YOUR LENS

 PRIDE MONTH is the time for me to answer so many folks who have asked, why is it so important for gay people to come out.  The first time I was asked that I found myself almost lost for words. In that brief moment I felt anger, confusion, hurt and wonder at why someone would have to even ask that!

As the LGBT+ community once again comes under hateful attacks in this country, I am thrown back into the  60's and 70's when I was just a young girl trying to find my place in a society that kept telling me I was sick, disgusting and going to hell. 

We all need to not just talk about ending the hate and the lies but we need to fight to turn this ugly tide.

I will speak for myself and others who cannot... 

We will not go away.

We will not be going back into closets to live our lives.

We will be vocal.

We will raise awareness.

We will call on those who know and love us to come out and support us.

We will fight for equality and our right to be who we are without shame or fear.

We are your moms, dads, grandparents, best friends, plumbers, roofers, doctors, lawyers, ditch diggers, teachers, preachers, nurses, servers, and on it goes...

Most of us live quiet lives and don't parade half naked in our cities but those who do have the right to. We are proud to be who we are and we celebrate it to let humankind know we are here.

The human condition allows individuals to know and live with the things that they have felt and experienced growing up. This is what people learn, what they expect as they move through life. This is the lens folks view life through every day.  The acquisition of knowledge through growth, travel, books, friendships and so much more can change and does change the once myopic view. That lens opens our once limited worlds to see and realize that being different is not good or bad but only different, this is why we come out. 

Many people have said they want this ugly wave to stop but don't know how to help.  The Human Rights Campaign has a great resource guide to all the many and varied things one can do to support the efforts of all who are trying to turn this hateful tide.

Please visit the site below and take the time to read...no more waiting for someone else to fight. As difficult as this is for those of us, particularly the elderly, who have been through it and are needing to do it yet once again... We are needed...our experience can help those behind us. Memories of Kent State and Stonewall will fuel us!

LGBTQ+ AMERICANS FIGHT BACK: A GUIDEBOOK FOR ACTION LGBTQ+ Americans Under Attack Report People living in States like Florida, Texas, Iowa etc. need to be vocal and active to change the climates in their States.  We all have to get involved, all of us, in every State. People get voted in, people can get voted OUT.  WIDEN THE LENS!!!