Dear human,
This letter is not addressed to you, Oscar, this is for the person you are. Many would just look at you as an accountant crunching numbers all day – just trying to make it in "The Office" (all the while ignoring Michael's antics, of course). But to us, you were so much more than that. You were inspirational. Our respect for you grew every day you showed up to work. We know it was not easy to put on a brave face and just silently wait for Michael’s homophobic “jokes”. Oh! And you handled them with such grace that we envy you.
What shook us to our core was when Michael kissed you to prove that he was, in fact, not a homophobe. Correction, “forcefully” kissed you. While censorship is the way of the television, this “incident” was never censored. Although we couldn’t think of anything more wrong than this, we can't even begin to imagine what you must have felt when such an absurd incident transpired. But when all of us were still cursing Michael for what he did, you had your merry way of handling it. You talked about how being gay is natural. "Kids, sometimes, it pays to be gay," is still one of our favourites and makes us crack up every time.
A testament to your sense of humour was the "Finer Things Club". The old school romantic in you bloomed in this club. But one couldn’t ignore the inherent stereotype in it. Then again, you took it in your whimsical way. You faced it head on and joked, “I would say that the Finer Things Club is the gayest thing about me”. Ah, surreal!
When the preparations for the "Roast of Michael Scott" were underway, we all knew it was going to be epic. Although, we had our reservations about Michael taking it all in good sport. And we were right. Calling you "gay" as a roast was stupid, naive, foolhardy, hurtful and plain wrong. Very wrong. We couldn’t even begin to fathom what you must have felt. You “handled” it just the way you always do. But what kept bothering us was the reason as to why you were handling it. The fact that Michael insisted on introducing you by your sexuality before your professional capacity was repulsive and humiliating in all ways and forms. But still, you persisted. You, Oscar, clearly won our hearts. We were amazed by the patience you portrayed at every step. You did not allow your sexuality to be relegated to common gossip. You owned your identity.
You being vocal about your relationship was a ray of hope for all our scared friends back home. You taught our friends to not be afraid of the world’s judgements and opinions. You taught them to live the way they want to. We know what an ignorant world we live in, and your composure in dealing with it was just the encouragement one needs.
In the end, all we want to say is a big thanks. Thank you for being there in that office. You made us all laugh. You taught us that one should not forget to acknowledge and embrace themselves. Who cares about society? Thank you for not leaving that hellhole even when the going got tough. Thank you for being you. Without you, "The Office" would not have been complete.
Your die-hard fans,
Kashish and Kanishk