The Seven Heavenly Gay Virtues : Dont' Be a Creep!

Humility is the opposite Virtue to the Sin of Vanity. On my Rainbow Deadly Gay Sins flag and my Rainbow Heavenly Gay Virtue flag they occupy the last stripe, the violet or purple stripe. Purple is the traditional colour associated in European folklore to Vanity in allusion to the purple robes of Roman and Byzantine emperors who were considered to epitomise Vanity more than anyone else.

Most of the main religions in the world place Humility as one of the highest Virtues. More than any other it relies on each individual’s own perception of his or her own place in the world and an acceptance of it.

Other words used as equivalents to Humility over the centuries have included Modesty and Self-esteem. We should not fall into the trap of being too humble and over-modest in case we turn into a creep like the character Uriah Heep from Charles Dickens’ “David Copperfield”.

Don't be a creep like Uriah Heep!

Humility is perhaps the one of the Virtues which is most difficult to maintain, particularly in communities like the lgbt community which is constantly being attacked. The vast majority of homophobia is aimed at the community because the attacker considers the victim as being of lesser value in society. This arrogance (a characteristic synonymous with the sin of Vanity) destroys the self-esteem of so many young people and they commit suicide. Their belief in themselves is destroyed by their attackers and their Humility is destroyed with it.

Speaking up for your rights and those of others may not seem very humble and modest but activists and campaigners have always proclaimed that the lgbt community has as much right to be accepted into society as equal to any other. There are still too many nations on this planet who look down on the lgbt community with as much Vanity and Arrogance as the ancient emperors did on their own people. Many revolutions were the result of the people opposing the arrogance of their rulers. Unfortunately, all too often these revolutionary governments replace one rule of Vanity and Arrogance with their own.

This year the whole world has witnessed an event that should make us all feel humble and modest – the Paralympic Games. Admiration and respect can be linked with the Virtue of Humility. The achievements of those athletes go far beyond anything the ordinary person, or even an Olympian, can do. And respect goes to the 14 lgbt Paralympians who competed out and proud in Rio. I’ll be writing more about them in a couple of days.

At this time of year which is full of celebrations we are constantly being reminded that others are not as fortunate as ourselves. I hope we all have the Humility to accept that we are the fortunate ones and that we should not take everything for granted. Equality that has been given to the lgbt community by one government can easily be taken away by another. Many families will have little to celebrate because one of their family members, an lgbt family member, has been murdered. Transgender murders in the USA this year are higher than ever. We should also remember that there are some families in this world who reject any member who is brave enough to come out as lgbt and is forced to leave their family home and perhaps have nowhere else to live at this time of year.

It’s a traditional seasonal Christmas message which often gets lost among the celebrations.