PRIDE

Love Is Love 

Gay pride is the affirmation, dignity, equality, and increased visibility of people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ). Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements.

June 2020 marks the 50th anniversary of Pride celebrations in New York and San Francisco. It's also the 5 year anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that legalized same sex marriage. Pride Month is celebrated each year in June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan led by black transgender women, a tipping point for the US Gay Liberation Movement.

The Supreme Court may issue rulings soon on multiple cases that could decide whether gay and transgender people are protected under federal work place discrimination laws. The decisions may determine whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits employment discrimination based on sex, would also cover gender identity and sexual orientation. 

For people who want to learn more about LGBTQ and Pride, the Anti-Defamation League provides educational resources for teachers, parents, families and caregivers.

LGBTQ and Pride related news:

• 17 LGBTQ authored cookbooks to cook from during Pride and beyond.
• Alison Hope: Pride is a feeling, not a parade.
• Biden recognized the 50th anniversary of LGBTQ Pride Month. Trump and Pence did not.
• CNN: Pride + Progress information to know.
• Daniel Quasar rebooted the LGBTQ Pride flag with an emphasis on inclusion and progression. 
• Hebrew children's book gives glimpse into the struggle for equal rights. 
• History of Pride Month and what it can teach us about moving forward today
• How to: Observe LGBTQ Pride Month with nationwide events canceled.
• More than 100 LGBTQ organizations released an open letter in solidarity with George Floyd protests.
• NYC based Kind Snacks is donating all net proceeds from the sale of its new chocolate Pride bars to help homeless LGBTQ youth. 
• Pride started with revolutionary riots: Advocates point to movement's radical roots. 
• San Antonio drag queen Tencha La Jefa reflected on the meaning of Pride Month.
• The stranger-than-fiction tale of Circus of Books: How a straight, married, suburban couple became accidental gay porn pioneers.
• Virtual Pride events offer new way to celebrate LGBTQ history and culture.
• Which companies actually support LGBTQIA+ organizations?

Progress: a Pride Flag Reboot 

In the spirit of sharing softer news and/or silly vibes:

• Key & Peele offered gay wedding advice. 
• LGBTQ Pride moments clipped from tv sitcoms.
• Paula Stone Williams discussed transgender living as a man and a woman.
• Pride parade signs display a sense of humor.
• Randy Rainbow sings Born This Gay.

Daily pandemic update:  

World Health Organization (WHO) changed its position on face masks and is now encouraging people to wear them in crowded places. Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro threatened to pull his country out of the WHO, accusing the body of being "partisan" and "political". Aljazeera.com timeline

6 June 2020	Cases		Deaths		Recovered
11:36 GMT*	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today	Yesterday	Today
World	6,789,308	6,874,796	396,190	398,682	3,304,561	3,368,987
US	1,938,998	1,966,266	110,804	111,398	715,511	738,729
NY	384,837	396,699	30,296	30,372	68,838	84,139
CT	43,239	43,460	4,007	4,038	7,689	7,689
NC	33,294	33,294	1,015	1,015	18,860	18,860

A moment of silence for those we’ve lost to coronavirus, including the first 100 and the first 100,000 in the US.

As of today 13% of closed cases in the US resulted in death; 87% recovered.

Globally 11% of closed cases resulted in death worldwide; 89% recovered.

Currently 2% of all active cases are considered serious or critical.

*Documenting time of day because real time data updates continuously.
Tracking specific states:  NY is US epicenter. Son Reid lives in CT. I live in NC. 
Worldometers     Coronainusa     Starsexpress2020     https://ncov2019.live/

In the news: 

• All 57 members of the Buffalo NY Emergency Response Team resigned Friday after 2 police officers were suspended for shoving a 75 year old man to the ground.
• Biden criticized Trump for invoking George Floyd’s name to celebrate the economy when millions are still out of work.
• China and India are trying to resolve border dispute peacefully.
• Hadiya Pendleton was a 15 year old girl shot and killed as she walked home from school in Chicago in 2013. Yesterday people were encouraged to #WearOrange on #GunViolenceAwarenessDay for #HadiyasPromise and for ALL lives stolen or injured due to gun violence.
• Hammond LA suspect in custody after driving car into Target and leaving suspicious devices in multiple locations.
• John Kelley, former chief of staff, agreed with Jim Mattis in rebuke of Trump.
• Justin Trudeau took a knee during anti-racism protest in Ottawa Canada.
• MD police charged cyclist Anthony Brennan who assaulted teens putting up fliers.
• Michael Jordan donated $100 million to causes supporting racial equality.
• Minneapolis agreed to ban police chokeholds.  
• NC Supreme Court ruled repeal of Racial Justice Act was unconstitutional; racial justice cases should be heard.
• New info is emerging about the officers charged in George Floyd’s murder; rookie officers blame training officer Chauvin.
• NFL reversed course to admit players have the right to protest; black lives do matter. QB Drew Brees clarified his position to help educate Trump.  
• Pentagon disarmed guardsmen in DC, a signal of de-escalation. 
• Police in Los Angeles and Vallejo are being scrutinized for harsh tactics with protestors and for questionable shootings. Multiple examples of police brutality have been documented recently. Vox shared a reading list on the subject.
• Protests against police brutality and memorials for George Floyd continue. Signs of change include shifts in police responses to protests as well as tone of protests.  
• Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian resigned from board, urged company to replace him with a black candidate. Ohanian, who is married to tennis champ Serena Williams, donated $1 million to Know Your Rights Camp, a non-profit started by Colin Kaepernick.
• Richmond VA is taking down confederate statues.  
• Russian prosecutors ordered checks at "particularly dangerous installations" built on permafrost after a huge oil spill in the Arctic. 
• San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge new railings make musical wind instrument sounds.
• TN court ruled all registered voters may obtain mail in ballots due to COVID-19.
• Trump tweeted: "We should be standing up straight and tall, ideally with a salute, or a hand on heart...There are other things you can protest, but not our Great American Flag - NO KNEELING!" NOTE: He doesn’t seem to understand people are protesting police brutality, not the actual flag. Trump’s birthday is June 14, which also happens to be Flag Day. Perhaps he is protective of the flag because in his narcissistic mind the flag represents a physical manifestation of his divine authority, as if a protest tangentially involving the flag is an attack against him personally. It will be interesting to see how he reacts to video birthday greetings from critics.
• Twitter removed Trump reelection campaign video tribute to George Floyd claiming copyright complaint. Trump campaign also pulled SpaceX ad after astronaut’s wife called it propaganda.
• Utah National Guard moved out of DC Marriott over budget dispute. City contract covered rooms for COVID-19 support but not for soldiers combating protestors.
• WHO urged all people to wear fabric face masks in public, including healthy people.

Following Kenny Beck’s lead to share a few signs of hope:

• Good News Network LGBTQ stories from around the world. 
• NBC Out stories from 2018 are worth revisiting. 
• Uplifting news and stories shared during COVID-19 pandemic.

In my personal life…

When I was around 4 years old my family lived in a small rented house in Columbus, GA near Ft Benning. I remember 2 things about that house. 1) The back yard was covered in leaves when we moved in. Underneath those leaves were dozens of little frogs. I named them all Freddy and gleefully chased them around the yard as they hopped away. 2) Our next door neighbor was a kind man named Watson. He grew roses along the fence between our yards. My family maintained a lifelong friendship with Watson and his sister Mary. I don’t remember discussing Watson’s sexuality with anyone except for a brief mention by my mom after he died. He wasn’t our gay friend Watson. He was just Watson.

Some of my friends are LGBTQ. A young man named Jamie I met in college was the first person I knew who talked openly about being gay. A few years later friend Mark came out to Harvey and me. He seemed nervous about telling us. We thanked him for trusting us with information he didn’t share with everyone. 

Son Reid was conceived about a month after Harvey’s father died of AIDS. [NOTE: I married Harvey #3; his father and grandfather were both known simply as Harvey; no junior designation. Grandpa Harvey #1 owned a moving and storage business. Harvey #2 was a real estate developer who lived in a beautifully restored Victorian home in Macon, GA.] Harvey #2 was either bi-sexual or gay though he lived as a straight man, married with children. Toward the end of his life he told us he was bi-sexual. We suspected he was uncomfortable admitting he was gay but we didn’t discuss this with him. 

Just in case Reid might be Harvey #2 reincarnated, I wanted to make sure he felt loved and accepted unconditionally regardless of sexual orientation. When Harvey’s maternal grandparents pressured us to have Reid christened in their Anglican church we asked Mark to be one of Reid’s godparents, along with my Aunt Myra. When Reid chose a Tinky Winky costume for Halloween one year I proudly took him trick or treating and mentally prepared myself for judgments and questions from others. When Reid was a teenager I told him it was perfectly fine if he was attracted to boys. He rolled his eyes and said he liked girls. He didn’t have a girlfriend so I reiterated my affirmation to make sure he felt safe enough to confide in me. Again he rolled his eyes and insisted he was straight. After briefly feeling disappointed he wasn’t gay, I let go of caring one way or the other.  

Yesterday Greg and I ran a few errands. He had purchased a cherry pitter online from Bed, Bath and Beyond so we drove there to get it. Following instructions in a confirmation email he parked in a spot reserved for pick up, called the store to announce our arrival, popped the hatch of his car, and waited for a sales clerk to bring the merchandise to us. The clerk wore a mask and was both professional and friendly as she checked Greg’s ID to confirm his identity before placing a bag in the car hatchback and closing it for us. It was a pleasant shopping experience and considerably more efficient than shopping inside the store the way we used to.

Next we stopped at the Harris Teeter on Stratford Road for groceries. We wore masks as we searched for items we needed, including a few items we hadn’t been able to get online from Food Lion or Lowe’s. Charmin Strong bathroom tissue remains at the top of our list and unfortunately is still out of stock. It had been about 6 weeks since we bought groceries like this, in a store, walking up and down aisles. We were like kids in a candy store oohing and aahing over found treasures like cold brew and brown eggs in a cardboard carton instead of plastic or styrofoam.

On the way home we stopped at the credit union to deposit Greg’s final paycheck from the city. He was going to wait in line for a drive thru teller but the line was long so he used the ATM instead.

Today is my brother Randy’s birthday so we texted him celebratory messages. This is also Reid’s first weekend living in his dad’s lake house. Harvey and Tamara bought the house several weeks ago while Reid was staying with Lauren’s family. A contractor recently finished the basement by building a family music room, bathroom, and bedroom for Reid.

Greg opted to skip breakfast yesterday while I made a strawberry smoothie. For lunch Greg ate sushi purchased from the grocery store and I ate the last 2 pieces of left over grilled chicken with some potato salad on the side. We ate crème brulee for an afternoon snack; mine was garnished with 2 barely ripe blackberries from the garden. For dinner we ate salami slices and havarti cheese atop buttery crackers, followed by a few caramel and chocolate pretzels for dessert.

My daily action for racial justice Saturday was a donation to the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. I also downloaded How to be an Antiracist audio book by Ibram X Kendi. It was no cost with a 30 day free trial of Audible, which I plan to cancel by day 29.