Melbourne man Drew Ezell was on his way home from a typical night out when his Uber driver pulled over and told him to get out of the car.
He was coming from a Collingwood gay bar and was kissing another man, an act he said the homophobic driver labelled “disgusting”.
“Last night I went to a gay bar and I drank. I sang. I danced. I celebrated being in the community I love. Because I refuse to live a life in fear. But last night something did scare me,” he wrote in a Facebook post.
“I caught an Uber home. Like I have many times before. But this time I had someone with me. I kissed them. And for that, we got kicked out of our Uber. Because two men kissing disgusted someone so much that they refused to drive two people home. I was, and still am, furious about this.”
The creative writing and film student from Brunswick said he was — and still is — furious about the incident, but in the wake of the mass shooting in Orlando, a targeted attack on the LGBTI community, it also filled him with fear.
“I have every right to live my life, to love the people I do, to not be afraid to kiss the person I want just because they are a man,” he wrote.
“But this morning when I woke up. I had a moment of fear. Because on Sunday, someone decided that two men kissing was reason enough to massacre 50 of them.
“It was a small moment of fear, and it passed. And then I went back to feeling angry. And a little sad. Angry that I now live in a world where the thought that me kissing someone might lead to the death of others. Angry that that is even a thought I have to have. Angry that so much senseless violence happens. Angry that 50 of my brothers and sisters are now dead because of who they loved.”