Music, Unexpected

My dad told me a story about Elton John, how one summer when he was working construction, one of his hit songs came on the radio - the same summer Elton John came out as being gay.

Construction workers aren't the biggest fans of homosexuality, as it turns out, but on this particular summer day, they heard the song, and instead of hurling insults or turning it off, they turned the volume up to as loud as it would go.

My dad said: Music can do that to people.

I think of that moment a lot when I think the words, I’m mentally ill. How it can lead people to simply turn away. How it is so stigmatized, it can give people the power to simply shut me out.

What unifying force do we need? Will something allow us to transcend the stigma?

Maybe one day, I will hold my breath after someone hears that news about me, and instead of turning me away, they will want more of me. They will want the volume all the way up.