Parental Rejection - Or, It's All About Themselves

Sadly, I know those whose parents have disowned them when they have come out. They use all kinds of excuses for their inexcusable behavior, often citing religious belief or cultural traditions. In truth, however, I believe that it's really all about the parents' own self absorption and greater concern about themselves than their children. A story out of India takes this behavior to an extreme. Here, the family's son merely played gay in a movie, yet the parents are disowning him. In their statements to the media, it is absolutely clear that the parents don't give a damn about their child - instead it's all about themselves. As a parent, I cannot comprehend how one gets their priorities so totally f*cked up. Here are highlights from the Times of India:
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The Delhi High Court's judgement in favour of homosexuals last year hasn't had much impact on the family of actor Yuvraaj Parasher, the lead of Dunno Y ... Na Jaane Kyun that has India's first gay kissing scene in it and also shows love-making and several intimate moments between two men.
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Yuvraaj, TOI has learned, has been disowned by his family for playing a homosexual on screen and has been thrown out of his home in Agra.
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Worse, his father is ready to go to court and officially cut off ties with his son. Seen as India's answer to Ang Lee's sensitive drama Brokeback Mountain that boasts of remarkable acting from Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, Dunno Y ... Na Jaane Kyun sees Yuvraaj partner with actor Kapil Sharma to breathe life into their bold characters.
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Yuvraaj's father Satish Parasher told BT, . . . He kept us in the dark right from when he signed the film and told us that he is acting with a girl. When we heard about the poster and the things he has done in the film, we were shocked, hurt and humiliated. People will make fun of us and we won't be able to live peacefully ever again."
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"His mother is totally devastated," said the aggrieved father. "We are a respected family and I'm appalled that he is playing a gay man's role. We're finished. All the dreams and hopes we had built around him are over. For just a film role, he has lost out on his blood ties. We don't want to see his face ever... not even when we are dying."
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And there you have it, a shining example of religious and societal based based "family values." I find it utterly disgusting.