#blue state

I've lived in the same town of 1000 people since I was six.

I've seen first hand the affects of homophobic and transphobic rhetoric. Ive witnessed hate crimes so regularly it became normal.

And now it's like .. I've seen the light. I saw the casual acceptance and love. I got to go into not one, not two but so many different queer owned and celebrated businesses. Restaurants that advertised drag shows and had anti ICE flyers side by side.

Arts centers, public libraries that actually had activities.

Am I a traitor for wanting that? For saying I don't want to be the loud flamboyant lesbian in the south, watching her back just so the next generation has something to see?

Is it wrong that I want to live somewhere where it's just a fact of life, loved and celebrated as the normalcy that it is?

That I would trade all I've known, everything my family thinks I need to "give in" to

"Just stop caring about what people think of you!"

This is nuts.

An upstate man whose beloved squirrel was cruelly killed by the state said he was treated like a “terrorist” when 10 government agents descended on his home during a five-hour raid.

Mark Longo, whose pet P’nut captured the hearts of 3 million social media users, was stunned when a convoy of vehicles carrying officials from the state departments of Environmental Conservation and Health arrived at his Pine City home Wednesday.

“They treated me like I was a terrorist. They treated this raid as if I was a drug dealer. They ransacked my house for five hours,” Longo told The Post Saturday.

“They asked my wife, who is of German descent, what her immigration status was. They asked if I had cameras in my house. They wouldn’t allow me to go to the bathroom without a police escort, who then checked the back of the toilet to see if I was hiding anything there.”

But worse than all of that, they delivered his gray fur baby to its death.

Aloha kākou. Why is it that Red States are thriving while Blue States are flailing? Red States are governed by conservatives of the Republican party, and Blue States are governed leftist liberals of the Democrat party. A good example is California. Over the years, California thrived under the governorship of Republicans. Since California has been run by Democrats, the state of collapsing.…

My darling child, this is a SUPER valid question. We've thought about it a lot! Most of our thoughts and advice are in this episode of our podcast (scroll down the link for the transcript if you'd rather read than listen):

Season 4, Episode 8: "I’m Queer, and Want To Find an Affordable Place To Retire. How Do I Balance Safety With Cost of Living?"