Ron DeSantis’ infamous “Don’t Say Gay” law was initially aimed at young elementary school children whose tender ears were deemed too sensitive to be told their classmate Johnnie has two mommies or two daddies. The law covered K-3. It wasn’t long before DeSantis decided that even 12th graders are too young. From there DeSantis aimed his sights on state universities, banning diversity programs on the … Continue reading The Not-So-Slow Creep of Bigotry
An article in yesterday’s New York Times got me thinking. It described the latest round of something we see constantly these days: speakers (usually conservative) being shouted down or denied a platform altogether by (usually “progressive”) students or activists. The right does this too, though in their case it’s often more institutionalized than ad hoc. Examples include the expulsion this week of two Tennessee state representatives or … Continue reading Society Needs a Collective ‘Time Out’
The news has been consumed since 2020 with ‘The Big Lie’ where Trump & Company have been insisting the presidential election was stolen. Some 60 lawsuits have failed to present credible evidence, the Cyber Ninjas in Arizona actually found additional votes for Biden, and Sidney Powell’s source proving fraud is an “internally decapitated” woman who time travels in a semi-conscious state and talks to the … Continue reading The Other Big Lie
I became a socialist in the early ’70s before attending college. While never a member, I’ve been involved off and on in different capacities with the U.S. Socialist Workers Party (SWP) ever since — until last spring. In April I broke off my connection over political differences. This has led to a series of letters, texts and emails between myself and a close friend since … Continue reading My Liberal Turn
Souls tend to go back to who feels like home. N.R. Hart This past Friday is a day I will long cherish. My college friend, Wendy, lives in Australia now but comes back home to the states from time to time. We last saw each other before the pandemic — too long! Freed now of lockdowns and travel restrictions we met this week and were … Continue reading A Day to Remember a Lifetime of Memories
A list of support resources is provided at the end. October 11 was declared National Coming Out Day in 1988 to mark the first anniversary of the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. It had been almost 20 years since the 1969 Stonewall riots when thousands of us descended on Washington DC demanding our rights and our dignity. Embed from Getty Images … Continue reading National Coming Out Day 2022 — It’s Never Been More Important
Effective today, beginning with this post, I am adopting the expanded acronym of LGBTQ+ over simply LGBT. As I’ve delved deeper into transgender issues, I’ve come to understand the old acronym is too limiting. The “LGBT” community is broader and more diverse than the traditional 4 letters represent. There’s nothing wrong with “LGBT” and it’s frankly easier to say and type, but I would rather … Continue reading Deja Vu All Over Again: The New Wave of Anti-LGBTQ+ Attacks
Updated with a new Afterword. To be nobody but myself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make me somebody else — means to fight the hardest battle any human can fight, and never stop fighting. E. E. Cummings Actor Elliot Page did an interview last spring with Oprah Winfrey on AppleTV+. It was his first TV interview since … Continue reading To Be Transgender is to Be Human
Today is National Coming Out Day, an annual observance of LGBT Pride and Coming Out that dates back to the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights held on October 11, 1987. Over 300,000 marched for a set of demands including protection against discrimination. This was just after the 1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Bowers v. Hardwick that upheld Georgia’s law at … Continue reading Coming Out Day 2021
