"I got some cheese to spread on your cracker!"
They Just Wanted to Dance
Seven years ago, I wrote a very long letter and posted it to Facebook. It was June 13, 2016, the day after the senseless attack on the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida. This was a massacre that left 49 people dead and countless others scarred for life. It was a cowardly act of hate. 49 human beings: your sisters, brothers, sons, daughters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, parents, and friends were slaughtered by a madman simply because they wanted to dance.
They just wanted to dance! They wanted to dance in a place that accepted them for who they are. A place that didn’t judge them, mock them, or shame their existence. A place where true family can be found when their own families couldn’t, wouldn’t, or flat out refused to accept the reality that a child of theirs...
This Little Light of Mine
In most every culture, heteronormative values are everywhere you look, so the idea that a gay friend is imposing upon you by merely mentioning their life is hypocrisy. Straight people have been imposing their heterosexuality on me for past 55 years.
The idea that “the gays are recruiting” is ludicrous. From birth, gay kids are subjected to and are exposed to a myriad of images promoting, encouraging, and expecting heterosexuality. Who’s grooming whom? Gay kids watch thousands of tv shows and movies and read thousands of books containing straight characters, yet they still grow up gay, despite the heterosexual agenda. But some parents are still terrified that little Timmy will read just one book where a turtle has two dads and he’s going to wake up the next day and ask Tommy...
Burn Baby Burn
You can’t imagine what it must have been like for me as a child, knowing I was different, unable to articulate how I was different, yet different nonetheless. This was made even worse at church, where hellfire and brimstone could get you and you could burn for all eternity.
I think the following quote encapsulates my experience at church very well.
“The church was everything: our social engagements, Sunday morning, Sunday evening.
Wednesday night was the hour of power. We had Bible study on certain days. Saturday afternoon was choir practice. I wanted desperately to be a good Christian. You had to have grown up in the church like I did to realize
how dark it is to be a kid and be told that God hates you, or that there's something wrong with you."
— Leslie...
The Straight Pride Parade
On the 7th Anniversary of the Pulse Massacre in Orlando, FL
I have many straight friends who are staunch allies. You know who you are. If I haven’t told you lately, thank you for being my friend, ally, supporter, and defender. Thank you for your trust, recognition, understanding, and your respect. Thank you for standing alongside me and fighting the good fight and, perhaps most importantly, showing up to celebrate the victories. Thank you for providing a safe, judgment-free environment and for encouraging me to be myself. The symbol in the photo of this blog entry represents the kind of straight pride that should be celebrated. While it’s not an official symbol, as it's just something I created for the purpose of this blog, It represents my straight friends and allies. You are loved!...
Mourning the Dead
I began writing this blog because I was heartbroken. My heart still hurts. I have lost a very dear friend and I am mourning her passing. Oh… She’s not dead… She’s alive and well… yet she has most certainly passed on from my life and I grieve her absence. Ignorance, intolerance, and her refusal to entertain or even listen to a perspective different than her own has made it so. I did not write this to her nor did I write this for her. The dead cannot read.