Speaking Out

"First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out because I am not a socialist." 

I'm speaking out because I know how this poem ends.

This is a picture of Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina), who today introduced a resolution forbidding transgender women from using the women's restrooms at the United States Capitol. 

Notice, if you will, the immense crosses dangling from her earlobes. It appears she is a Conspicuous Christian.

And this is a picture of Sarah McBride, Democratic Representative-Elect from Delaware.

Rep. Mace admits boasts that her resolution is in response to Sarah McBride's election. She says, “[Ms. McBride] does not belong in women’s spaces, women’s bathrooms, locker rooms, changing rooms, period, full stop.” 

I don't know about you, dear reader, but I personally have never been in a women's bathroom that did not have individual cubicles containing the toilets. So what's the worry? It would seem that Ms. Mace imagines that Ms. McBride might stand on a toilet and peer over the barrier, mouth agape, as she watches Ms. McBride insert a tampon?

Since the morning of November 6, 2024, my news sources, my Facebook feed, my conversations with friends have been filled with the multitude of horrors that  are believed to be facing the people of this country with the re-election of Donald Trump. Virtually every area of our lives is endangered: tariffs on imports, treatment of illegal immigrants, public education, NATO, climate change, National Parks, LGBTQ+ rights -- I could go on and on. It is all too much for me to comprehend.

So I decided that I could address just one issue and to address it earnestly. 

We have a much-loved family member who is transgender. And we have a close family member who is gay. There are transgender, gay and lesbian members at my church. My physical therapist is a delightful man who happens to be gay. Joe and I were privileged to attend the first same-sex wedding in Pennsylvania a dozen years ago. 

And, coincidentally, in the midst of all the brouhaha about what Trump may or may not do, there appeared on my FB feed -- quite out of the blue -- an advertisement for the Queer Candle Company. 

I perused the website. Then I opened my Christmas shopping list and filled in quite a few of the blank spaces.

It's a start.