The homophobic statements made by Nicolás Márquez, biographer of the current President, generated a strong social repudiation. After defining it as a unhealthy and self-destructive behavior, generated controversy and criticism that multiplied on social networks. In that context, Manuel Lozanopresident of the Sí Foundation, came out to express himself forcefully and responded to him from the radio cycle hosted by Andy Kusnetzoff, street dogs (Urban Play).
“He said things that seemed very terrible to me. And he couldn’t not answer her. He felt that if he didn’t say this he couldn’t come on the radio. Among the things he said, she said that homosexuals are insane, inverted, with a tendency toward destruction. That we are 7% more likely to be on drugs, that the suicide rate is 14% higher, that 75% of people who have a sexually transmitted disease are homosexual, that we are 4 times more prone to alcoholism… And that the perspective of life we have is 25 years younger and of a lot of unhappiness,” Lozano reviewed about Márquez’s sayings.
Then, He read a letter on air in which he recounted his own experience. “I am not going to discuss the numbers with Nicolás, first because I do not know them, and it is likely that some of those figures are real. But I want to tell you, from the inside and in the first person, some things. As a child, and for as long as I can remember, I was always the standard bearer of the school. For some, that was something that made them happy. For me, it was torture. Because going from where we were in the line to where the flag was, implied 12 meters, where everyone shouted ‘fucking’ at me“, began.
“On each of my birthdays, of all the ones I remember, One of my three wishes was to ask please not to be gay. I never told anyone. And I never experienced it until I was 20. When I finally dared to tell it, my parents thought the same as you, Nicolás. That was synonymous with unhappiness and they took me to a psychologist. A poorly chosen psychologist who said I was sick and that he promised to change my sexuality. For more than 100 days, every morning when I woke up, the first thing I read was an email from this psychologist explaining to me the technique I had to use to commit suicide. And he argued with me why,” she continued.
Faced with the silence of his companions, Lozano continued: “When I got home, My family left so they wouldn’t see me. They sent my sister to study in another city, so she wouldn’t live with me, because she was gay.. When I arrived for sessions with this guy they sent me to, he made me wait at the door for more than two hours. And then he sent to his secretary with a little piece of paper in his hand that said: ‘You are not worthy of my attention’. What’s worse than what he did? “That I believed it.”
“Are we a population with a higher suicide rate? It may be, it is probable. But not because we are unhealthy, but because speeches like yours taught us that we are not valuable and that we were the scum of this society. Did you know that there are many homosexuals who suffer from nosophobia? That for a long time, after every sexual relationship, we ran out to get tested because we were raised believing that homosexuals were the bad ones. Do we have self-destructive behaviors? Could be, They taught us that we didn’t deserve to be loved.“added the director of the NGO that is dedicated to promoting the social inclusion of the most vulnerable sectors of Argentina.
Closing the harsh anecdote, Manuel punctually addressed the writer Nicolás Márquez and all the people who share his thoughts. “I don’t know you Nicolás, I don’t judge you. I would even tell you that I can even understand you. Because if I, who am homosexual, who live it and feel it, ever thought the same as you, I understand that you can’t understand it. I’m not going to ask you to change your mind either, because I don’t know if it’s my role. But if I want to ask you for empathy, love and, above all, responsibility.. That all of us who have the privilege of having a microphone in front of us have. Because you never know who’s listening.”
As he continued reading his speech, Lozano burst into tears and had to take a break.before mentioning the stories of other members of the LGBTQ+ community who suffered situations like theirs.
“That’s why I chose to say this today. For Tomás, who is a trans boy who lived in the Córdoba residence and in December took his own life because the pain was too much. For Fernando, who presented himself to the selection process and before leaving he did not want to say that he was homosexual because he was afraid that that would be the reason why we left him out. For Agostina, who is studying at the residence today, but she self-harms because she believes she is not worth much. For the kid I fell in love with, who could never even give me a kiss because he doesn’t dare come out of the closet because he trembles with fear. For Fitu, a man I met the other day, who is 62 years old and just dared to kiss a man,” he said.
And he closed: “We are not insane, Nicolás. But we do live in a world that, sometimes, because of speeches like yours, can be unhealthy for us.. And for those who are not listening, and say that we have a perspective of unhappiness, I want to tell you that I am tremendously happy. I am 39 years old, I deeply love what I do, who I am, and that is why I am saying this. And that I sleep little because I deeply love life and want to live it to the fullest.”
