Terminated

Image:  Facebook

Since the nation's Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988, launched three years ago, it's fielded over 16 million calls, texts, and chats. Gay and transgender youth accounted for nearly 10% of those contacts.

The system is working. So . . . let's shut it down!

Last week the Trump administration pulled the plug on the "press 3" option, which connected queer young people with a counselor trained in their specific challenges, like discrimination, violence, and heightened suicidality.

I see this as a twofer for Trump and his suckerfish. First they actively vilify our community, especially transgender folks, and now they get to shutter a primary resource for coping with that vilification. So neat and tidy.

More and more I sense the need for a national Trump Crisis Lifeline so people can get emotional support dealing with the almost daily calamities he creates. Since 911 is taken, we need a different number. Funny, where Trump is concerned, all I can think of is 666.

Pride 2025

Image:  Facebook

In year one of Trump 2.0, it felt important to me to represent by attending Pride. So even though I'd had a rotten cold all week, I hauled my carcass to Seattle Pride yesterday, and marched in the parade with my fellow Unitarian Universalists.

I hid my red nose behind a rainbow fan.

The day before, about 100,000 Hungarians also felt a need to show up at Pride—under much scarier circumstances. The government of Hungarian Grand Poobah Viktor Orbán, which has been steamrolling democracy for years, recently decided it can ban public LGBTQ events.

So all those Hungarians, gay and straight, were actively defying an official ban. They risked heavy fines and conflict with police. The 30th annual Budapest Pride turned out to be not only record-setting in size, but also a clear rebuke of an autocrat's government.

A queer-led protest against abuse of power? Sounds like Stonewall to me.

This Week's Quote

Image by Vilius Kukanauskas from Pixabay

Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts.

E. B. White

Source: BrainyQuote

Civil Wrongs

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

The Advocate reports that a far-right federal judge in Texas has determined that LGBTQ people are no longer protected from workplace discrimination.

The ruling of Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk flies in the face of the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. In that landmark case, the justices ruled that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

If you felt a weird twinge at a staff meeting recently, that was Judge Kacsmaryk telling you your job is on the line. And you thought it was just the lousy office coffee.