Parade guy in purple shirt responds to Heather's letter

SooToday.com has received the letter below from a loyal reader who says he wore the much-discussed purple shirt in Saturday's parade.

His letter responds to another posted by SooToday.com as part of our Community Day coverage.

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A response to the shirt that offended Heather: I wore that shirt

First of all, I just want to apologize to Heather Zayachkowski for any hurtful comments that she received after practicing her right to freedom of speech. 

I may not entirely side with Heather or condone her comments, but I do believe that living in a diverse community with people of different backgrounds can find common ground. 

And, to think this was all over a t-shirt. 

But my attire was in no means to inflict any harm whatsoever.

The shirt wasn't planned to provoke anyone or to be worn out of maliciousness of any kind.

I really was just looking for a shirt to add to my outfit.

I did not organize the Sault Pride Float; however, I did organize a group of eight individuals to honour the eight colours that were part of the original Pride flag.

The colour that I chose was purple.

It was a tank top that read "Haters Gonna Hate" and I chose it because it was suitable for the weather and it was the colour I needed to represent.

For me, it represents a sense of empowerment.

"Haters Gonna Hate" (for me) refers to anyone who has been faced with any type of adversity or conflict by someone (or a group of people) with contrasting views or opinions.

As an Aboriginal person who is openly gay, I am familiar when faced with adversity.

A lot of people’s blatant disrespect for my wellbeing as a gay youth made it difficult to coexist in the Sault. 

The aftermath from being bullied included me becoming depressed, having thoughts of suicide and second guessing my life choices.

In the end, I dropped out of high school and joined the workforce.

It took me quite some time to realize that their remarks didn't matter, only because their beliefs didn't reflect my own.

I am the person who I am because I have worked hard to get over the hostilities and adversities that some members of society had to offer.

I am gay, but I am also a son, a brother, an uncle, a friend, a student, an artist, a dreamer and also a helper.

The treatment that Heather Zayachkoswki has received made me think about all the hurt that I went through as a teenager.

And it doesn't matter who you are or what you believe in, no one deserves to feel treated with disrespect or hatred.

We may have conflicting beliefs, but we still share living in this community.

Maybe we can find a way to discover balance and understanding for everyone.

In 2011, I enrolled at Sault College as a mature student in the Social Service Worker - Native Specialization Program.

This program has taught me the importance of understanding other people's points of view.

I have my own values that are dear to me, and I have walked a long hard path to understand who I am and what I can offer to the community.

It has taken a long time in order for me to get over all the hurt and become a successful and well accomplished individual.

But no matter who you are, where you’re from or what you believe in, there will always be someone who disagrees.

Life does get better, but you just need to work hard for it.

The rest of society needs to know that you cannot change a person's convictions or beliefs, but you can try and teach them to understand where you are coming from in order to bring a balance for yourself, your family and your community.

Whether people like it or not, we still need to live our lives together in this city.

In the world that is complete with so many other different people with different cultures, we can build bridges to acceptance for everyone.

For now, I will continue to accomplish my dreams and to do my part on creating a safer and more accepting world to live in.

- Theodore S. Syrette

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