{I was going to begin “Andy Gallo’s” guest posting today, but since this is the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall, I decided to wait a month to make the change.}
The birth of “Gay Pride” began fifty years ago today with the start of the Stonewall Riots. We use words like, “Pride,” “Celebration,” “Festival,” and of course “Happy” to describe the events used to commemorate the event, but to me, those mask the real purpose of today. (Which has morphed into an entire month.) To me words like “struggle,” “movement,” “demonstration” and “fight” deserve a place in Pride’s lexicon. About ten years ago I was discussing LGBTQ rights with my sister and she basically said it would cease to be a problem in a few years because it wasn’t an issue for her daughter’s generation. They accepted our right to have rights. We saw progress and took for granted things would continue to get better.
Now? Newsweek posted an article this week stating that young people are becoming less comfortable with the LGBTQ movement. That’s scary. Future generations were our hope at the end of the movement. The leaders of tomorrow would (mostly) see our rights as a given. How quickly things change. We all know who we can thank for that, but the truth is, if that’s what’s happening right now, we need to gear up and get back in fight mode. We can’t sit back thinking things will steadily improve.
Using myself as an anecdote, I’m having to come full circle. B. G. Thomas asked me to talk about pride on his blog this month and I used it to detail my first parade and my latest one. I talked about how I’d drifted away from the parades as they became more celebration than demonstration. More of a party than a fight for our rights. I went back this year after many years off because my office was going to be part of the parade. (And a co-worker asked me to go.) I was impressed with the energy and acceptance, but underneath it, there is a renewed sense of urgency.
The Newsweek story confirms we still need to stand up and be counted. We have a great deal more allies than we used. Legions more. But the fight is still ours and we need to lead. At the risk of being totally clichéd, who’s with me?
Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write.
Since devouring The Lord of the Rings as a preteen, he has been a fan of all things fantastical. His imagination has helped him create works of high fantasy, paranormal thrills and touch of the futuristic. He also writes the occasional contemporary story.
He currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his husband of twenty-four years. Together they are raising their daughter and three dogs. Andrew tries to squeeze writing time in around his most important jobs, being husband and ‘Papa.’ Along with teaching how to kick a soccer ball or ride a scooter, he has become fluent in cartoon characters and children’s books. To find out more about Andrew, his writing and his family, follow him on his website or on Facebook.
You can also sign up for his monthly newsletter and get an exclusive short story only available to subscribers. Use the link below to join:
http://andrewqgordon.getresponsepages.com
Follow Andrew:
website: www.andrewqgordon.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/andrewqugordon
Twitter: @andrewqgordon
email: andrew@andrewqgordon.com
Books:
The Last Grand Master: (Champion of the Gods–Book 1)
The Eye and the Arm: (Champion of the Gods–Book 2)
Kings of Lore and Legend: (Champion of the Gods–Book 3)
Child of Night and Day (Champion of the Gods—Book: 4)
When Heroes Fall (Champion of the Gods—Book 5)
Self published: