Maybe I shouldn't see fighting for equity as a virtue because if we lived in an equitable world, I wouldn't exist.
If we lived in an equitable world, my dad would have come out as gay at thirteen.
If we lived an equitable world, he would not have tried to commit suicide because he couldn't express his sexuality.
If we lived in an equitable world, he would not have married a woman because he was "supposed" to.
If we lived in an equitable world, my gay dad and straight mom would not have had a baby when my gay dad didn't want to.
If we lived in an equitable world, gay men would not have been pathologized, marginalized, and criminalized.
If we lived in an equitable world, AIDS would not have been politicized and stigmatized.
If we lived in an equitable world, people with AIDS would not have been demonized and disenfranchised.
If we lived in an equitable world, people with social and economic capital, power, and influence would treat others with compassion and respect.
If we lived in an equitable world, there would have been more urgency and political will to address the AIDS crisis.
If we lived in an equitable world, my dad might not have died of AIDS.
But we don't live in an equitable world, so I will continue to fight for equity.
And I will continue to see it as a virtue.