Future?

The year is 2037. In the sultry, dimly lit basement of a local community centre, a gathering of individuals listens intently to the woes of a poorly groomed middle aged man.
“…and it was just the way my papa raised me. It’s something I always enjoyed and I didn’t think I was doing much harm. In my opinion nothing is better than a roaring fire on a cold winter evening. It may not be economical and it may not be great for the environment but gosh darn it, I am not ashamed to say that I will forever forgo weak solar power heating for the natural beauty and comforting aesthetic of a homemade chimney fire.”

A soft round of applause led the man back to his seat before a young woman with long blonde hair and a layer of make-up that emulated that of a magazine model, took her place at the front of the room to address the meagre crowd of folk that sat in less than luxury comfort.

“Thank you sir. See, this is the kind of thing I’m talking about people. Not everyone has to conform to these societal norms in order to be happy. There’s no shame in being different from everyone else. This is why we are here. So people can open up about themselves without any shame or backlash. I will gladly admit that I do not like kale and that’s okay. Would anyone else like to speak? Perhaps one of our new members?”

His fists clenched a little, sensing that most eyes were on him. He hadn’t planned on speaking. But he could feel the atmosphere of the room and it was one of confidence and encouragement. He decided to stand.

“Yes, thank you sir.”

The young woman stepped aside allowing the man to take her spot at the top of the room in front of a dozen or so people. He shouldn’t have been too nervous, he spoke to larger groups on a daily basis. But those times were about financial standings of a company and he didn’t need to be as vulnerable as he was now. He cleared his throat.

“Hello everyone, my name is Alex.”

The crowd responded. “Hi Alex.”

“Not many people know this about me so it’s kind of hard for me to say but umm…”

He looked around the room at all the eyes on him. He had been in their position for the last twenty minutes and knew that the look they were giving was telling him that it was okay. He looked down toward his feet.

“I am a straight, white, cis gendered, middle class, male.” He paused, there was silence. “When people ask me I tell them that I’m bisexual and gender fluid, but that’s not me, I’m not that. I don’t like lying to people about who I am but I’ve seen so many people ostracized for less that I didn’t think I could release the truth. I suppose this was a good start. From now on I’m going to learn to be less ashamed of this.”

Alex lifted his gaze back to the group. All eyes had remained on him but the nature of their staring had changed. He got a cold feeling in his stomach. One person in the back row of seats stood up.

“Y’know what, you should be ashamed. It’s people like you that have oppressed my community for decades!”

“But I haven’t done anything. I don’t care if you’re transgendered.”

“Ohh so now you don’t care about transgendered people?”

“What? No, that’s not what I…”

Another man chimed in. “C’mon buddy let’s look at the facts. Throughout history people like you have raped the most women, killed the most blacks, abused the most homosexuals and selfishly hoarded the most wealth.”

“But that’s… I didn’t do that and if I had I…”

The transgendered person spoke again. “We don’t care! Why don’t you just get out of her you majority freak.”

That cut deep. Now his whole body was shivering. He looked around for any sort of rescue from the hostility but none was coming. He glanced at the young woman to see if she would stop this shaming but her gazed was fixed squarely on the floor. Alex took a deep breath and walked out of the room in silence. On his was out he tore down the paper sign that hung from the door.

“Minority support group.”