A Father's Letter To His Gay Son

The letter above was posted by reddit user RegBarc and has now gone viral all over the internet and social networking sites.

I feel sorry for him for the pain his father has caused him because of this letter which was given to him 5 years ago. His father does not deserve the title of being called a dad and there is a special place in one of the nine circles of hell for people like him.

Coming out is the hardest thing a gay man can do and to be disowned by his own family is just unbearable. When will people learn that being gay is not a choice. It's not like we wake up one morning and think, 'Hmm... I'll probably be gay starting today.' Shit doesn't work that way.

As all my readers and friends know, I grew up with a broken family but I still consider myself lucky because even though my parents are not together and have their own separate lives, I was lucky enough to have been born to such loving and understanding parents.

My mother, crazy and sometimes-annoying as she may be, accepted me and was happy when I came out to her. My dad, I know it took him a while but he accepts me for who I am and who I choose to be with.

Not only with family, but also with friends. I feel blessed to be surrounded by people who love me for me. They don't care if I'm gay. The have open minds. They don't see me for my sexual orientation. Also with work, my officemates are great especially my boss.

What more can I ask for?

I count my blessings, not the material ones but the ones that make me realize that there is still a lot of good left in this world.

Support for the LGBT community has grown over the years and I dream that one day, society would not see gays or lesbians as second class citizens. I dream that one day, there would be equality for all, all over the world. 50 years ago, gays were looked down upon by society but now things are different. Hopefully the future holds a better world for all of us. Who knows, 50 years from now, things will be a lot different than they are now.

To 'James', props to you for being strong. You deserve better and you deserve to be happy.

Even though there is still a lot of negativity and hate in this world, there is more love and understanding available to everyone. We all deserve to be happy.

This article by John Kinnear on the Huffington Post is a perfect example that the world, still has a lot of good left in it.

"Our home is a place of safety and love. The world has dealt you a difficult card. While LGBT people are becoming more accepted, it is still a difficult path to walk. You're going to experience hate and anger and misunderstandings about who you are out in the world. That will not happen here. You need to know with every fiber of who you are that when you walk in the front door of your home, you are safe, and you are loved. Your mother is in complete agreement with me on this." - Dear Hypothetically Gay Son by John Kinnear