is today in Peace & Justice History. Feeding people is my main “thing,” so I’m featuring it today. There is so very much that has happened on October 16, and it can all be seen on this page.
October 16th every year
United Nations’ World Food Day is recognized every year.
Robin Abcarian, Los Angeles Times on Published in Op Eds
I had a difficult time reading the gut-wrenching accounts from the parents of gay children who are part of the Supreme Court case about conversion therapy bans and freedom of speech.
All claim their family relationships were seriously damaged by the widely discredited practice, and that their children were permanently scarred or even driven to suicide.
The case, Chiles vs. Salazar, arose from a 2019 Colorado law that outlaws conversion therapy, whose practitioners say they can change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. The therapy is considered harmful and ineffective by mainstream medical and mental health organizations.
At least two dozen other states have similar laws on the books, all of them good-faith attempts to prevent the lasting harm that can result when a young person is told not just that they can change who they are, but that they should change because God wants them to. The laws were inspired by the horrific experiences of gay and transgender youths whose families and churches tried to change them.
The case was brought by Kayley Chiles, a licensed counselor and practicing Christian who believes, according to her attorneys, that “people flourish when they live consistently with God’s design, including their biological sex.”
Colorado, incidentally, has never charged Chiles or anyone else in connection with the 2019 law.
Chiles is represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian law firm known for its challenges to gay and transgender rights, including one brought to the Supreme Court in 2023 by Christian web designer Lorie Smith, who did not want to be forced to create a site for a gay wedding, even though no gay couple had ever approached her to do so. The Court’s conservative majority ruled in Smith’s favor. All three liberals dissented.
As for conversion therapy, counselors often encourage clients to blame their LGBTQ+ identities on trauma, abuse or their dysfunctional families. (If it can be changed, it can’t possibly be innate, right?)
In oral arguments, it appeared the conservative justices were inclined to accept Chiles’ claim that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy amounts to viewpoint discrimination, a violation of the 1st Amendment’s free speech guarantees. The liberal minority was more skeptical.
But proponents of the bans say there is a big difference between speech and conduct. They argue that a therapist’s attempt to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity amounts to conduct, and can rightfully be regulated by states, which, after all, lawfully impose conditions on all sorts of licensed professionals. (The bans, by the way, do not apply to ministers or unlicensed practitioners, and are generally not applicable to adults.)
Each competing brief whipsawed my emotions. The 1st Amendment is sacred in so many ways, and yet states have a critical interest in protecting the health and welfare of children. How to find a balance?
After reading the brief submitted by a group of 1st Amendment scholars, I was convinced the Colorado law should be ruled unconstitutional. As they wrote of Chiles, she doesn’t hook her clients to electrodes or give them hormones, as some practitioners of conversion therapy have done in the past. “The only thing she does is talk, and listen.”
Then I turned to the parents’ briefs.
Linda Robertson, an evangelical Christian mother of four, wrote that she was terrified when her 12-year-old son Ryan confided to her in 2001 that he was gay. “Crippling fear consumed me — it stole both my appetite and my sleep. My beautiful boy was in danger and I had to do everything possible to save him.”
Robertson’s search led her to “therapists, authors and entire organizations dedicated to helping kids like Ryan resist temptation and instead become who God intended them to be.”
Ryan was angry at first, then realized, his mother wrote, that “he didn’t want to end up in hell, or be disapproved of by his parents and his church family.” Their quest to make Ryan straight led them to “fervent prayer, scripture memorization, adjustments in our parenting strategies, conversion therapy based books, audio and video recordings and live conferences with titles like, ‘You Don’t Have to be Gay’ and ‘How to Prevent Homosexuality.’ ”
They also attended a conference put on by Exodus International, the “ex-gay” group that folded in 2013 after its former founder repudiated the group’s mission and proclaimed that gay people are loved by God.
After six years, Ryan was in despair. “He still didn’t feel attracted to girls; all he felt was completely alone, abandoned and needed the pain to stop,” his mother wrote. Worse, he felt that God would never accept him or love him. Ryan died at age 20 of a drug overdose after multiple suicide attempts.
As anyone with an ounce of common sense or compassion knows, such “therapy” is a recipe for shame, anguish and failure.
Yes, there are kids who question their sexuality, their gender identity or both, and they deserve to discuss their internal conflicts with competent mental health professionals. I can easily imagine a scenario where a teenager tells a therapist they think they’re gay or trans but don’t want to be.
The job of a therapist is to guide them through their confusion to self-acceptance, not tell them what the Bible says they should be.
If recent rulings are any guide, the Supreme Court is likely to overturn the Colorado conversion therapy ban.
This would mean, in essence, that a therapist has the right to inflict harm on a struggling child in the name of free speech.
Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a legendary transgender activist who had been in the movement since Stonewall, died Monday at age 78.
Her death was announced by the House of GG—Griffin-Gracy Retreat and Educational Center, which she founded. She died “in the comfort of her home and surrounded by loved ones in Little Rock, Arkansas,” says a statement from the center. “Her enduring legacy is a testament to her resilience, activism, and dedication to creating safe spaces for Black trans communities and all trans people — we are eternally grateful for Miss Major’s life, her contributions and how deeply she poured into those she loved.”
Miss Major had suffered from health problems for some time and had recently begun receiving hospice care.She spent more than 50 years fighting for the “trans, gender-nonconforming, and LGB community — especially for Black trans women, trans women of color and those who have survived incarceration and police brutality,” the statement continues. Major’s fierce commitment and intersectional approach to justice brought her to care directly for people with HIV/AIDS in New York in the early 1980s, and later to drive San Francisco’s first mobile needle exchange. As director of the TGI Justice Project, she’d return to prisons as a mentor to her ‘gurls’ inside.”
She founded House of GG in 2019 as “a space for our community to take a break, swim, enjoy good food, laugh, listen to music, watch movies, and recharge for the ongoing fight for our lives,” the statement goes on. “Miss Major fought tirelessly for her people, her love as vast and enduring as the universe she knew herself to be a part of. She was a world builder, a visionary, and unwavering in her devotion to making freedom possible for Black, trans, formerly and currently incarcerated people as well as the larger trans and LGB community. Because of her, countless new possibilities have been made for all of us to thrive — today and for generations to come. She affirmed that our lives hold meaning and that we stand on the shoulders of giants like her, whose courageous love and relentless fight assured our right to live with dignity. We will forever honor her memory, her steadfast presence, and her enduring commitment to our collective liberation.” (snip-MORE good history and story on the page)
This is the same Bari Weiss that is rabidly anti-trans and a religious racist bigot. She is often used as a warrior to get the crimes against trans kids out, and Teldeb that used to come here and spew Weiss’s lies. No matter who many times I debunked and showed that everything Weiss had reported was lies and misinformation rabid trans haters like Teldeb kept pushing her lies. Because the truth doesn’t matter to them, making sure no child can be who they really are or fit the mold they demand children fit in. Now it is trans kids but as we have seen in the US they are coming for every not straight cis kid demanding they fit into the regressive world they demand everyone live in. Weiss is also a Jewish person who is an Islamophobe. She supports the genocide in Gaza. Hugs
Like many, I remember when I realized that I found boys far more interesting than I did girls. I much preferred to be around them, was very curious about what they hid in their shorts, and knew very clearly that admitting to that would not be a safe thing to do.
As my friends began to find girls interesting I found fear and confusion instead. I found myself being left behind. I found the image in the mirror horrifying. And I found that the more I tried to avoid my problems, the more problems I had. And, I imagine now, as a late middle-aged man who grew up during the Reagan Aids fiasco, that many people of my generation found themselves in similar circumstances.
As time went, I was a decent student and received a fair education. I got a decent job and was a fair worker. I saved my money and did my best to treat people fairly. But, I was hiding who I was, only giving in to my desires occasionally and almost always very poorly. I was lost in my own camouflage, a victim of my own propaganda, and very much alone.
When I consider the affronts people endure to be themselves, I always wonder what those who abuse them would prefer? Would they prefer a person transitioning to match their outside with their inside identity to live a false life, to have to hide who they are, to be miserable? Are they so unwilling to view the sometimes lumpy way life comes about that they believe it acceptable to torture others?
When I was young I very much enjoyed watching the unusual characters on tv. Quirky people who didn’t quite fit society but were so very unapologetically genuine and fascinating and fun were far more interesting to me than the Ward Cleaver’s of the world. But I wasn’t that brave. I feared the “real Randy”.
Now I watch the judgmental speak on those who would risk being genuine in a cruel world, and it saddens me.
It seriously saddens me that we have these maga people thinking that people like my nephew who is openly gay are sick. These maga people don’t want liberty they want closets again, people afraid to be themselves, to be happy and to be free. It saddens me that seeing someone not fully conformed to the current image of masculinity or femininity somehow threatens them, makes them afraid, brings about spite and hatred. And worse, we have a government that clamors about the word “freedom” yet supports and shields those who would deny it to fellow Americans.
I watched a few Ted Lasso episodes and heard him speak that quote about “Be Curious, Not Judgmental”. I was fascinated by the simplicity – and devastated to realize the idea wasn’t new. The irony is that in the land of the free we only succeed by being confined to an approvedimage. And so, I find myself mystified and even a bit lost as I see the brave ones being true. I know I won’t ever really understand what they are feeling and thinking, but I am fascinated.
It is my sincere hope that I can go forward with the courage and compassion to be curious.
Thanks and Hugs.
randy
ps: I always thought Ward Cleaver must be gay because he really had some board feet shoved up his ass. just my humble opinion.
This morning, I was in the backseat of an Uber ride and absentmindedly playing with my lips in the quiet way it’s socially acceptable for grown adults to do (or, perhaps, that’s me rationalizing) when, to my surprise, I accidentally forced too much air through the aperture of my mouth, creating a sound that could understandably be perceived by the driver as a fart.
Mildly panicked, I leapt into action by recreating the sound a few more times in quick succession in order to non-verbally (?) communicate to the driver:
Haha, see? That totally wasn’t what you thought it was! I accidentally made that sound with my lips! I’m now doing it again two or three more times to show that it’s just me playing with my mouth and not doing something very rude right behind you! Actually, making that sound is rude, too — look, I promise I am not blasting ass in the backseat of your car, okay?!
I am 39-years-old today. It’s my final year in this decade. It’s been a doozy.
I turned 30 a little over three weeks before the 2016 election. (I know. We won’t get into that because you already get it.)
All my life, I’ve heard of folks in their late-30s just dreading the big FOUR ZERO, and it’s not my place to judge them. I’m sure they had their reasons.
But me? I’m so ready for my 40s. If I could snap my fingers and make it happen now, I would have turned 40 today. Maybe I’ll just lie and say I’m 40 moving forward.
Being in your 40s sounds awesome. Being in your 50s and 60s sounds even better. I wanna fast-forward and get there already. I want the accumulated wisdom and experience and memories right now. I want that whole toolbox immediately.
Sadly, I cannot have it immediately. That is earned. I must brave the final year of my 30s in our oh-so-stable world to get a little closer to the benefits of being older and wiser.
To that end, I’m gonna make this a great Year 39. I plan to treat it like a final dress rehearsal for the second half of my life.
I’d like y’all to help me get things off to a great start.
Every year, for the past decade, I’ve hosted a birthday fundraiser for my favorite organization Running Start, a non-profit that trains young women in high school and college to run for office someday.
These programs are wide-ranging: from one-day workshops on college campuses (Elect Her) to congressional fellowships to the HBCU Women’s Leadership Summit, thousands of young women have been equipped with necessary skills to go on and do great things in politics, law, advocacy, and media.
I’ve served on the Board of Running Start since 2021, working harmoniously alongside my colleagues—Democrats and Republicans and independents—to ensure the next generation of young women get an exceptional head start toward leading our country someday.
In that time, I have seen a huge, diverse network of alums directly benefit from these programs and then watch as their campuses and communities benefit from them, too.
And believe me, I get it, everyone and their mother and their cousin is hitting y’all up for money right now — for that campaign or that non-profit or that candidate or that cause and on and on.
Thus, I am grateful for the consideration. It means a lot. I am thankful.
As always, those making very generousdonations ($250 or more) should know you’ll be getting a phone call from me to thank you for your generosity, and if you really wanna go above and beyond ($1000 or more), that’ll mean coffee over zoom OR me treating you to lunch here in D.C. (or wherever you live if we can make it happen — no kidding, we will find a way.)
But also: everyone donating will get a personal email from me thanking them because every donation, no matter how much, means something to me and the young women who benefit from Running Start’s programs.
In the meantime, please wish me luck on this final lap of my 30s, and if you could offer up a prayer that I’ll avoid embarrassing sounds in cars, I’d appreciate that, too.
More than half a million people flooded Washington, D.C., demanding civil rights for gay and lesbian Americans, now celebrated each year as National Coming Out Day. Many of the marchers objected to the government’s response to the AIDS crisis, as well as the Supreme Court’s 1986 decision to uphold sodomy laws in Bowers v. Hardwick.
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt was first displayed there, bringing national attention to the impact of AIDS on gay communities, a tapestry of nearly two thousand fabric panels each a tribute to the life of one who had been lost in the pandemic.
<–The AIDS quilt, first displayed in 1987 in Washington, DC
October 7, 1989 Tens of thousands (estimates ranged from 40,000 to 150,000) from all over the country marched on Washington, lobbied Congress and Housing Secretary Jack Kemp to provide affordable housing for the homeless. Some of the signs read, “Build Houses, Not Bombs.” Kemp signed a letter committing the George H.W. Bush administration to several steps to help the homeless, including setting aside about 5000 government-owned single-family houses for them.
October 7, 1998 Matthew Shepard Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, robbed and left tied to a wooden fence post outside Laramie, Wyoming; he died five days later. His death helped awaken the nation to the persecution of homosexuals and their victimization as objects of hate crimes. A play about the incident, and later an HBO movie, “The Laramie Project,” has been performed all over the country. Watch a preview MatthewShepard.org Matthew’s Place
FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday fired an agent in training for displaying a gay pride flag on his desk while appointed to a field office in California last year, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The trainee, who previously worked as an FBI support specialist in Los Angeles, received a letter — dated Oct. 1 and signed by Patel — claiming he had displayed an improper “political” message in the workplace during his assignment in California under President Joe Biden, according to a copy of the letter shared with MSNBC.
The letter cited President Donald Trump’s Article II powers under the Constitution to dismiss federal agency career personnel, a justification used in several recent firings at the Department of Justice and FBI. The terminations are currently being challenged in several lawsuits.
“After reviewing the facts and circumstances and considering your probationary status, I have determined that you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment in the Los Angeles Field Office.”
FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL
“You are being summarily dismissed from your position as a New Agent Trainee at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and removed from the federal service,” read the letter, which was sent on the first day of a nationwide government shutdown that created job uncertainty throughout the federal workforce.
“After reviewing the facts and circumstances and considering your probationary status, I have determined that you exercised poor judgment with an inappropriate display of political signage in your work area during your previous assignment in the Los Angeles Field Office,” Patel wrote, without referencing a flag.
The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment about this story. MSNBC was unable to reach the fired trainee for comment and, therefore, is not identifying him. The termination over the pride flag was first reported by CNN.
Wednesday’s dismissal comes after Trump and Russell Vought, the White House director of the Office of Management and Budget, threatened widespread firings of federal employees in the event of a government shutdown.
The agent trainee, who had most recently been assigned to the FBI Academy in Quantico, won an Attorney General’s Award in 2022 in recognition of his work, according to a Justice Department news release.
News of the trainee’s firing spurred some agents in the FBI’s Washington field office to scour their work stations and social media accounts for signs or comments — anything that could be viewed as offensive to Trump, his top appointees and MAGA supporters, according to one person familiar with the reaction within the government.
FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors warned one another, ahead of Trump’s inauguration, to be careful about displaying information revealing their sexual orientation or support for LGBTQ rights.
When Trump was weeks away from inauguration in January, FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors were warning one another to be careful about displaying information revealing their own sexual orientation or support for lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender rights. After the inauguration, one person said, FBI agents warned colleagues that they heard new pro-Trump appointees installed at the FBI were combing through internal employee files to find lists that identified employees as LGBTQ.
DOJ Pride, an LGBTQ employee resource group at the Department of Justice, shut down in late January, less than 10 days after Trump signed an executive order seeking to root out all diversity, equity and inclusion measures from the federal government.
The group “ceased to operate effective immediately,” DOJ Pride’s board wrote in an email sent to members at the time.
“In this time of uncertainty and concern, we have taken the extraordinary measure of ceasing operations of DOJ Pride,” the message said. “We have made this decision in the interest and for the protection of all members.”
The email, which was shared then with NBC News by two DOJ staffers, thanked members for their “understanding during this time” and expressed hope that the group could “rebuild in the future.”
The FBI’s firing of a trainee for displaying a gay pride flag on his desk last year came as more than a dozen federal agency websites trumpeted that the “radical left” had caused the government shutdown.
Scottie's Playtime 