Hi everyone,

Please take a look at my post - sorry to be preachy, but I'm writing from my heart

For those of you who don't know me on the forums, my name is Dave, and I'm 24 years old, and I live in the UK. I'm gay, and I kinda get on with my life quietly rather than shouting about my sexuality all the time, so this is unusual for me. I think it is basic human nature to fall in love. It just so happened that when I fell in love, it was with another boy. Lots of other people do the same thing.

I think that the Eurovision Song Contest is an amazing example of the motto of the European Union, which is 'united in diversity'. We are an incredible continent, and there are 730 million people of all different shapes, sizes, colours, religions and sexualities. Everyone is different, and every single human being is wonderful in their own way. Everybody can love, everybody feels pain, we all feel the warmth of the same sun on our faces, we've all got the same blood in our veins and we all hope for peace, security and a good future for ourselves and the people we love.

If we love the contest, we love it's diversity and it's differences. We all get together for one night every year and celebrate everything that's unique and different about our cultures, and we love each other because of the similarities we share as Europeans.

The Russian government has forgotten an incredibly crucial detail of the life of a human being. When a baby is born, it is his or her right when they grow up to fall in love. If a baby boy grows up and falls in love with another man, or a baby girl grows up and falls in love with another woman, no government, no individual, no force of nature or nothing inside or outside of anybody's control can prevent them from exercising that fundamental right to freedom of emotion.

This week, the week of the 54th Eurovision Song Contest, I invite everyone who loves the contest to change their avatar and signature right here on escchat to a special graphic I have made, which is a rainbow flag with the words 'Pride and Love' written across it in Russian. It's a couple of minutes of effort, but I hope that we as fans can send a message of support to people everywhere who are being denied their rights in any way.

By posting the picture, it's not going to mean you're gay, or love gays, or anything out of whatever your comfort zone might be. It's just a simple way to say that you want to stand up and say that you love your fellow human, and you want them to be able to live a life in which they're free to do what they want.

I think I have a really big heart, and I feel a lot of love for everyone. Love is love, and love is amazing. It doesn't matter who you feel it for, and it's one of this human race's greatest tragedies that some people would seek to stop people from loving one another because it doesn't quite fit in with some old ideas.

This week, Russia needs to learn that it is in no way cool to suppress anyone just because of who they love.

Please swap your graphic for ESC week - there's a link to the picture below.

Thanks so, so much for reading

Dave x

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dhbj33x9_2fp246nhq

Agreed!

Here, here! I stand by your side on this Dave!

I did it, too...good idea, Dave

Разом нас багато, нас не подолати!!!

A very modern take on the "Hath not a Jew eyes?" speech from The Merchant of Venice - and damn it, it's just as good as Shakespeare could have written!

Dave, I haven't the words to express how amazing you are

LOVE LOVE LOVE for everyone!!!

Couldn´t agree more!

Wish more people thought like you.

I'm with you, Dave

- Apart from Robert Mugabe rofl.

But on a more serious note, here here! I agree with it all! Thats why homophobes or any sort of discriminatory abuse annoy me so much, people can't change the way they're born, and why should people seperate other people on something that can't and shouldn't be changed? + Life is too short to hold grudges and whatnot!

And Dave you truly are amazing!