I KEEP THE MIRROR IN FRONT OF ME

Every time I hear about Gay Pride, I'm reminded of my silence during the 80's AIDS crisis and the countless lives that were lost as a result of collective denial.

Then on an FB page, I hear about the fight to bury the dead and to get hospice care.

Another friend tells me about guys from Jersey who would regularly drive to the Village in their pickup trucks to beat up gays.

Then there's the ostracized family, the suicides, the bullying, the murders because 'she wasn't whom she seemed to be'; the trauma of DAILY oppression.

So when folk ask why I don't unfriend, it's because I keep my mirror in front of me and recognize that sanity is a process.

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THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERSUASION AND CONVICTION

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERSUASION AND CONVICTION Decades ago, in my teens, my oldest brother and I had a talk where I said, “Can you believe that they’re having another gay pride parade?” He told me that he participated in a gay pride parade. Then we just stared at one another - and because many don’t know how to communicate without language, I will translate: Me: (But you’re not gay) Him: (True, but our struggle is their struggle and theirs is ours) Me: (Hmmm. Now I have to rethink everything because this is my brother whom I love challenging my core beliefs). I was persuaded that day. Today, my brother is long dead but I’m still reposting. That’s called CONVICTION.

WE DEAL WITH RACISM ON ALL FRONTS

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Black Belt Commonsense

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