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Content Note: racism, racial justice, white complicity Around Halloween, two 12-year-old girls allegedly decided to dress up in blackface for Halloween. They were spotted and photographed at a local Dunkin Donuts. The ensuing thread on Facebook, seemingly including the girls’ family members, is filled with threats and more racism and also resistance. While I […]
This morning, I was notified that I have a 24-hour ban from Facebook. It is my fourth ban in an eight day span. There’s no explanation, there’s no clarity on exactly which Community Standards I violated, there’s no information. And there’s no way to compel Facebook to do anything. So I’m not going to […]
This is how it works – or it should work. A group of local folks create a safe space to celebrate and affirm their LGBTQ neighbors. In this case, a 40-year-old pansexual mother of two set up a visibility event in a park in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania. People came, made connections, joined the Facebook group. […]
This is our annual (7+ year) round-up of Toys for Tots programs in Western Pennsylvania for 2019. I’ve done my best to sort through the available information and provide you what you may need to know. PLEASE click through to the applicable link to doublecheck the details. I will update as information becomes available. Some […]
Today is Spirit Day: Spirit Day is a means of speaking out against LGBTQ bullying and standing with LGBTQ youth, who disproportionately face bullying and harassment because of their identities. Pledging to “go purple” on Spirit Day is a way for everyone — forward-thinking companies, global leaders, respected celebrities, neighbors, parents, classmates, and friends — […]
While I’m not particularly surprised that Ellen Degeneres continues to lose touch with the experience of typical queer folks, I was dismayed by her comments defending her friendship with former President George W Bush. “We’re all different and I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s okay that we’re all different … but just because I […]
I had an idea to explore an important question around coming out – the need for visibility and representation by publicly out folks in all industries, occupations, walks of life balanced against the very personal decisions we make to come out. I wrote about this in 2015 regarding the workforce of the City of Pittsburgh. […]
Itali Marlowe was just 29 years old when she was shot to death by Raymond D. Williams on September 20, 2019. It was a little past 2 PM in the afternoon when the Houston woman was found dying in her driveway near the home she shared with Williams. Itali was a Black trans woman. Williams […]
Recently, I blew up at another LGBTQ advocate who made some choices that I found questionable. I ended the conversation by telling them “Please don’t message me. I need a break from you. Thank you.” A week later, they unexpectedly sent me an expository email to help me understand their perspective and tell me how […]
Another year, another ballot referendum trying to circumvent the “no taxation without representation” theory of governance. This time it is the Parks Conservancy which wants funding for parks and doesn’t want the hassle of going through the normal City budgeting process. So 2018. The question would ask voters whether they support raising property taxes starting […]
