from you as possible before that happened. <\/p>\n

Now that I see what you wrote on Facebook, I\u2019m glad I ran. <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t want you trying to beat demons out of me. That\u2019s what you said. \u201cIf I ever find out any kid of mine is gay, I\u2019ll beat those demons out of them if it kills them.\u201d You said that. <\/p>\n

Seriously? You think I have demons in me? Why are you such an angry person? You need help.<\/p>\n

\"homelessWhere did you learn this stuff, anyway? From those homophobic guys you work with? You know that some of them are gay, don\u2019t you? Seriously, dad. Some of them are gay.<\/em> Don\u2019t you know that? You have gay neighbors and gay relatives and gay coworkers. Which of them are you going to beat the demons out of? That could get you some serious jail time.<\/p>\n

You said the Bible says gay people are abominations and should be stoned. Nice.<\/em> Is that supposed to be Christian love? Where did you learn that? That is sick. And frightening.<\/p>\n

Anyway, not that you care, but I\u2019m surviving. For now. I\u2019ve hooked up with some other kids in similar situations. About half my group is gay. Some got thrown out by their parents when they came out. The rest of us took off before our parents found out so we wouldn\u2019t get the crap beat out of us.<\/p>\n

We live outdoors most of the time. We steal to survive. We panhandle. Some of us sell drugs. Some of us sell sex. Don\u2019t be surprised. Stealing, begging, addiction, dealing drugs, selling sex, and being homeless is our lifestyle … chosen for us by our parents … by dads like you.<\/p>\n

Oh, and add dead to that list. Our lifestyle makes for a short lifespan. Suicide, overdosing, disease, getting stabbed, shot or beaten to death, or dying from exposure on cold nights is our lifestyle.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not really mad at you. I\u2019m seriously afraid of you. Thinking about you hurts. You are my dad for God\u2019s sake. How can you be like that? How could you sentence me to a life like this? You\u2019re the one who made that choice. You chose. I didn\u2019t. You cut me off. You threatened my life. You\u2019re responsible for me being on this earth. You brought me here. Now you want me dead?<\/p>\n

One of my group read online that kids like us have a lifespan of four or five years at most. Maybe I\u2019ll beat those odds. Maybe not. <\/p>\n

Seriously, Shaun<\/p>\n

\"Homeless<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From this letter: I check Facebook. Sometimes I see your posts. I read that you found out I\u2019m gay. Did you really say \u201cHe\u2019s better off dead if he\u2019s gay\u201d? What is that supposed to mean? Is that some kind of threat? To your own flesh and blood? You want me dead? Seriously?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2245],"tags":[1258,1259,2262,1262,1394],"class_list":{"0":"post-40548","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-redeeming-life","8":"tag-gay","9":"tag-homosexual","10":"tag-letters-to-dad","11":"tag-lgbt","12":"tag-sam-riviera","13":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nHe\u2019s better off dead if he\u2019s gay<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In this Letter to Dad by Sam Riviera, we read about a son whose life was threatened by his dad because the son is gay. 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