07-28-2012, 05:31 AM
72jay Wrote:What you are saying makes sense, and I deff do not consider you a coward or anything.
I don't wish to be/not ready to be out, and see nothing wrong with remaining in the closet. (I'm 'out' to myself and myself only...as far as I'm concerned thats what counts really is no-one else's business)
Also where I live it would not be a good idea to be out..infact it would probably end badly if family/neighbors/etc found out...
But I think that's why there is this conundrum. As you say yourself, if you felt it was safe and nothing would come of it, you'd do it, and it would be easy, or as East says, a non issue.
The fact is that it IS an issue, at least where you live, therefore you are kept in the closet not so much by yourself, but by your environment, which, I guess, is why this is sad and a problem for so many.
Of course it's not so bad in the US as in some other parts of the world (like Uganda and Iran, even Russia, for example) but it's still a lot a stress for many. They prefer to keep it quiet just for that reason. To avoid annoyance and / or hate crimes, etc. basically just to make their lives liveable and not plain hell.
More than a question of cowardice, I think it's this great instinct of self preservation and survival.