"No one's forcing you to embrace their lifestyle. Why do you want to impose yours on them?"

I don't want to "impose" mine on them. I never said I did. I just wish it to be accepted enough that I don't have to hide who I am from people who think they know me. Two very different things. But really I don't expect it to happen, it just... bothers me that it's that way. If someone tried to tell you that just *talking* about your religion, or your political party of choice, was so taboo that it was generally socially unaceptable, that would bother you to, yes?

I conciously try and accept people for who they are. But I know due to being a Lifestyler, getting that in return is not easy. The lifestyle is more than handcuffs and paddles, it's an entire way of thinking about yourself, and the people around you that can't help but impact the way you view, well, just about everything.

"The reason you feel the need to conform in the vanilla world is you want what the vanilla world has to offer. Starbucks, ipods, cars, cell phones."

Well, actually no, not really. First of all I can get material stuff regardless of my lifestyle choices, and secondly material wealth means extremely little to me. Which is precicely why continuing to do my best to blend in is proving such a strain.

I can blend in with the best of them. I'm just saying, I don't like having to do it, and I wish it wasn't neccesary. Our society talks a great deal about tolerance but doesn't do much of anything to back up those words with action.