Taxi tales
I rode a cab one day and since the traffic was so bad, the taxi driver decided to start a conversation with me. He’s probably bored so I let him ramble on.
I was just half listening.
A few minutes after though I already knew that he’s an OFW just waiting for his papers from his employer somewhere in the Middle East. He’s just driving a cab to burn time while he does so, since he doesn’t want to be labeled “unemployed” by his wife, who is a public school teacher.
The talk went to his kids. Apparently he got three boys, one in college, two in highschool, who follows the local music scene very closely. He told me they’re good boys who watches gigs only on non-school days.
I don’t remember anymore how the conversation turned in to something unpleasant (for me) but he was discussing men and gay men in Middle East. He told me that you can be gay but not wear female clothes on that side of Earth. You can be gay but not let the whole world know. When caught, you’d be fined/imprisoned etc, etc.
That got me more interested. I went out of my robotic “yeah”, “oh really” replying mode, because the condescending tone in his voice was getting in to my nerves.
He rambled on that the same laws should be enforced here in Philippines. That gay people should be banned from acting and dressing gay, because it’s embarrassing to foreigners.
*snorts*
He even said that he’s thankful his kids prefers playing basketball, play Tekken very well and watching metal rock concerts like Spongecola and Imago. *facepalm* Didn’t even get the genre right.
To keep myself calm I was listing in my head the names of gay friends who are BAMF Tekken champions and a couple of gay and fab people who are IN the local music scene, some even running it. I even remember reading an article about that hot international football player who IS gay and proud of it. I was also thinking that such a law would not be permitted in this country, my beloved Philippines - which is a democratic nation.
Knowing that to argue with a person with a low IQ and EQ is a pointless battle, I said nothing. I should pick a verbal fight only with someone who deserves my time and effort, don’t you think so? It was a bit hard biting down my own tongue though. I have male and female gay friends after all.
I wondered why it is so hard for other people to see that gay men or women are humans with the same rights as the rest of the world sometimes. Aren’t we all just humans with different sexual preferences? To me it’s just how I like Earl Grey with milk (it’s called London Fog), and some prefer it with lemon or as it is.
When we got to my destination I just wished him goodluck, and gave him exact change. I usually give at least 20 pesos more when I ride cabs.
But tips are for good people. *shrugs*
Anonymous
