Parents who reject their sons or daughters because they’re gay are the absolute worst. If my son were to ever come up to me and say “I’m gay”, there’s only one response I could even fathom - “Hi gay, I’m dad.”
18 June 2019 - Scott “Howie” Dittman doesn’t have to be related to these people in order to show them some good old fashioned fatherly love:
Dittman took up the role of being a surrogate dad for strangers last week when he attended an LGBTQ pride parade in Pittsburgh wearing a tee-shirt that read “Free Dad Hugs”.
Dittman wore the shirt because he had an inkling that there may have been some parade-goers who had experienced familial rejection over their sexuality – and he turned out to be right.
In total, Dittman says that he gave out over 700 hugs over the course of two and a half hours. Though there were many youngsters who were simply happy to have a hug, he said that there were two people who had particularly emotional reactions to his embrace.
The Pennsylvania dad described his experience with the two hugs in a powerful Facebook post that has now gone viral.
The first hug came from a man who tearfully told Dittman that he had not been able to speak to his parents since they kicked him out of their house for being gay as a 19-year-old.
The other hug came from a woman who simply “hugged him with everything she had.”
“Her story? I don’t know the specifics,” wrote Dittman. “But I know that she saw me from across the street. I wasn’t paying attention.
“By the time she got to me, she had tears in her eyes,” he added. “She hugged me with everything she had. And I hugged her back. She held on for so long, melting into me, and thanked me endlessly.
Dittman ended his post with a plea for his fellow parents to stick by their kids – no matter their sexuality.
“And if by chance anyone knows these folks, please let them know they can reach out any time they need a surrogate dad to talk to. I’ll be there,” he wrote.
About 25 years ago I came out of the closet. My parents were totally cool about it.
My gay friends came to my house to talk to my parents. My mom was like a mother to 5 of them because they could share their stuff with an adult and be heard.
dick-nipples on February 10th, 2020 at 03:21 UTC »
Parents who reject their sons or daughters because they’re gay are the absolute worst. If my son were to ever come up to me and say “I’m gay”, there’s only one response I could even fathom - “Hi gay, I’m dad.”
Doodlebug510 on February 10th, 2020 at 03:27 UTC »
Background:
18 June 2019 - Scott “Howie” Dittman doesn’t have to be related to these people in order to show them some good old fashioned fatherly love:
Source including full story and interview video: goodnewsnetwork.org
Breros on February 10th, 2020 at 06:49 UTC »
About 25 years ago I came out of the closet. My parents were totally cool about it.
My gay friends came to my house to talk to my parents. My mom was like a mother to 5 of them because they could share their stuff with an adult and be heard.