PFLAG Alamance Monthly Meeting
Welcoming new people and old friends
Tuesday, Ausust 9, 2022
7:00 p.m.
---SPECIAL NOTE---
Because of Children's Music Camp at Elon Community Church
parking may be easier at the side of the building. Our meeting
will be in the usual second floor room.
We will meet as usual at Elon Community Church
271 N. Williamson Ave.
Park and Enter from the rear. Plenty of parking there
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From the Washington Post . . .
As a gay kid, I felt the instinct to hide.
I feel it again now.
Contributing columnist
July 11, 2022
I wasn’t too young, at age 6, to hear that “queers deserve a bullet between the eyes,” nor too young, at 7, to be called a “faggot” by my classmates, despite not knowing what the word meant. I wasn’t too young to start skipping the classes where I knew I’d be bullied right under the nose of an apathetic teacher, or too young to reach the conclusion I’d be better off dead. Before I was allowed to be a kid, before I had the chance to figure myself out, I was given an all-consuming directive, spoken and unspoken: Hide.
Years later, coming down from the highs of political victories into the throes of a moral panic where kids are being used as an excuse to target the LGBTQ community, I could swear I hear it again.
Last month — Pride Month — dozens of far-right extremists in Idaho were detained before they were able to incite a riot at a family-friendly event celebrating LGBTQ people. The same day, the Proud Boys descended on a California library’s children’s book reading to harass a drag queen, just one of many recently targeted. “Christian fascists” crowded Pride festivities in Dallas, strangers
Now, Pride Month is receding, and with it much of the visible support we queer people get from outside our community. What will linger is the fearmongering, especially as legislation enshrines it: Eighteen states are targeting the relatively few transgender athletes who play youth sports. In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) instructed state agencies to investigate the parents of trans youth for child abuse. (The same day Abbott made the order, a 16-year-old trans boy attempted suicide. Weeks later, his family was investigated as alleged abusers.)
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Something to Think About . . .
by Cindy Davis
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This is a warning: The word “angry” appears at least 18 times in this column. You may not like it, but I promise – it will not harm you. My dictionary defines it as “wrathful, seeming to show anger or to threaten in an angry manner, painfully inflamed.” It is no wonder that we want to avoid being identified as such. After all, who wants to be perceived as painfully inflamed? What would that look like? These definitions make it sound as if there is something wrong with being angry. Nothing could be further from the truth.
If you are anything like me, you grew up with certain ideas about being angry. If you are a guy, you may have been discouraged from being a bully, from having a bad temper – a stiff upper lip deemed to be more attractive. If you are a gal, well, being angry was not ladylike, it was better to be gentle and kind. We were discouraged and talked out of this perfectly good feeling, perhaps because it made others feel uncomfortable. My mom tended to cry when angry, my dad was famous for delivering the silent treatment. Did either of these responses appeal to me? I think not. Did they impact the way that I present when angry? I think so. My parents served as role models, but I have since learned to adopt healthier ways to express my anger – by expressing my anger!
The past couple of years have been difficult and I have been incredibly angry. There have been times when I could feel my blood boiling. There have been many times when I have wept. I have learned to harness my rage and allow myself “to be with my anger”, making it easier to be angry. I get into trouble when I try to ignore or deny my anger, because that is when the rage begins to percolate, when the hurricane begins to brew. That is when the windstorm gains momentum. When what we’re feeling is no longer anger it becomes a force to be reckoned with. So, think of this as an invitation to check out what your “angry” feels like. And don’t be afraid to open the door.
Cindy Davis is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor.
She was an advice columnist for the Times-News, and is also a PFLAG Board Member.
Watch for Cindy's column each month on our Newsletter
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From NBC OUT. . .
Texas kids read prohibited books at 'Banned Camp'
A summer library program in Austin is shining a spotlight on books that have been banned or challenged in the state, most of which deal with LGBTQ and race issues.
Aaron E. Martinez / Austin American-Statesman via USA Today-Network
“Our local community members reached out to us to see what we could do, what voice that we had in preventing this from happening in our local schools?” Charley Rejsek, CEO of the store, BookPeople, told NBC News.
One of the first events in the series, held June 16 at one of the city’s public libraries, was a conversation with George M. Johnson, author of “All Boys Aren’t Blue.” This award-winning memoir consists of a series of coming-of-age essays from the LGBTQ activist. It was also No. 3 on the American Library Association’s Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2021.
Other titles featured among the “Banned Camp” series include “Heartstopper,” a young adult LGBTQ graphic novel, and “1984,” George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, signed a controversial bill into law last year that limits how race-related subjects are taught in the state’s public schools. The measure was then expanded to the topic of human sexuality.
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Wouldn't it be nice if a few more of those people people who want to ban books, movies and discussions of interest to LGBTQ young people would accept this obvious reality? Maybe PFLAG could help some understand.
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From NBC Out . . .
More than 1 in 8 LGBTQ people live in states where doctors can refuse to treat them
Advocates worry that the growing number of laws that expand religious rights for health care providers could be interpreted as a “license to discriminate.”
July 28, 2022
South Carolina became the seventh state last month to permit health care providers to decline to serve people if they feel doing so would violate their religious beliefs.
As a result, more than 1 in 8 LGBTQ people now live in states where doctors, nurses and other health care professionals can legally refuse to treat them, according to the Movement Advancement Project, an LGBTQ think tank. In addition to South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio and Illinois have similar measures in effect.
Advocates and legal experts say the laws will further raise the barriers to health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer patients.
“We often are worried that the expansion of religious rights in these contexts will be taken as a license to discriminate,” said Jenny Pizer, the law and policy director for the LGBTQ legal advocacy group Lambda Legal.
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A New Service of PFLAG Alamance
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Free Resouce Material . . .
PFLAG ALAMANCE HAS A NUMBER OF RESOURCE BOOKLETS THAT WE ARE ABLE TO OFFER FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE SEEKING EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL
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Through the generosity of PFLAG Alamance suporters, we can now send you these excellent publications from PFLAG National without charge:
Our Sons and Daughters
Questions and Answers for Paremts amd families of LGBTQ+ people
Our Trans Loved Ones
Questions and Answers related to Transgender and Gender Expansive persons
Supporting Your LGBTQ+ Grandchild
Your relationship can grow even closer as your work to embrace your grandchid's identity
Just contact us and we will secure the material and send it as soon as possible (allow two weeks):
Email: info@pflagalamance.org
Phone: (336) 584-8722
Mail: PFLAG Alamane
PO Box 623 Elon, NC 27244
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Another Effort by PFLAG National
to Spread the Word of Love and Accepance
All Across the Nation
We are excited to share that we will be partnering on a billboard campaign, aimed at spreading awareness and love for our transgender and LGB loved ones and their families, on digital billboards across the country. Have a Gay Day launched this program several weeks ago, and it’s been getting a ton of love from community members, in the press, and on social media. You might even have seen one of these billboards already in your own state, as yours is one of the states where this program launched!
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A word to some of you we haven't seen in a while . . .
If you dont feel you need PFLAG any longer, PFLAG needs you! Your experience can make a difference.
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Email
info@pflagalamance.org
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P.O. Box 623,
Elon, NC 27244
Phone Number:
336-584-8722
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