Crying- a strength or a weakness?

I just participated in an online poll for the first time. While this signifies that I am getting more comfortable with my computer, it also shows how ticked I was. Usually, I don’t care enough to use my time that way. The question was- “Is it alright for men to cry in public?”
This question disturbs me in so many ways but there is only one I will address here. My vote was yes. My accompanying comment was this- “It takes real strength to show our true emotions.”
Let me tell you a story. I spent 40 years not allowing myself to cry. I expounded much energy in making sure that NO ONE knew how I truly felt. I kept every little hurt tucked away in my “I don’t care” closet. I kept the big hurts tucked away in my “I won’t think about any of that” closet.
I stayed in several abusive relationships- spousal and others- because I denied that they were damaging me. How could they damage me? I was strong, invincible, nothing hurt me! People came to ME for help. I didn’t need to go to anyone.
In addition to that, I am a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe in forgiveness, turn the other cheek, they don’t know what they’re doing, etc.
The experts say that anger/hurt turned inwards is the definition of depression. And boy, did I become depressed, and more depressed, and even more depressed. I became so depressed that for almost a year I fought off suicidal thoughts on a daily basis. When I could no longer think of any reason not to do it, I reached out from the depths of my black, black hole and sought professional help.
The journey that followed was rocky indeed. It included medicine, therapy, and a complete change in my thought process. When asked why I didn’t ever cry I replied, “I’m afraid that if I start I’ll never be able to stop!”
Cleaning out emotional baggage is a lot like cleaning a house. You can throw all the clutter in the closet or under the bed. You can sweep the dirt under the rug. You can cover the holes on the walls with pictures. Everything can look OK but you still know it’s all there.
Or you can “spring clean”. In which case, you have to make a mess before you can actually clean. Everything MUST come out from under the bed and out of the closet. Then you can examine it. You can keep what you want to, throw away what you need to and put it all back in order. In other words, you can find healing and peace.
I thought I was being strong by keeping it all in. I’ve learned that it takes more strength to let it all out. I also found out that forgiveness and the other virtues I wanted to achieve came easier after I stopped bottling up my hurt. How can you forgive someone for a hurt that you are denying even happened?
As a matter of fact, I’ve been thinking about going back to therapy. I cry about everything now! I cry when I’m happy. I cry when I’m moved. I cry when I’m angry. I cry when I’m hurt. I cry when I’m sad. They never did teach me how to stop! And to tell the truth, I really don’t want to know how.
That’s the view from my side of the street, what’s yours?