Such vivid and powerful writing! I really appreciate your honest, insightful reflections on the terror we are facing in our world today -- such as Idaho's HB 752 that makes going to the bathroom a crime. It is horrifying! With so much else going on, I wasn't even aware such a bill had passed. Thank you for writing about it -- I can only hope it will be challenged and overturned in the courts soon. Above all, thank you for your personal perspective on history and the progress this country has made in spite of today's injustices. And I agree: we have to keep fighting against forces that seek to erode democracy and steal our freedoms.
Thank you, Francie! And thank you for reading QPT! It makes sense that you might not have heard of these atrocious (CIS Only”) bathrooms bills: The so-called “Heritage Foundation’s playbook is maximum fuckery, with an everything, everywhere, all at once strategy to keep folks on the backfoot. None of us can fight on all fronts at once. Pick your battle. Be fierce. Don’t relent.
So much ugliness emanating from this Administration on so many levels. I’m sad that so many people are paying a high price for all this hatred. I wish we could all “Live and Let Live”. Life is challenging enough, especially now. 🥺
Liz! Thank you for reading "Queer People Talking," and for always taking the time to drop me a note. Yeah. "Live and let live" is a great motto and just the medicine for this moment – and every moment. Or, more pointedly: "Mind you own bidness." It would be a revelation!
The Great Work Continues...but those of us who REMEMBER the better times must remain active. I'm strengthened when I see so many of our contemporaries (I'm a few years older than you, my friend) dusting off our marching shoes and taking to the streets again. This time it's not our turn to lead, but literally to demonstrate for the next generations how to say hell no, to speak up in support of our younger cohorts' rights to life and liberty and to encourage the ones who only know the pushback to pursue happiness. My parents escaped Nazi Germany, two preteen Jewish kids who watched Kristallnacht as it burst across the land of their birth. Dad always said it won't happen here, "because Americans speak up and fight back". Whether we gamble by staying here, or we choose to live abroad, it's up to all of us to make it so.
Jane! Thank you for telling me this. I think more and more of us are speaking up and ACTING up, to borrow a phrase we're too familiar with. I agree with you: It's up to us to make America what she can be. We can do it. And I think it's important to make sure people understand what's going on. A well-read friend read a draft of this piece, and said she'd had no idea that states like Idaho were passing such draconian laws. So pass the word. Thank you for reading "Queer People Talking"!
I've also had many friends who have talked about leaving (and a few who actually have), but my question is always this: even under the control of a fascist regime, America is still the most powerful country in the world so where are you going to go to completely escape it? After all, if our economy collapses, or we start more wars, we'll take the whole world down with us. I know, of course, that as Californians we have some extra privilege that people in other states don't have, but I'd still rather stay and fight.
Also: what's the name of that Korean-Japanese restaurant? And...you do NOT look your age! Being committed keeps you young. :D
Lisa! I'm with you! It!'s up to us to make America what she can be. (I emailed you my secret spot. For lunch, call ahead, and it'll be ready when you arrive.)
So powerful!!! A. PERSPECTIVE IS EVERYTHING B. If everyone flees, who will defeat this monster? Also, where is there certain safety today? C. I cannot believe you’re almost as old as I am ‼️💗
You said it, Aimee! The world actually is small, with everyone affected by everyone else. My friend Jane wrote: "My parents escaped Nazi Germany, two preteen Jewish kids who watched Kristallnacht as it burst across the land of their birth. Dad always said it won't happen here, 'because Americans speak up and fight back.' Whether we gamble by staying here, or we choose to live abroad, it's up to all of us to make it so." I've heard other similar things, too, largely from people right around our age whose parents were refugees of one sort or another. And so we fight to make America what she can be.
I’ll be here fighting with you!
I appreciate you! Couldn’t think of a better person with whom to stand on “the firing line of life”! And Thank you always for reading QPT!
Such vivid and powerful writing! I really appreciate your honest, insightful reflections on the terror we are facing in our world today -- such as Idaho's HB 752 that makes going to the bathroom a crime. It is horrifying! With so much else going on, I wasn't even aware such a bill had passed. Thank you for writing about it -- I can only hope it will be challenged and overturned in the courts soon. Above all, thank you for your personal perspective on history and the progress this country has made in spite of today's injustices. And I agree: we have to keep fighting against forces that seek to erode democracy and steal our freedoms.
Thank you, Francie! And thank you for reading QPT! It makes sense that you might not have heard of these atrocious (CIS Only”) bathrooms bills: The so-called “Heritage Foundation’s playbook is maximum fuckery, with an everything, everywhere, all at once strategy to keep folks on the backfoot. None of us can fight on all fronts at once. Pick your battle. Be fierce. Don’t relent.
So much ugliness emanating from this Administration on so many levels. I’m sad that so many people are paying a high price for all this hatred. I wish we could all “Live and Let Live”. Life is challenging enough, especially now. 🥺
Liz! Thank you for reading "Queer People Talking," and for always taking the time to drop me a note. Yeah. "Live and let live" is a great motto and just the medicine for this moment – and every moment. Or, more pointedly: "Mind you own bidness." It would be a revelation!
The Great Work Continues...but those of us who REMEMBER the better times must remain active. I'm strengthened when I see so many of our contemporaries (I'm a few years older than you, my friend) dusting off our marching shoes and taking to the streets again. This time it's not our turn to lead, but literally to demonstrate for the next generations how to say hell no, to speak up in support of our younger cohorts' rights to life and liberty and to encourage the ones who only know the pushback to pursue happiness. My parents escaped Nazi Germany, two preteen Jewish kids who watched Kristallnacht as it burst across the land of their birth. Dad always said it won't happen here, "because Americans speak up and fight back". Whether we gamble by staying here, or we choose to live abroad, it's up to all of us to make it so.
Jane! Thank you for telling me this. I think more and more of us are speaking up and ACTING up, to borrow a phrase we're too familiar with. I agree with you: It's up to us to make America what she can be. We can do it. And I think it's important to make sure people understand what's going on. A well-read friend read a draft of this piece, and said she'd had no idea that states like Idaho were passing such draconian laws. So pass the word. Thank you for reading "Queer People Talking"!
I've also had many friends who have talked about leaving (and a few who actually have), but my question is always this: even under the control of a fascist regime, America is still the most powerful country in the world so where are you going to go to completely escape it? After all, if our economy collapses, or we start more wars, we'll take the whole world down with us. I know, of course, that as Californians we have some extra privilege that people in other states don't have, but I'd still rather stay and fight.
Also: what's the name of that Korean-Japanese restaurant? And...you do NOT look your age! Being committed keeps you young. :D
Lisa! I'm with you! It!'s up to us to make America what she can be. (I emailed you my secret spot. For lunch, call ahead, and it'll be ready when you arrive.)
So powerful!!! A. PERSPECTIVE IS EVERYTHING B. If everyone flees, who will defeat this monster? Also, where is there certain safety today? C. I cannot believe you’re almost as old as I am ‼️💗
You said it, Aimee! The world actually is small, with everyone affected by everyone else. My friend Jane wrote: "My parents escaped Nazi Germany, two preteen Jewish kids who watched Kristallnacht as it burst across the land of their birth. Dad always said it won't happen here, 'because Americans speak up and fight back.' Whether we gamble by staying here, or we choose to live abroad, it's up to all of us to make it so." I've heard other similar things, too, largely from people right around our age whose parents were refugees of one sort or another. And so we fight to make America what she can be.