Somewhere in one of my blog entries, I commented that to stop learning means you stop living because learning is a lifelong process.

Last nite, I had been trying to help another member figure out how to apply what I soon discovered is called a "Feature Photo."  It's the image you can apply to a specific blog entry (totally seperate from your blog banner image), which also shows up in the blog index page.  After I figured it out and shared that info with the other member, I went thru my own blog like a kid in a candy store, creating and downloading images based on entry topics and applying them.  While doing so, I also read a few of my old blog entries as some of them have been here a while collecting dust...LOL.

As I read over some of those old blog entries, something jumped out at me, and I didn't like it.   My use of the term "gays."

It made me think of the fact that, so often, we (me included) have gently chastised some for calling trans people "transgenders," advised them of better terminology, and explained to them why some terms are unfavourable or demeaning.  I also thought about the members of this board who are gay or lesbian, and wondered if my words had hurt them. It occurred to me that I can hardly "educate" people how to speak about or address trans people if I myself am guilty of doing basically the same thing by calling gay men/- people, "gays."

I thought about going thru those blogs containing the word and editing to something more appropriate, but I changed my mind.  I think I have grown...and just as we like to see positive changes in others, I decided I wanted others to see that I have grown and taken on positive changes.

Therefore, for anyone who runs across any of my older blog entries that contain the word "gays" instead of something like gay men, or gay people, I apologize for having been not only insensative, but also ignorant.

Continuing to learn not only means continuing to live, it also means continuing to improve.

David Michael