Let's Call it a Day!

It was a summer day in June when we halted with family in Luzern, Switzerland. That was circa 2005.

The shoes I wore were new, unbroken, and most uncomfortable. I wanted to go to the Altstadt, a tourist location. The logical husband however, spotted much crowd, music, and action in another direction. Letting the crowds guide us, we followed the throng.

A rock band played loudly, as people danced and swayed. A man, fired up over a giant wok worked tirelessly to produce unending noodles to keep up with endless demand. There were other international delicacies. I could hear more than a dozen different languages spoken while milling through the crowd. The diversity was further amplified in skin tones and racial attributes.

Switzerland, a small country hosting such a mix! I had actually managed to spot an Indian restaurant a couple of days earlier. It was on the top of Jungfraujoch of all the places.

Yet, for some strange reason, on this day amidst this international crowd, I felt extremely excluded.

The revelry went on, and all I had to do was to engage. Yet there I was, feeling isolated, trying to make sense of the situation.

Then, we saw a man stilt-walking with near nothing save a few leaves. Behind him, there were more men with colorful costumes.

The penny dropped finally.

We were in the middle of a large, international level gay parade.

And,

We were the only heterosexual family in the midst of a huge same sex celebration.

So we went with it, but it was difficult..that feeling of sticking out like a sore thumb. We moved away from this active scene to visit other city sights.

There .was. no .place. for. us. that .day.

Everywhere, lovers held hands, chatted, and laughed at each other's sweet nothings. The city itself was a huge same-sex fest. Though we wanted to engage in our travel experiences, we felt left-out. It was almost as if straight people had checked out. So, we decided to go boating in the lake. As we waited for our tickets, the celebratory couples were milling around us.Their joy levels, participation, sense of belonging reached peak levels. No one even said a hello to us four.

Shortly after, we bought tickets and started to steer our speed boat. The lake was large and wide. Here too, crowds of LGBTQ raucously enjoyed the day, greeting one another in the wide lake.

Later, we finished dinner, and went back to the hotel. The room we had was high on the top floor with beautiful dormer windows. I massaged sore feet while looking at streets down below.

The old street lamps evoked memories of eternal romance, of Paris in springtime. Under the pools of light, couples exchanged romantic, never-ending kisses. While it wasn't a girl and a boy, I witnessed this glory from the inside looking out. I was an insider who felt like an outsider.

The next morning, it was almost as if magic had wiped out every memory of the prior day. Everything was routine and "straight." There absolutely were no traces of the previous day's events and people, and cleared away were the stalls, the parade, and music stage. All the celebratory couples had receded into the humdrum as if they had never existed.

I began to breathe, feeling like I had reclaimed a place in this situation of "normalcy."

I had to ask though. Who sets these "norms" in normalcy?

I'll never forget that day when I felt a huge sense of exclusion and isolation. Just that one day!

How must it feel for couples discriminated day in and day out for their sexual preference in a world tailored for heterosexuals?

I write this because the news sometime ago picked up a comment someone issued for having a heterosexual day. While same sex supporters were understandably outraged, their detractors further rubbed salt to raw wounds, accusing them of intolerance.

The discussion of gay bashing in so-called "civilized"countries even today is a grave issue. There are instances in some cultures stoning individuals for a certain orientation to death even to this day. These are not uncommon, but extreme examples.

When we talk civil liberties, it helps to wear a new perspective like a pair of new shoes.

We still are not in a world where movies, books, poems equally celebrate romance. We don't view every loving couple that walks hand in hand with the same degree of smiling indulgence. When norms choose to exclude, we become primed for socially accepted intolerance.

Until a world accepts diversity in the true sense, the majority will never understand what it feels like to be different.

It will be a great day to stop putting people into pigeon holes, a great time to include everyone with a "No Different" Day. What I'd most prefer is calling it a day on reserved days. Everyone is special or no one is special. Have it your way.

Sometimes, one must walk in another's shoes to understand from the pinch.