The video of this India-American man giving an emotional toast at the wedding of his gay son is doing rounds on social media. Dr. Vijay A. Mehta, “very homophobic person,” succeeded in finding the right reasons to support his child’s decision to tie the knot with another man. Grab some tissues, because this story will leave you in happy tears.
Vaibhav and Parag:
In an exclusive interview with FSOG, Vaibhav Jain and Parag Mehta shared their beautiful story of how they fell in love.
Vaibhav saw Parag for the first time at a Pride parade, decided to go on a date with him. And the rest is history. Recently, they celebrated their first year anniversary too.
In his speech, Dr Mehta spoke about being braver and compassionate while in the process of spreading love and seeking the truth. He also mentioned that, back in 1997 he felt like a luckiest dad because his son was spelling bee champion, valedictorian and did a fantastic job as Romeo in plays.
“On 27 March, at 4.25pm on that Friday night, Parag had a very small speech – ‘Dad and Mom, I am gay. I have known it since I was 10 years old’,” he said.
Parag revealed to his parents that he was aware of his sexuality right from the age of ten, but initially he was very confused. He admitted that his original plan was to keep this news hidden until his dad’s demise, which would ensure that Dr Vijay would never be embarrassed by his son. He even admitted to attempting suicide in his teenage years, but thankfully did not succeed.
“Dad and mom, I’m gay. I have known it since I was 10 years old. I thought I was confused but I’m beginning to realize that I am gay. Also, I thought I will hide me being gay until you die so you won’t be embarrassed. I tried to commit suicide while I was in the high-school, but I did not succeed thank God for that”, is how Parag revealed the news to his father.
“But last week, I was discussing in the class, and there was another Indian girl, and I blurted out “I’m gay”, so I knew the news will come to you sooner or later. Therefore, I’m telling you I’m gay.”
Dr Mehta’s reaction to this:
“The whole thing was like a three-minute speech. From the best of the time our life went to the worst of the time. I was a very homophobic person, there’s no question about it. So I thought there is no big deal. I’ll fix him, I’ll find the best treatment in the country. I’ll find the cure for it, and I’ll handle it.”, said the doctor in his speech.
‘Do I love my son any less at 4:31 than I loved him at 4:24? … and the answer was ‘no, I still love him the same.’’ — This Indian father’s speech on his gay son’s wedding day will move you to tears #RepresentAsianpic.twitter.com/dIvGk6IRDA
“Monday morning, I was the first person to enter the medical library. And I pulled out all the cumulus medicus. And then I suddenly realized in 30 minutes that American Psychological Association back in 1973 had declared that gay people is not a disease, it is not a defect, it is not to be cured, it is not contagious, and if you accept somebody who’s gay, your child is not likely to be more gay than otherwise.”
“Gay people is not a disease”:
“I asked a simple question: Do I love my son any less at 4:31 than I loved him at 4:24?. A long pause, and the answer was: No, I still love him the same. So then I wrote the letter, this is what I did. I said – Who will be the 50 people who have played the important role in Parag’s life?”, explained how this emotional father accepted his son.
“Some of them will were very Conservative, and I knew that they will freak out when they heard it. So I kind of thought – Ok, maybe 50% of the people would not talk to me, and my life would really be isolated. What to do? Again, a few minutes later, the answer came very simple. I said: Vijay, if there are 50% of the people who don’t want to talk to you, maybe they don’t need to be in your life. Why don’t you stick with the other 50% who will want to be with you?”
Not only his son, but the internet loves his speech too:
This emotional toast raised by an emotional father at his gay child’s wedding received nothing but love from netizens.
“It’s really rare for an Indian dad to be so accepting. Well done to him ❤️,” read one of the comments.
“My son is gay…… there I have said it. Feels a lot better to acknowledge it openly in front of the whole world. I’m lucky to have a son who is intelligent, funny and has a whole lot of friends who accept him for what he is,” wrote another user.
