A heartbreaking letter, allegedly penned by an unsupportive father to his gay son, has gone viral in the blogosphere.
Originally uploaded to Reddit and posted by Athlete Ally founder (and HuffPost Gay Voices blogger) Hudson Taylor on his Facebook profile, the letter is addressed simply to “James,” and it reads as follows:
“I hope your telephone call was not to receive my blessing for the degrading of your lifestyle. I have fond memories of our times together, but that is all in the past.”
The letter — since posted by Towleroad, Pink News, The New Civil Rights Movement, Truth Wins Out among other media outlets — continues:
“You made your choice though wrong it may be. God did not intend for this unnatural lifestyle. If you choose not to attend my funeral, my friends and family will understand.”
Reddit user RegBarc, who uploaded the image of the letter, says the letter was written five years ago after he came out as gay to his father. “It’s important to know just what this zealotry from Bryan Fischer, Maggie Gallagher, Dan Cathy, et al., does to everyday people,” he noted. “I’ve never done drugs, was an excellent student, an obedient child (far less trouble than many of my classmates), didn’t drink until I was 22 because it terrified me, and have had just 1 speeding ticket in my life,” he noted. “Yet I am still seemingly deserving of this terrible act of hate and cowardice that one person can place on another.”
The letter has drawn an onslaught of responses since it was originally posted. “I actually hope that someday he gets a chance to look deeply in his heart and comes to understand how horribly, terribly he screwed this up,” one Reddit user notes. “If so, he’ll maybe have a chance to start some personal redemption and healing.”