Never Sitting Quietly in the Face of Injustice

“Sitting by quietly when you see injustice fuels oppression.”

Debbie McManus, Account Executive from RX Global, spoke to myGwork about her experience of being a vocal LGBTQ+ ally. She recounts the story of how she stood up for her lesbian friend in the face of derogatory discriminative behavior and urges other allies to speak up when they see injustice.

What does being an ally mean to me?

It means being a cheerleader for the LGBTQ+ community.

It means showing up, standing up and intervening when necessary.

I never gave too much thought to the everyday discrimination LGBTQ+ people face until one day about 15 years ago. I was with a friend who happens to be a lesbian and we were at a bar outside of Boston, when we were approached by a man who had one too many beers. He thought it was funny to call my friend a lesbian (in a derogatory tone). She took it in stride and ignored him. I was appalled. How and why could anyone say anything to my friend that made her feel anything less than the amazing person she is? What did it matter that she was a lesbian or “looked” like one?

Now to be clear, my friend was certainly capable of defending herself. However, me…who never had to deal with such discrimination went into “mama bear” mode.

As he leaned in to help himself to my friend's beer, his ear was in my face. I suddenly had flashbacks to Catholic school and the nuns taking unruly boys out of the classroom by their ear. You can guess what happened next. The bar cheered… and this gentleman was banned from returning.

Of course, my friend and I laugh at this incident now. Me in my Lily Pulitzer with a glass of chardonnay coming to her rescue. It was quite a sight, I’m sure.

However, it will forever remind me that ignorant people will always exist for our LGBTQ+ friends and we can’t sit quietly when we see injustice. Sitting by quietly when you see injustice fuels oppression.

Each and every day you can be the reason someone feels loved or the reason they struggle with their identity.