After Standing Up to Abusive Father, Gay Immigration Lawyer Dedicates His Career to Helping Others.
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- Опубликовано: 18 окт 2024
- Growing up in Houston, Texas, Will Strom stood out among others for his love of purple and affinity for short shorts. While these things made him happy, it drew negative attention from his peers - as well as his father, a homophobic divorced alcoholic. When his father moved to a remote town in Colorado and the custody agreement required Will to spend six weeks there each summer, the situation went from bad to worse.
Eventually, Will reached a limit and, in one particularly tense phone call, finally stood up to his father, essentially ending any meaningful relationship. By advocating for himself, Will quickly learned that he could advocate for others - and did so as an adult, working as an immigration lawyer on behalf of LGBTQIA+ people seeking asylum in the United States.
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i was in my fifties when i finally said, "enough is enough" with my family. and it set me free. what an inspirational story. thanks for sharing.
I did the same and cut all ties to 5 of my brothers and sisters...keeping contact with only one younger brother and sister. It hurt a lot to have to cut contact with them as they were family members... but, it was the right thing to do for my own sanity.
My father was abusive which was just one of the very unattractive facets of him. Mom divorced and married someone even worse. He was abusive in every way a stepfather can be.
BUT I rose above this and made a nice life for myself. I did well in school. Got a nice job and a nice family.
A powerful story conveyed by a very articulate, intelligent young man, who related to his own experiences and turned them into something truly positive and beneficial for his community. Truly inspirational and moving. More power to you Will.
So very happy for you. I am 81, 50 years ago when my mother found out about me She told me I was dead to her. IT STILL HURTS, but I turned my back to her and decided to live my life. Good luck to you.
His father did not reject him for being gay, and wanted to continue seeing him for as much time as he was legally allowed. It's the opposite of your experience.
I remember being 21 and my Mother told be to never tell her I was gay. I did not but carried on my life with a partner/husband until this day. I was 53 when she passed. I cried in grief and joy that I could say I was gay to my family out loud. They all knew but I could say it. Thanks for your story.
Hero, honestly. He took his painful life experience to empathize and help people escaping even worse circumstances. Humble but confident, kind and sharp. If he's not happily married already he's gonna make some guy very happy someday lol.
Exactly what I was going to say. Husband material for sure! 😁👍🌈❤
I See You As A Great and Compassionate Warrier For Those In Need Of Your Professional Services...Congratulations For Your Achievements, Accomplishments, and Outstanding Service to Humanity. If You Run For President of The United States....Yes You Have My Vote. 💯💯💯💯💯
It is truly wonderful that Will Strom is strong, intelligent and caring enough to help others. What a great guy & story!!!
What hell you went thru. Strength comes out of adversity, you have a fine spirit tempered in the heat of that hell.
I was coached by my Mom not to be feminine, maybe 8 years old? The memory is as if yesterday, although more than 6 decades have passed. I guess my Mom didn’t realize that I was already struggling with my sexuality, or maybe she did? I was horrified that my interest involved boys. The 50s a messed up time to be gay, but grateful that I had enough self-worth, not to end myself, although thought of it often, as I recognized that there was nothing I could do to change that part of me. Time has proven, it’s ok to be yourself, irregardless of whom you might love. This video portrays an excellent gay man that hopefully is an example for other young people.
Same. Plus we survived the AIDS Plague. I hope life has been good to you.
POWERFUL!
I love the phrase of don't apologize for being you (or variations of that phrase).
Be who you are and like I said when I TOOK CONTROL, was to say to family members and now X "friends" was,
"Honey! You don't pay my rent or pay MY way in life, so your opinion doesn't count!: (something like that).
Coming out and "taking control" was the most liberating experience.
Also, to my personal great surprise is how many people already had figured it out and how many people respected me more for being true to who I am.
I am NOT APOLOGETIC for who I am or how I live my amazing life with my most amazing husband!
I do remember, oh so long ago, "those in my orbit" telling me that, 2 men together can't last and the love can't be real. LOL
30 years later, I'm still with the same amazing man and married to him legally for a long time.
Those same naysayers.... NOT ONE IS STILL MARRIED and all of them, who are still alive, lead very sad lives.
So just THROW YOUR TITS TO THE WIND AND WALK FORWARD! LOL
Hi father didn't reject him for being gay, so it's not clear what the heck you are babbling about.
Will, I stand in support of you and you standing up for yourself. What a great and inspiring story.
What a remarkable young man!🙏❤🏳🌈
When he said he loved the color purple at first I thought he was talking about the movie "The Color Purple"
At 80 I will take your advice. Thanks
so inspiring. sending lots of love from Cape town
WOW! thank you so much for posting this. I am glad and so proud of this young man making a difference for others based on what he went through. I wish more people did this.
Bravo...to this brave young man who just wanted to be himself
Congratulations,you are a role model for all of us, so proud of you !
Your father had a very warped definition of what he thought you should be. I am glad you had the strength and confidence to be you. You are a complete human being, with a kind heart, with the power to help others. You are the definition of a wonderful person!
Very powerful advice! Thanks for sharing your story and for advocating for asylum seekers and other disenfranchised people.
It's terrible when someone tells you how you should be.. How you should behave, but you were very strong. You stood up to your abusive father. You rose above it to be the person you knew you were, and look at you now.
You are amazing. Thank you. ❤❤
Thanks for presenting your story.
Go best friend that’s my best friend. Will is such a wonderful human being. I adore him. I love this so much
I had a very abusive father growing up this young man brings back so many thoughts to me
What an inspirational young man!
So inspiring! He is a brave articulate intelligent young man!!!
I really loved this one! thanks Will for all that you do.
HAPPY THAT ALL IS WELL WITH YOU.
GREAT STORY!
Great personality, great man. Congratulations.
I'm proud of you! I went through a similar scenario when I was young. The odd part was that my father was a closet case. LOL Gary
you are really strong. thankfulness you unapologetically advocated for yourself when the 😈System refused to advocate for you.🌸
What an amazing young man and a lawyer dedicating his skills on behalf of gay youth!
The power to respect and love oneself isn't a easy path.But when you have love in you,the world is a lot better to live and thrive in. Thanks for your story so many others can choose a better way to live.
Really great story, thank you for adding your thoughts to this.
I admire your courage! Unfortunately, many of us don’t have this. That’s why the bigots and tyrants can get away with ruining lives. I’m sure you’ll be able to help many people to settle down in the life the have the right to.
So cool. I am in Houston too and if you ever hear some idiot yell a cheer at you. Oh god, not the Colorado move too. Anyway, my father use to give the the lectures about how I wal, how I stand, even how I chew was like a woman. Here's to us! And then years later the creep admits he's been hooking up with men at work. I was 30 stories up on a balcony at the time and I did not want to be his confessor. I remembered wondering if I could jump and save myself the burden of his confusion as well as mine. I am glad I didn't. I eventually made up with him and forgave him 20 years later. My father died my friend and finally my dad.
Você me inspirou. Obrigado.
Meu plano agora é trabalhar junto à sofrida comunidade gay.
Meu pai foi um monstro e por isso, hoje, eu tenho experiência e conteúdo suficientes para ajudar pessoas que estão passando pelo que eu já passei.
Você teve o privilégio e a coragem de enfrentar a radicalidade da premissa bíblica 'honrar pai e mãe, sempre'.
Realmente, algumas religiões alienam, torturam e são causadoras de inúmeros sofrimentos àqueles que são diferentes.
Acho, sim, que os pais podem merecer respeito e honrarias se fizerem por onde. Do contrário, se forem abusadores, em quaisquer níveis que sejam: POLÍCIA, JUSTIÇA !!!
Parabéns pela sua luta e vitória!
great interview
So happy you are happy!
I am so happy for you and proud of you, Will! You are remarkable! So moving and so inspirational. I wish you much happiness and joy! You deserve it my friend!
Outstanding!!! BRAVO
Good for him. Sticking up for what he believes in. I don’t have to agree with everything he is saying to respect him for it
Purple Pink, wonderful inspirational walk of life; resilience, courage, D:I 'V"E:R;S,I-T*Y
Great Job! 🎉 very brave of u!
Very impressed.
Congratulations to you Will, my friend! Our Creator loves ALL of us! That was excellent how you handled everything, and so sorry for your suffering during childhood.
By the way, as a side note, I like the word "Gay" as in Gay community. Gay has a positive semantic overtone, and for the 1st time, our community finally has a positive adjective describing us, almost like celebrities. The word "queer" always has had a meaning akin to circus freak and we are NOT circus freaks.
i Iove this guy. He seems so humbIe and seIf-aware.
Wonderful young man.
I wish I could like a thousand times.
Bless you!!!!
This guy is a hero!
This was so heart warming 😢😢😢😢😢😢
Good on you!
I send all my love and support to all the LGBT people of the world ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 You all are important and very valuable even though we live in a world that makes you all believe otherwise. Remember always be proud of who you are 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 You all make from this world a better place ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 LGBT people are a rainbow of love in a world full of hate, but with difference of our straight partners, we all are united over a same flag 🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈🏳️🌈 The flag of LGBT love ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 And we all must be united against hate, violence, discrimination and intolerance ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 We all are like a great family and we must fight to destroy hate ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 Remember, LGBT people is love and love always wins ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 I don't care about your race, nationality, biological gender, health condition, religion or any other condition ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 If you are an LGBT person you have all my love and my support ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 You guys are not alone in this fight and all the LGBT people of all over the world needs to understand this messagge, cause just united we will win against hate and we don't have to allow that nothing divide us. Never feel bad of who you are and never allow that this cruel world change who you really are or turn off your light and your shine ❤🧡💛💚💙💜 You all born that way and remember LGBT people of all the world, at the end, love always wins ❤🧡💛💚💙💜
I'm glad you were able to take your life into your own hands. Some young people don't have that choice. They literally have nowhere else to go. They just have to bide their time until their 18th birthday.
He is beyond adorable an eyecandy !!
Remarkable
Bro. If you don't know about...please visit ONLY SIX Meetings...look into A. C. A. Meetings or at least get ahold of their reading book: Adult Children of Addiction, or, at least research the 1980s works of Dr. Claudia Black. As I end this text... I am sad to think: YOU WILL NEVER READ THIS, but, either way, I hope you'll find "A. C. A.". God bless U. ( P.s. your father couldn't savehimself. Happy though that YOU DID SAVE, ARE SAVING yourself). Stay calm and litigate on. Gregg Oreo long Beach Ca
Thank you for gay rights 👊
Your Dad loves you
❤
Josie Totah....
Thank you for sharing your story. 🌈
such a handsome lad and he is so eloquent and soft spoken
❤❤❤❤
I want to share something
😍😍
More power to you attractive dude!
A wonderful guy and great role model for queer youth.
I can see why the other kids didn’t like you a boy wearing purple short shorts lol 😂 you can tell he’s ga ga gay very flamboyant voice and mannerisms
This guy throws around the word "abuse" perhaps a dozen times but he doesn't describe a single example. He never says that his father hit him, or deprived him of food or shelter, or cussed at him, or told him that he is worthless. In fact, he admits that his father wanted to spend time with him and didn't agree to see less of him, as an "abusive" father might have done. Instead of sliming his dad on video when his dad is not around to defend himself, maybe he should examine his own behavior, including cutting off contact with a sick and dying parent.
YOU don't know what this young man lived through. Spending isolated/alone time with, or being under the control/authority of a homphobic parent, IS ABUSE to a LGBT child.
This is not a court of law with us as the jury tasked with determining the father's guilt or innocence. This is this man's story to tell. He is under no obligation to give us specific details of his suffering. And we have no business making ludicrous leaps of logic from our ignorance of such details. In every way, shame on you.
@@cukka99 We are only "ignorant of details" because he refuses to provide any in 7 minutes of video. It's not that he doesn't provide evidence of abuse, as he might in a court of law. It's that he doesn't even articulate a coherent accusation of abuse.
that voice is like nails on a chalkboard eeeeeek
Sounds fine to me.
What’s wrong with his voice smh
Why?