Subject: christian's article
From: <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 1996 15:28:29 -0500

the following is an article by christian olson--it was requested by laura
and i thought others might appreciate it as well. by the way, the author 
gave his permission to reprint.(he'd better have or i'd have given him 
such a smack)
oh, and by the way--i hope this doesn't sound too self-serving. i don't 
mean to toot our own horn, so to speak. but what the hell, toot toot:-)

from Open Doors (the chicago area PFLAG newsletter):
REFLECTIONS OF A SON
by Christian Olson
For those who do not know who I am, let me introduce myself. My name is 
Christian Olson, and I am the proud son of the Reverend Kurt Olson and 
his lovely wife, my mother, Nancy. These two wonderful people just happen 
to be the President, and I guess...the First Lady of PFLAG Chicago. I 
think it needs to be said that not only am I their son, but I am their 
proud son. All too often, I'm guilty of assuming tht the pride I feel for 
my parents goes without saying. However, I feel it necessary to use this 
forum to make sure it doesn't go unsaid.
     When I first became aware of PFLAG's presence in the gay community, 
it was my first Gay Pride Parade. A mother, (one probably reading these 
words right now) handed me a brochure as the PFLAG float..er..floated by. 
Well, I think we all know that there was no float, but I'm taking a 
little dramatic license here. Work with me. Anyway, after the parade I 
went to my parents' house and jokingly gave them the brochure.
"Here is a group that might help you through your problems with my 
homosexuality," I said . This was a "joke" because I knew my parents did 
not need counseling. I knew they had absolutely no problem with my sexual 
orientation; they were already behind me 100%,
     Who knew that the brochure facetiously handed to Mom and Dad four 
years ago would lead to my dad's being elected PFLAG president just three 
years later? I didn't think at the time that even though *they* might not 
have a problem with my homosexuality, they might feel a need to help 
parents who, in fact, *did* have a problem with their own child's sexuality.
     After attending my first PFLAG meeting, I quickly realized I had 
been taking for granted the open-armed greeting I received after coming 
out to my parents. Even though I always suspected that my parents knew, 
it was indeed a comfort to me how wonderful their reaction was. They 
wanted to have a Welcome-to-the-Family Party for my partner Tom, for 
pete's sake! If that isn't unconditional acceptance, I don't know what is.
     My dad once said something very wise (I'm sure he's said other wise 
things-- somehow the others escape me.) But I digress. He said, "There 
are basically three reactions you can have toward someone's sexuality: 
one is 'tolerance';
the second is 'acceptance'; and the third is 'celebration'." Well, my 
parents skipped the first two and went directly to the third; they 
celebrate my sexuality. I think they see it as something which makes me 
special. 
    Perhaps they even view the fact that I'm gay as a gift from God. I 
feel frustrated when some parents can't even get to the point where they 
merely tolerate their child's sexual orientation. Hopefully, all parents 
involved in PFLAG meetings are way beyond this point. However, I don't 
really think it's enough for parents to "accept" thier child's sexuality. 
I wish all parents could get to the point where they "celebrate." I'm so 
glad my parents have. And I know in my heart that they have helped others 
move from intolerance to tolerance, from tolerance to acceptance, and it 
is to be hoped, from acceptance to celebration! What a great gift I 
unknowingly gave to my parents that fateful day after the Gay Pride 
Parade. I couldn't be more proud.

by the way laura, i'll get typing on that mel white interview next. 
thanks for asking.

        @   @   @   @   @  Bzzzzzzz
       ~|~ ~|~ ~|~ ~|~ ~|~  
      w\|/w\|/w\|/w\|/w\|/w             
       nancy lamkin olson  
      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^  
       an ode to spring from 
         someone with way 
          too much time
             on her 
              hands 
               :-)
                v

           
         @  @  @  @  @  @  @  Bzzzzzzz  
        ~|~~|~~|~~|~~|~~|~~|~
        \|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/\|/           
         |nancy lamkin olson| 
          ==================
          ode to spring from 
          someone with waaay
           too much time on
              her little
                 hands   
            \--------------/