You think you know, but have no idea. I have seen many men fighting their tears, trying to brush them back or deny them, struggling to repress their pain or emotions. Think how you would feel if you were a young man, who was socially engineered to date men, fell in love with your own father, and had no idea, who he was, and still be in denial about it, only to find out he was receiving oral sex for a fresh out of high school foreign exchange student, who is getting married, and that he was also dating a young woman, who was young enough to be his daughter and resembled his teenage daughter as well?

And while you are sitting at home depressed, your dad was showing off his teenage boyfriend, who is just hours away from getting married. Or his masculine Mandingo lover, who are not nearly as attractive as you, but one sucks like he is Dracula, and the other Fs like a master.  And the tramp is easy to control and always in the mood for cheap sex, university tuition is not cheap. And you thought your family was messed up. However, to make matters even more complicated, you actually want to end your relationship with your father because he does not spend any time with you, but also know that you are part of an extremely vulnerable population, and may need him in the very near future.

These types of stories are not that uncommon among the elite. However, they are mostly above the law, not the toys, but the players are. You often do not hear about the fifteen year old daughter, who is pimped out to a business partner to close a deal, or the son, who is tricked into sharing a room, for the weekend, with the contractor so the family gets free labor. Nor do you hear about the Mayor and reporters who get away with slandering a young man, and having him physically hurt, while he is under threat to keep him in control.

These are the type of stories that do not make headlines. These youth are often abused, and they cannot turn to anyone for help. The police will not touch these types of cases, as they do not want their lives ruined. The head coach pretends to be helping you, but lets you know if you speak up they will have you locked away. Yet the community hears the noise, sees the frequent bruises, but no one does anything to actually help the toy being used in the game.

The young man speaks up about being stalked and harassed, and expresses his concern about a reporter showing up unannounced in his apartment, having a birthday party at his family members house, and using a computer at his family home, and the media organization threatens to have the young man prosecuted and sue him if he speaks up. These people are caught up in some kind of trap and have no way out.

You need money, but cannot work because of security concerns and injuries, and everyone know you have no hope, so they are able to control you and do as they please, but you better not step out of line. There are people you would actually like to date, but in the past when people get close to you they back off because they get weird phone calls while they are out with you. And some fear if they date you, someone might ruin their career, but being friends with you seems to help them gain recognition and status.

You are so desperate for freedom, you actually try to sell yourself, and that does not work out.  Yes, this young man is full of shame, and people know what is going on, but everyone pretends not to. As he sits there racking his brains, thinking about how to escape, he knows that it is very likely that if he does go on an internet dating site, and meets up with a person, it is very likely that he will be assaulted, but not only that dreads the thought of having some musty lustful beast near him.

And you thought you had problems? Looks like being black, gay, or trans is really not so difficult in comparison, they have freedom to walk the streets and express themselves. While most people are spoiled and think they are too good for a job, this young man has been seeking a way out for more than a decade and as time goes on, there seem to be less and less options. He does not have any friends, is always being evaluated, and under threat is being cut off from the sum of money, which is just enough to keep him in his trap.

Being religious, the young man knows he cannot commit suicide, and keeps praying to God. He admits that he is ashamed, vulnerable, and has trust issues, but if one day you work up with your car destroyed and bruises from head to toe, I am sure you would have issues, too. He is living in a shadowland of darkness and knows there is nowhere to run, and no one he can turn to, all he can do is wait it out, and pray for the best. People think being young and gay and on a sports team is a horrible prison, but their only barrier from happiness is in their mind.

Challenge calls out the warrior in a man, the one who tests, hones, and refines himself through his encounters with difficult or unusual conditions. His challenge is more than a cocktail of testosterone, adrenaline, and manning up pressures; more than shame driven opportunity to validate or showcase his manliness; and more than something done to meet someone else’s standards.

He is trying to stay alive, well, and find a way out of this game, while everyone sits back and watches, as if they cannot do a thing, but observe, antagonize, bully, and tell him about the wonderful options in this beautiful World, as if they have no idea he is not safe. The main difference is others who go through this usually have more money and more luxury. They can afford four lines of coke to cheer them up, or a trip to London to cure a love fit, but I guess to keep one’s virtue, you take away the money. I suppose if he ends up dead, that will be when heads will roll. Nothing lasts forever.