#intollerence

Their names are Nick and Cameron. Nick and Cameron have been in love for years, ever since I've known them. They've been together their whole lives, and became romantically involved several years ago. They bought a house together and moved in sometime last December.

In the first month, one of their new neighbors discovered something he or she didn't like and spread the word. Apparently, no one else liked it, either. Before the second month was up, they had received numerous death threats, been harassed on the street, even told they would be raped and murdered. They couldn't go out without being afraid for their well-being. No one in the town supported them or their lifestyle, which would have been fine, except that no one was even remotely kind to them because of that. The people, who I'm sure are normally friendly and nice, have victimized these two amazing people for the way they choose to live. They've defaced my friends' property. They've broken windows. They've left extremely unkind letters in the mailbox. They have threatened to burn the building down, and to murder these two innocent people. Someone said they would burn in hell after they burned with their house. Churchgoers knocked on their door and attempted to convince them that their loving each other was sinful. They lived in fear of their own safety for nearly 4 months. They were driven out of their new home three weeks ago.

Nick and Cameron are brothers, who have loved one another their entire lives. They came out almost a year ago and were kicked out of their family home, so they rented an apartment together under two different last names. They managed to live that way until they found a small house in the city where they decided to move. The place seemed friendly; it had a decent homosexual population, so it appeared accepting enough. They bought their house under their real last name, but acted as though they were normal siblings. Then someone got a little to curious and found out about their relationship. They were harassed to the point that they were forced to leave. They've since returned to their crappy old apartment, where they've had to continue hiding their relationship.

It sickens me that people are so unwilling to accept the fact that these two individuals love each other. If a couple doesn't fit 'normal' conventions, they are attacked and threatened and frightened to death of what might be done to them. These poor boys have done nothing to deserve the treatment they've gotten. Sure, they're brothers and they're fucking. You're free to think that's gross or disgusting or wrong, but it's no one's business but theirs. It's fine to disapprove or to ignore. It's when you start forcing people by threats and actions to either change their ways or get out, that there's a real problem. Anyone who looks at Nick and Cameron together can see, plain as day, that they love each other more than anything else, and to take them away from one another would crush them. It would be wrong for either of them to be with anyone else. Sure, there are lots of different kinds of love, but platonic love is one thing and romantic love is another. They're not that hard to tell apart. Besides, these two were made for each other, no matter which kind of love they choose to live. I don't understand why people can't accept that, or why they can't at least leave them alone.

Here's something you all need to understand: Sometimes, soul mates are born oceans apart, years apart, with no way of ever really reaching one another. Sometimes, they're born in the same country, same city, same neighborhood. Other times, they're born into the same house.