Thankyou, John for a most enjoyable presentation. Your particular comment that being a member of two minorities has given you an opportunity for greater self-acceptance certainly rings true for me, too. When I left Malaysia 16 years ago, gay visibility there was definitely not as strong (near invisible actually) as it is now and many, many times I have pondered why not go back there to live now that things are 'better' OR why did I come here in the first place???
However, like so many other migrants from all sorts of countries who may occasionally or frequently entertain the romantic notion of repatriation, the reality remains that Australia and Melbourne in particular is a great place to live for me as a gay Asian man, whatever colour, social class or age myself or my partner may be, once I add up the pluses and the minuses. So I only speak for myself when I say I choose to live in Australia, and face the challenges of life here and embrace those 'opportunities for self-acceptance'. Thankyou, John and thankyou, Australia.
BTW I would also like to congratulate Daniel Reeders for his presentation 'Market Forces', even though I did not attend it... Just reading the responses (Discussion has well and truly precipitated, Daniel!!!) in this forum alone was enough, and therein lies the value of his work, in my opinion. I want to encourage other men like me not that long ago who are not so happy to live here for whatever reason, to take John's suggestion and to somehow use the challenges faced, turn them on their heads and see them as opportunities for self-acceptance... Who knows, this may enable us to loosen the shackles of 'market forces'?
