Like Me

 The young child's face crumpled with confusion. They tipped their head slightly to the side and narrowed their gaze. Maybe it would make more sense if they focused in? Maybe not too, the child decided, straightening again as they shook their head. "I don't understand." Their small voice emerged in a whisper. "I just don't get it. "   

"Understand what?" The child's mother lowered herself into a equation order to meet their eyes at the same level. 

The child pointed, a disapproving scowl forming on their lips. 

She followed their finger. The screen to which her child was pointing was set to the news, which was covering a story about someone getting abused. 

"They like rainbows," her young child observed. She noticed the rainbow flag the person wore draped across their shoulders and her understanding set in. 

"Likely." Their mother answered. "They might also be part of the LGBTIQA+ community, Sam." 

Sam stared back at their mother for a while. "L, G, B, T...." They started to spell out, taking care with each letter. "Q, I, A, plus. That's a lot of letters!" 

Sam's mother couldn't help her laughter. "It is, but they all mean something." 

"What do they mean?" Sam's eyes sparkled with inquiry. 

With a small smile, Sam's mother explained each letter, one by one. "... and the plus is to represent other letters that aren't there or that come to mean something to the community." 

"I still don't understand." Sam said after a long while spent deep in thought. They pointed again. "Why are they getting hurt? Is it because they might be part of the LGB..." Sam stopped, starting to trip over the letters. The order was getting a little muddled in their brain. Sam took a breath, setting their jaw. "TQIA+ community?" 

Sam's mother sighed. "Yeah, that's likely." 

"But why?" Sam asked again. "I don't understand. They're kinda like me." 

Sam's father's brows danced as he caught the end of Sam's statement. 

"What do you mean?" Sam's mother asked. "Kinda like you?" 

Sam smiled bigger. "Well," they shook their head as they laughed. The answer seemed obvious! "I'm alive, they're alive." 

Sam's parents tensed slightly, though Sam didn't notice. 

"Also, they're a person, and I'm a person too!" Sam's grin grew bigger still. Their laughter was contagious, and Sam's parents couldn't help joining in, their tension at the possibilities of that person who'd been abused starting to ease. 

"That's very true, Sam." Their father said. "We are all people, we're all human." 

"So why..." Sam started to ask. 

Sam's parents said nothing for a time. They glanced at each other, then back at their inquisitive and kind hearted child. 

"There's really no good answer for that Sam," their father answered. 

"Some people are really mean and awful," Sam's mother continued. "Sometimes because they're hurting themselves, but other times, there's no good reason at all." 

Sam shook their head. "People shouldn't be mean." 

"No, they shouldn't." Sam's mother agreed. 

 "It's not nice to be not nice." 

"No, it's not." Sam's father affirmed. 

Sam's father took their hand in his. "It doesn't matter who else someone likes, what colour their skin might be, what religion they believe in, what abilities they might have, or anything else." 

Everyone deserves to be treated nicely." Sam's mother finished, taking Sam's spare hand with one of her own. "Do you know why?" She looked back at Sam. 

"Because..." Sam stopped, thinking. "Because we're all people. They're like me." 

"And me." Their mother squeezed Sam's hand. 

"And me." Sam's father said. "There are ways we might be different, but what counts is that there are also ways we're all the same."   

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Rainbow friends; today and every day, I stand with you. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤍🤎🖤 

For a list of terms relevant to the LGBTIQA+ community, head here. You can find more general information here.  And for LGBTQIA+ specific support, there's QLife in Australia, the LGBTQIA Resource Center's directory to find support in America and the ILGA directory to help you find support in Europe and Asia.