Today is National Coming Out Day, something I only learned from reading the online morning papers. I belong to no social media groups or advocacy organizations alerting me to the fact. And I'm "out" for all intents and purposes, though I don't announce it everywhere I go to just anyone I meet.
I'm old enough to have been on the receiving end of prejudice, including almost not being able to rent a house in my twenties - until I mentioned a lawyer. Anything that's happened to me is minor in the big picture - being called derogatory names, etc. But twice I have feared for my life, and I'm grateful that's now years in my rearview mirror.
When Harvey Milk began calling for LGBTQ people everywhere to come out it was the beginning of liberation. And as with all liberation movements, it was a beginning that is still in search of an end. We've made wonderful progress and I'm grateful for every ounce of it, but there's a long way to go.
In 2018, it is still legal in 29 states to be fired for being LGBTQ; to be denied housing for being LGBTQ; to be denied a hotel reservation for being LGBTQ. Anyone who wonders why people still march, or seek legal redress, or advocate for political action, need only think about this fact. 29 states.
It was also announced today that Matthew Shepard will be laid to rest at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C. It's been 20 years since he was beaten, pistol whipped, tied to a fence and left to die on a Wyoming plain. By the time he was discovered 18 hours later - a cyclist passing by initially mistook his body for that of a scarecrow - it was too late and his suffering ended a few days later in a hospital bed.
His parents never interred his ashes, fearful of creating a place for potential vandalism or anti-gay protests.
I can only imagine the joy they must feel today. That in honor of his memory and the forward progress his death has engendered, his remains will now rest in this national hallowed space.
And as for his souI, I firmly believe that it's been resting for the past 20 years within the embrace of the Beloved.
I'm old enough to have been on the receiving end of prejudice, including almost not being able to rent a house in my twenties - until I mentioned a lawyer. Anything that's happened to me is minor in the big picture - being called derogatory names, etc. But twice I have feared for my life, and I'm grateful that's now years in my rearview mirror.
When Harvey Milk began calling for LGBTQ people everywhere to come out it was the beginning of liberation. And as with all liberation movements, it was a beginning that is still in search of an end. We've made wonderful progress and I'm grateful for every ounce of it, but there's a long way to go.
In 2018, it is still legal in 29 states to be fired for being LGBTQ; to be denied housing for being LGBTQ; to be denied a hotel reservation for being LGBTQ. Anyone who wonders why people still march, or seek legal redress, or advocate for political action, need only think about this fact. 29 states.
It was also announced today that Matthew Shepard will be laid to rest at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington D.C. It's been 20 years since he was beaten, pistol whipped, tied to a fence and left to die on a Wyoming plain. By the time he was discovered 18 hours later - a cyclist passing by initially mistook his body for that of a scarecrow - it was too late and his suffering ended a few days later in a hospital bed.
His parents never interred his ashes, fearful of creating a place for potential vandalism or anti-gay protests.
I can only imagine the joy they must feel today. That in honor of his memory and the forward progress his death has engendered, his remains will now rest in this national hallowed space.
And as for his souI, I firmly believe that it's been resting for the past 20 years within the embrace of the Beloved.
