[Matt Algren]

Originally Posted by Daniel

I happened on this story from Towleroad.

Ok. I bookmarked your blog. But let me ask you: why have you called it Asterick? The name makes me think of something inconsequential, at the bottom the page- not that important because it's not in the main body of the text- interesting but not essential.

Is this the message you wish to convey? Or am I missing something? Am I just plain out of it?

You blog is a heck of lot more than inconsequential.

You were on the right track, but you veered off. Here's how I put it on the blog, and I'm still not sure it's as clear as it could be.

All my life, I’d placed an Asterisk next to my name. Nobody else saw my Asterisk, but I did. It was a constant reminder that both of the most important parts of me were mutually exclusive. That my difference made me a bad person.

I was a Christian*, but how can a Christian be *gay? When I was around out gay people I played it as straight* as I could, but I was sure they knew, and I can’t help but think that some of them resented *it.

Nowadays, I don’t worry about my Asterisk. As far as I’m concerned it’s gone.

But other people? They put it there for me.

* I’m a Christian*, but I’m *gay. Some Christians are okay with that and others seek to understand, but many don’t think that it’s even possible.
* I’m gay*, but I’m a *Christian, and there’s hostility from some in the gay community to Christianity, and since so much homophobia/heterosexism has its foundation in religion, much of the hostility is quite justified. My going to church on Sunday morning can be seen as consorting with the enemy.
* I’m an American*, but I don’t need to tell you that a lot of Americans don’t take too kindly to *those kind. There’s been a lot of movement on the civil rights issue since I started the blog, but we still have so far to go

And that’s what this blog is about; exposing the Asterisk, and with that exposure, removing it.