The Vulkon convention in Orlando Florida is a star trek convention were a few of the stars of the show will come and speak and you can take pictures of them and people sell various things and talk about the shows they love.

Far too often these conventions are the focus of many jokes; even some of the stars themselves make fun of some of those who attend the convention. Now granted there are some cases where people take things out of hand and where people take the fun and fantasy to far into the real world.

However, dressing up as a star trek character or some other sci-fi character shouldn’t be looked down upon. At the hotel there were many people who weren’t there for the convention and when they saw some of the people dressed up, there were many people pointing and staring.

To these people, dressing up or even attending a convention of this type is weird. Something I noticed was these were the most tolerant and friendly people I have ever met. It’s easy to point at the guy who has thick glasses, or braces, is over weight or has a disability.

But at the convention there was none of that, even today being a black man and over weight I have seen people point or make a joke or others will think I may rob them or I must be doing something wrong, trust me you can feel the eyes on you.

At the convention this wasn’t the case, not once did I feel anyone looking down at met or pre-judging me. I saw people of every color, shape and size. Everyone was nice and respectable of one another.

I guess seeing various aliens on the television show can make looking at a human with a different skin color no big deal. Now don’t get me wrong these people weren’t stupid they didn’t live with some unrealistic fantasy that everyone was your friend and that the world is like it is shown on the TV shows.

These were bright people who discussed how the world was today, how we treat each other and how we as human beings can improve. What was weird wasn’t the couple dressed as Klingons, it was the people who couldn’t understand why all these people gather together and have fun.

If that’s what is weird then I want to be weird, kindness, tolerance, friendship, and respect, these shouldn’t be looked at as strange. If more people were like the people I met at Vulkon then this earth would be much closer to being like the earth on star trek.

I thought about my time there and how I felt after seeing some comments about the vote on same sex marriages. It is sad that most of the people voting to keep two people who love each over from doing so was because, to them, it is weird and unfamiliar.

There are so many things we could experience if we had an open mind, but if nothing else we should give people the right to experience them for themselves. I am a straight man and I honestly don’t see myself getting married, but this does not mean I should keep someone else from experiencing something I may not.

Maybe it is just a matter of time. The more we learn and share in the lives of people the more tolerant we become. It is unfortunate for some it will take much longer than others.