Present Crap – Future Hope
“And Tango Makes Three”, is a children’s book by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. It describes the story of two male penguins who have bonded with each other and are given an egg by the zookeeper. They hatch the egg and a baby chick becomes the latest member of their family. Needless to say, that this book, which is actually based on two penguins at a New York Zoo, is being challenged by school districts all over the country. We cannot expose our children to homosexuality at such a young age. OMG it might make them gay.
But if we did, what a better sense of community we could build for future generations. And for our LGBTQ youth, less fear in a more understanding world.
This brings us to the latest trend across the country, banning drag shows in public places. For instance, Tennessee recently banned Drag shows in any public place or where children might be present. Fear of that which is different and unknown drives us to react in ignorance.
Tennessee Representative Tim Burchett says:
“We don’t put up with that crap in Tennessee. And we shouldn’t. And the rest of the country should follow suit.”
Even though the following statistics tell a far different tale.
This comes as American support for the LGBTQ community grows. Acceptance is growing even though the gap between conservative and liberal ideas gets wider. Another interesting note is that a majority of people frown upon businesses that refuse to serve the LGBTQ people. It has not really manifest itself at the ballot box but maybe someday. We have a majority. How can we exploit it? Let’s make this happen.
Just not yet. Support for nondiscrimination laws has grown since 2015.
Democrats 78-90%
Republicans 61-66%
Independents 73-92%
8 out of 10 people favor laws protecting Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender people from discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations.
But there is hope as we fight against conservative Christian and other religious groups.
Malissa Deckman, CEO of the Public Religion Research Institute tells us:
“Familiarity makes people more accepting of those rights. When you look at Generation Z more younger people are identifying as part of that movement. So as Americans become exposed to more LGBTQ people, it having the effect of making them more supportive.”
She adds; “It’s striking that public opinion is very different than what’s happening in some state legislatures, and that’s something people should pay attention to.”
Gay Marriage is a classic example of this. At one time not that long ago, there was no conversation on this topic. Today it is mostly accepted across the US. Today’s headlines are about drag shows, transgender rights and what’s in the books our youth read.
