Many years ago, my roommate and I hid an exchange student in our apartment. His parents were looking for him, hunting him, in order to bring him back for the travesty he committed.

What was his crime?

He told them he was gay.

They locked him up in his room and drugged him so he couldn’t leave, while also cutting off his communication to the world. They sent in psychologists, exorcists and prostitutes to “cure” him.

He finally got a message out and student groups got him the funds to get a plane ticket back. All he had to do was escape his room and get to the airport.

Thankfully he made it and stayed with us long enough to get on his feet, provide a list of names to the embassy of people they should not allow in the country and figure out his next steps. He was quite the character and last time I checked, he was doing really well.

Today I took my kid to a story time event for children that ended with two adults heckling the story teller and causing a ruckus, upsetting some of the kids who were there. Many parents intervened.

What was the heckling about? What crime did the story teller commit?

Take a guess.

I thought the days of hiding people in your home for fear of persecution ended after World War II and we’ve come a long way since then.

We have in many regards, but we’re still inching forward in many others.

Still inching forward.