This past week, I chose to brave Wal-Mart on my lonesome. Anyone who knows my spending habits knows this is a bad idea. As I was gallivanting among the neon-colored, straight-leg pants that one could not simply ignore for the beautiful price of $9, I noticed a couple walk in. I’m not one of those people on Valentine’s Day who makes a voodoo doll for every couple I know. I’m just in a “whatever” kind of mood. PDA, within reason, is not bothersome. What this particular couple was doing, however, put animals in a zoo to shame.

Let me see if I can recall the gruesome details…ahh, yes. They both wore GSU attire, so one can only guess that they were students. The young lady was walking behind the gentleman, no space between her and him. She had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck (where was he going to go if he escaped?) and he was holding on to her arms (for balance, perhaps?). For the duration of time that I watched them carry on like this, they held tight as if heading into The Hunger Games and someone was about to volunteer as tribute. Riddle me this, Eagles: Why? Where did she think he was going to run off to? That being said, riddle me this: why is it okay for her to do that, but one of my best friends can’t hold his boyfriend’s hand in public? I had no poker face when that young couple walked past me. I was donning that herp-a-derp face you all know and love, and I wasn’t in a hurry to hide it. They looked absurd. ABSURD. Yet someone else can’t hold his boyfriend’s hand without feeling judgment. I’d personally much rather look at them holding hands than that young lady trying to love-strangle her boyfriend.

We are the next generation of real-world adults. There are a lot of strange things that we will see in this world, but two men, two women, a man and a transgender person or any other couple should be able to at least hold hands without being judged. It isn’t our place to judge them. Let “The Powers That Be” do that. Seriously. Don’t you have better things to do besides be Judge Judy of the Pedestrium?

I could go on forever about human rights. Instead, I’ll give the bottom line: everyone deserves to love and to be loved. No matter who the other half is. My song for this week is Mary Lambert’s “She Keeps Me Warm.” We all need to practice loving a little more, and judging (a lot) less. Until next week, Healins and blessins, y’all.