In Love With Humanity

Local journalist took a photo of an older lesbian couple at our pride celebration, posted it on Facebook. I commented that it was life goals: matching outfits with your bestie at a cultural festival in the middle of town.

A pro-queer person started arguing with me- under the assumption that i was mocking them. Took about three replies to clarify that I was being sincere. I laughed about it, but its not the first time that's happened to me.

So i vagueposted about it on Facebook, that some of us jump into argument mode when there is none to be had and maybe we could stand to step back a little and recognize where our friends are.

And some friends who I know are decent folks said that they will not befriend racist assholes for the sake of appearances and that they refuse to kumbaya with fascists and that this sounded like 'both sides are equally bad.'

So now I post about it here, on Tumblr dot Com which is infamous for its reading comprehension.

You're holding an actual child to higher standards than you hold yourself, but it's the child that should be removed from public and community spaces. For your comfort.

Please have a moment of silence for the people who were killed instead of freed when news of emancipation finally reached the furthest corners of the american south.

have another moment for the ledgers, catalogs, and records that were burned and the homes that were destroyed to hide the presence of very much alive and still enslaved people on dozens of plantations and homesteads across the south for decades after emancipation.

and have a third moment for those who were hunted and killed while fleeing the south to find safety across the border, overseas, in the north and to the west.

black people. light a candle, write a note to those who have passed telling them what you have achieved in spite of the racist and intolerant conditions of this world, feel the warmth of the flame under your hand, say a prayer of rememberance if you are religious, place the note under the candle, and then blow it out.

if you have children, sit them down and tell them anything you know about the life of oldest black person you've ever met. it doesn't have to be your own family. tell them what you know about what life was like for us in the days, years, decades after emancipation. if you don't know much, look it up and learn about it together.

This is Juneteenth.