Marchers cheer during the Come Out With Pride Parade in downtown Orlando on Saturday, October 15, 2022. Thousands lined the streets for the yearly event supporting inclusion. (Stephen M. Dowell/Orlando Sentinel) User Upload Caption:
Any comprehensive history of Pride Month starts with savagery and defiance — commemorating the first time the nation’s gay community openly mutinied against routine oppression and casual violence. The Stonewall Riots radiated from one small bar in Greenwich Village, which was, in the late 1960s, seen as one of the few tiny havens for LGBTQ+ Americans to live their lives with some degree of openness.
Even inside those confines, any kind of openly non-heterosexual behavior could put life and liberty at risk. That’s why gay-friendly establishments, including the Stonewall Inn, were owned or controlled by organized crime-syndicates. Yes, there was a time in American history when the Mafia did a better job of protecting individual rights than any governmental agency did.
Instead, governments across the nation served as oppressors, raiding gay-and-lesbian clubs or posing as potential sexual partners as a form of entrapment. For the most part, Florida was no different. But slowly, small bastions of liberty began to emerge. And they included Central Florida, where ex-military people were transitioning into the space program.
Pride’s beachhead in Florida
Orlando’s first gay nightclub, The Palace Club, opened the same year as the riots. When Disney’s Magic Kingdom opened its gates, the City Beautiful took on added allure as a safer — though still not safe — space for non-heterosexual Americans to love and live their lives. As documented by the LGBTQ History Museum of Central Florida, a group of entrepreneurs known as the Gay and Lesbian Gang quickly established a series of nightclubs that included the iconic Parliament House. Within a decade of the Stonewall riots, Orlando saw its first Pride Picnic at Turkey Lake Park.
It still took decades to unwind Florida’s layers of hateful, oppressive laws. Every step felt hard-won: Stonewall-era law enshrined total bans on any expression of alternate sexuality. Some of those laws were not invalidated until the early 2000s, when a rapid tumble of landmark U.S. Supreme Court rulings battered sexual-identity and orientation laws until they crumbled. And the ugliness never fully went away. Within the past few decades, Florida has seen cruel debates on whether LGBTQ people could adopt children, or marry.
The hearts and minds of Floridians, however, shifted much more quickly. By the turn of the century, most Sunshine State residents expressed support for civil unions and adoption rights. People flew rainbow flags and showed up for Pride demonstrations without fear.
Every step seemed to move things a little closer to a day when sexual orientation and non-gender-conformity were simply accepted as defining traits. When fear and hate were reviled and forced into the shadows, where love was welcome in the full light of day.
Florida saw the reflections of the fear and anger of the Greenwich Village riots shift to cheerful acceptance of sexuality in The Villages —- saw it as a change for the better. The surge of love and alliance after the massacre at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub helped heal hearts ripped apart by an openly acknowledged act of terrorism.
But as this Pride Month draws to a close, we must ask: How is it, in 2023, that we are sliding backward?
Back, to a day when providing gender-affirming care — or simply being transgender — could mean losing access to healthcare or even at risk of arrest and prosecution?
Back, to a time when Florida teachers are warned not to talk about sexuality with their students and innocent books that merely acknowledge the differences among families are outlawed?
Back, to a place where official government sources refer to gay people as “groomers” and suggest their mere existence puts children at risk of predatory behavior? Where the governor seems to obsessed by the mere existence of drag queens, and not in a healthy way?
This is nothing to be proud of.
So as Pride Month draws to a close, Floridians must make it clear: They are ready for this new fight to begin. They are ready to rebuke those who would force shame on people who yearned so long for the right to live in safety and with dignity.
They are ready to stand up for the right to love and be loved without fear once again — and be proud to do so.
Perry is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of four books, including Taking America Back for God (with Andrew Whitehead) and most recently The Flag and the Cross (with Philip Gorski). McDaniel is an Associate Professor of Political Science and co-director of the Politics of Race and Ethnicity Lab at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of Politics in the Pews and The Everyday Crusade (with Irfan Nooruddin and Allyson Shortle)
On Jan. 12, 2023, Florida Gov. and possible GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis extended his “war on woke,” when his administration rejected a proposed Advanced Placement African American Studies class from Florida high schools. The move was consistent with DeSantis’s proposed “Stop W.O.K.E Act” in 2022, which aims to eliminate certain content from educational curriculum and has been under partial injunction since November. And on Jan. 20, 2023, a U.S. District Court judge upheld DeSantis’s suspension of Hillsborough State Attorney Andrew Warren whom DeSantis claimed had prosecuted cases under “woke ideology.”
DeSantis is only the most prominent example of Republican lawmakers claiming to fight “woke ideology,” “wokeness,” or the “woke left,” and though occasionally pressed to provide definitions, politicians are strategically vague. Even with the “Stop W.O.K.E. Act,” that clearly targets content about America’s racist history and systems, the acronym simply stands for “Wrong to our Kids and Employees.” Nothing racial. Just as with all effective dog whistles, the racial implications must be subtle, or better yet, implied. The label should evoke demonized Black populations, but their literal sense broad enough and ambiguous enough to provide plausible deniability.
As social scientists with expertise in the area of race and politics, we collected data on who actually identifies with the term “woke”? The patterns make it clear why the label has become the latest in a long line of Republican dog whistles.
In a nationally-representative survey of over 1,700 Americans fielded by YouGov in Oct. 2022, one of us (Samuel Perry) and a collaborator Joshua Grubbs asked Americans how well the term “woke” described them. Overall, 22% of Americans said “woke” described them either “very well” or “somewhat well.” If that sounds like a high percentage, it’s actually somewhat lower than the percentage found in a 2021 Harris poll (32%), suggesting Americans may be backing away from the label as it’s become a slur. Though it’s also slightly less than the percentage of our survey respondents who identified with the term “Christian nationalist” (25%).
When we break down who actually identifies with the term “woke” in the YouGov survey, it becomes clearer why the racial implications are unmistakable. Nearly 40% of Black Americans identify somewhat with the label, more than double the percentage of white Americans (19%). It’s also considerably more than the percentage of Hispanics (24%) or Asian Americans (19%). In fact, only 28% of Black Americans completely distanced themselves from the term, saying “woke” described them “not at all,” compared to clear majorities of white Americans (57%) and Asian Americans (54%).
But “woke” is also a term for Black Americans that transcends ideology and partisanship in a way it doesn’t for any other group. Over 40% of Black Americans in the YouGov survey identify with the term whether they are liberals or moderates. In fact, roughly 40% of Black Republicans and Independents identify somewhat with “woke.” This means the percentage of “woke” Black Republicans and Independents is higher than the percentage of white “Strong Democrats” (39%).
Statistically speaking, the broad demographic for whom the term “woke” most consistently applies is Black Americans. This should be unsurprising considering the term originates among the Black community to denote someone who has been awakened to the reality of systemic injustice. It also demonstrates that being “woke” is a fact of life for Black Americans as they process what W. E. B. Du Bois refers to as a “double consciousness”—the struggle to be Black and viewed as a full American. This is further supported by numerous polls and studies showing Black Americans are far more likely to be aware of the past and current injustices they face in housing, employment, policing, and health.
The disproportionate number of Black Americans who identify somewhat with the term “woke” would ostensibly make Republican “anti-woke” efforts transparently racist. But there is one group who is even more likely to identify with the term “woke” than the average Black American—whites who identify as “very liberal.” In the same YouGov survey, just over 50% of white “very liberal” Americans (representing 6% of the total population of white Americans) say “woke” describes them “very well” or “somewhat well.”
Though this group of whites is small, the relatively high percentage of “very liberal” whites who identify with “woke” provides the deniability that all effective dog whistles need: Policies that clearly target efforts to convey the history of racial injustice in schools under the guise of fighting “woke” education need not be anti-Black when the “woke” are perhaps even more the white far-left.
This is a common challenge when anti-racist language becomes mainstream. Critics point out that white liberals often lay claim to anti-racist concepts and identities without effectively working for anti-racist goals. As a result, the language becomes absorbed into white partisan conflicts, accomplishing little while also setting the stage for counter attacks with dog whistles. A recent study, for example, found the term “anti-racist” itself was more often embraced by white progressives than Blacks or Hispanics, and thus, right-wing mobilization against “anti-racist” concepts, books, or policies could just as easily be framed in mundane partisan, culture war terms in which Republicans oppose movements led by white liberals. This in turn makes the conflict intra-racial, instead of interracial.
This covert form of race-baiting has become a central plank in shaping American partisan politics. Moving away from the language of Strom Thurmand and George Wallace, who overtly rallied their supporters against threats to the racial hierarchy, Republican candidates in the post-Civil Rights era stoke fear and anger over this threat via coded language.
Whether it’s a term like “woke,” or more traditional labels like “welfare queen,” “buck,” “thug,” “terror,” “illegals,” “socialists,” or “unAmerican,” the efficacy of a racial dog whistle is not in the fact that nobody knows whom you’re clearly talking about, it’s the plausible deniability that allows you to respond: “Who’s talking about Black people? I’m just talking about leftists. You’re the one making it about race.”
Republicans have mastered the tactic. And if history is any indication, front-runners like DeSantis will continue their public crusade against the bogeyman of “woke,” the current code word for left-wing radicals who provide the convenient distraction from those whom anti-woke legislation really targets—Black Americans who demand justice.
Media coverage of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s all-but-announced candidacy for president is already in full frenzy, and so far the script is exactly as his handlers would like it to be. The governor regularly opens up new fronts in the culture wars, sowing alarm over critical race theory, transgender rights, or border policies. In response, liberal pundits fall into the trap of accentuating the very issues DeSantis has chosen to fire up his base.
Omitted from the public debate about DeSantis’s policies is almost any discussion of his actual record of governance—what exactly he has delivered to the citizens of his state, especially those without seven-figure incomes and lush investment portfolios.
Even a cursory dip into the statistics of social and economic well-being reveals that Florida falls short in almost any measure that matters to the lives of its citizens. More than four years into the DeSantis governorship, Florida continues to languish toward the bottom of state rankings assessing the quality of health care, school funding, long-term elder care, and other areas key to a successful society.
Florida may be the place where “woke goes to die”—as DeSantis is fond of saying—but it is also where teachers’ salaries are among the lowest in the nation, unemployment benefits are stingier than in any other state, and wage theft flourishes with little interference from the DeSantis administration. In 2021, DeSantis campaigned against a successful ballot initiative to raise the state’s minimum wage, which had been stuck at $8.65 an hour. Under DeSantis’s watch, the Sunshine State has not exactly been a workers’ paradise.
DeSantis weaponizes the cultural wars to distract attention from the core missions of his governorship, which is to starve programs geared toward bettering the lives of ordinary citizens so he can maintain low taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Florida is the ideal haven for privileged Americans who don’t want to pay their fair share of taxes. It has no income tax for individuals, and its corporate tax rate of 5.5% is among the lowest in the nation. An investigation by the Orlando Sentinel in late 2019 revealed the startling fact that 99% of Florida’s companies paid no corporate income tax, abetted by tax-avoidance schemes and state officials who gave a low priority to enforcing tax laws.
This is a pattern that shows up in the statistics of many Republican-led states, which on average commit fewer dollars per-capita to health care, public education, and other crucial services compared to their blue counterparts, while making sure corporations and wealthy individuals are prioritized for tax relief. Arizona cut taxes every year between 1990 and 2019, following up with a shift to a flat tax this year that will cost its budget $1.9 billion. Meanwhile, its public-school spending ranks 48 among the 50 states.
In Florida, the state’s tax revenues come largely through sales and excise taxes, which fall hardest on the poor and middle class. A 2018 study by the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy found that Florida had the third least-equitable tax system of the 50 states. In the state’s “upside-down” tax structure, the poorest 20% of Florida families paid 12.7% of their income in taxes, while the families whose income was in the top 4% paid 4.5%, and the top 1% paid 2.3%, according to the study.
Florida taxpayers get less for their money than residents of many other states. The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that studies health-care systems globally, found in its 2022 “scorecard” that Florida had the 16th worst health care among the 50 states. It’s no wonder that Florida ranks below the northern blue states in life expectancy and rates of cancer death, diabetes, fatal overdoses, teen birth rates, and infant mortality.
Largely because of DeSantis’s obstinacy, Florida is one of 10 states that have refused to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, an act of political spite that has cost those states billions in federal health care dollars and cost thousands of people their lives. More than 12% of Floridians are without medical insurance, a worse record than all but four other states. Despite having the country’s highest percentage of retirees, Florida has the worst long-term care among the 50 states, according to the American Association of Retired Persons.
Public schools fare no better than health care in DeSantis’s Florida. Not only did Florida rank 49th in the country for average teacher pay in 2020, but the Education Law Center, a non-profit advocacy group based in New Jersey, found in a 2021 report that the state had the seventh-lowest per-pupil funding in the country. Education Week, which ranks states public school annually, looking beyond mere test scores, placed Florida 23rd in its 2021 report, a lackluster showing for a large and wealthy state.
It says something about the state of our political discourse that Florida’s denuded public sector was not more of an issue in last year’s gubernatorial campaign. In endorsing DeSantis’s Democratic opponent, Charlie Crist, the Tampa Bay Times spent so many column inches on the incumbent’s demagoguery, vindictiveness, and authoritarian tendencies that it never even got to the minutiae of his governance. “No matter what you think about the state of the Florida economy or its schools or its future…,” the paper wrote, “the choice really is this simple: Do you want the state governed by a decent man or a bully?”
To be fair to the media, DeSantis and his allies manned the trenches of the culture wars so ferociously that it was all reporters could do to keep up with all the bomb throwing. How do you delve into the state’s tax policy when your governor is flying planeloads of migrants to Martha’s Vineyard or declaring war on Disney for issuing a statement in opposition to the state’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay Law”?
But that is very much the point of wedge issues, as they have been wielded by scurrilous politicians for decades, to anger and distract voters so they won’t notice the actions of public officials that mainly benefit the wealthy and are against the public interest.
As the 2024 election draws closer, DeSantis must not be allowed to accomplish nationally what he did in his state—cloak his service to the wealthy by frightening working people with stories about transgender recruiting and “socialist” college professors. There are unmistakable signs that Americans are focused on what an activist government can do for the public good, as evidenced by Floridians’ vote to increase the minimum wage.
The failure of DeSantis to better serve the most vulnerable citizens of his state is his weak underbelly in a national campaign.
Celebrate Pride Month with us! Discover why we come together every June to honor and support the LGBTQ+ community. Explore the importance of Pride as we spread love, acceptance, and equality while standing up against discrimination and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights.
From the linked article in the above Joe.My.God. post. Remember, this is a Yale history grad, claiming that is OK to honor Confederate Generals that fought the US government to keep slavery because “But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,” DeSantis said.”
Despite the limited scope of the DoD’s renaming, the Governor likened taking Bragg’s name off the fort to moves to “take Abraham Lincoln off the statue down in Boston … take Teddy Roosevelt down in New York City” and “remove George Washington’s name from schools in San Francisco.”
“And that’s not, I think, what I want to see. I mean, I think you can look back at anybody and you could find flaws. But at the end of the day, you know, we had people that have done great things for this country,” DeSantis said.
“I’m not in a position to say that somehow I’m so much better than any of this. It’s a different time. People make mistakes. There’s different parts of our society, we look back and can say was a mistake. But this idea that we’re going to erase history, I just think, is fundamentally wrong, and we’re not going to do that.”
'I think you can look back at anybody and you could find flaws.'@RonDeSantis doubles down on restoration of 'iconic' Fort Bragg name
While we’re at it, let’s also create Fort Hirohito. Why not, he was the leader of a foreign nation that attacked the United States. Let’s run with this theme Governor Fucknutz.
“And here’s the thing, you know, you learn from history, you don’t erase the history” and yet history that makes students uncomfortable can’t be taught in schools…right
Trump’s an elderly sociopathic narcissist, he’s spent decades refining his charisma and reflexes to lie instantly, without hesitation and with complete believability.
Ronnie isn’t, even if he’s a sociopath himself, he’s just hungry for power and clout and tries constantly to copy Trump to try and steal his thunder and his followers. But he can never be as good a liar.
Wow, he first says the name of the military base did not cause him to learn any history at all, then claims keeping the name is vital to learning the history he was totally ignorant about until they removed the name of the incompetent traitorous slaver, demonstrating he is lying through his teeth. He must have experts help him prove himself a liar like that, I don’t think he’s clever enough to figure it out himself.
I guess he means we learn only from white history, not the black history he is censoring in the schools. That’s erasing history, asshole!! This guy is such a lying fucking hypocrite.
Watters wanted and got the Tucker spot at fox. To get it he has to appeal to the most right wing demographics sought after by media, and to win them he has to be full open racist and the most ardent supporter of the right wing conspiracies along with pushing the idea of Christian nationalism. Hugs
Jesse Watters on Monday went after Barack Obama for criticizing the disparity in media attention on the submersible that imploded during its venture to the Titanic wreck when compared to the sinking of a fishing boat that was carrying up to 750 refugees. https://t.co/kAYwlmOh0L
Watters, new host of Tucker’s 8pm slot, says of Obama: “This is a guy whose father has roots in Africa…Spent a lot of time in Hawaii. Was that the last state to get a star on the flag? He's never really looking at things from an American perspective.” pic.twitter.com/cXZ6xKD1JE
If man sees a kid playing in the street, then notice a car driving down the street, and he shrugs and says ‘free will’ and the car hits the kid, is that man a good person or a bad person?
Yet somehow Christians want to tell you that God is good, even though he allows bad things to happen. (And he could have just stopped it all by making Adam and Eve barren, or ending the world 4000 years ago.)
Ending one segment that knocks Pete Buttigieg for "prioritizing a far-left green agenda" only to tee up another segment about the "brutal temperatures" and "dangerous heat" in Texas. pic.twitter.com/ZRFYPKBbcP
Two workers died amid extremely high temperatures in Texas, a tragedy that's likely to exacerbate criticism of Gov. Abbott's water break ban. https://t.co/11ZeBlijYd
“We are flying electric helicopters on Mars, but we can’t use the dryer in Texas. This is because scientists are in charge of Mars and Republicans are in charge of Texas” ~Amy Martin #ERCOT#Texasgrid#VoteThemAllOut2022pic.twitter.com/uIW3c3cyHr
TWO MEN leaving a public restroom . Man#1 approaches Man#2 and says: “Excuse me sir but I noticed you didn’t wash your hands after using the urinal. I’m from Texas and in Texas we’re taught you should always wash your hands after using the restroom.” Man#2 replies: “Well I’m from California and in California we’re taught you should’nt pee all over yourself.”
I wish non-Dem Texans would learn to blame the GQP they vote in for the shitty state of their infrastructure but if the Ted Cruz fleeing for Cancun didn’t teach them shit . . .
This is really a non-issue because if the power goes out and people die, nobody can sue the power company because the Republican Texas Supreme Court just held that Republican-controlled ERCOT is immune from lawsuits. No liability = No Problem.
Strang previously appeared here when he declared that people who oppose Trump are possessed by demons and that voting against Trump is a vote for the “apocalypse.” Also, holograms and Trump’s impeachments? Both the work of Satan. We last heard from him when he appeared in a “documentary” with Dr. Demon Semen.
What’s happening lines up with God’s Word regarding what would happen in the end times before Jesus returns.
But that’s what you want, isn’t it? Shouldn’t you be happy? I mean, your imaginary friend is going to show everyone he’s not imaginary after all. That’s a good thing, right?
There was a book, “The Late Great Planet Earth” that was popular among the end times folks. “The last days are nigh!” Published in 1970. 53 years ago. And even in the late 1800s, preachers were saying the end times were near.
They literally pray “Lord come quickly!” But then complain about all the “signs of the end times” as if that’s a bad thing. They should be working -toward- the ‘one world government” and a global currency and world peace and “the mark of the beast” because that’s what will bring the rapture. (Your eschatology may vary).
This is basically the attempt by white supremacists to prevent the natural decline of white majority / supremacy in the US. They are terrified over the demographics that shows the steady decline of the white majority and the increase in non-white people. It terrifies them because they fear being treated as they have treated POC all during the history of the US. They want to remain the unchallenged authority they have always been. This denies everything we understand about culture and human development, not to mention what the US has always stood for. We are better / stronger / improved the more we blend and add to our prior society. Hey if you treat others that are different from you decently, they will do the same to you. If you act like an asshole toward them, they might do the same back. The thing to understand is be a decent nice person to others. Remember race is a social construct. We are all humans. We may look different but we really are the same species. Do dogs or cats of different colors be racist against each other, and should they, as they are all dogs or cats. Hugs
LMAO this clown went to Harvard Law school and should know the Constitution a little better, particularly the 14th Amendment. But you needn't take my word for it. Birthright citizenship was defined and affirmed by the SCOTUS in 1898, in US v. Wong Kim Ark:https://t.co/OAYLAAteLy
— Deborah, who loves fashion & loathes fascists (@litbrit) June 26, 2023
Yes… and look which demographic he’s coddling. They’ll fall totally in line with him. Evangelicals always find the worst in humanity to align themselves with
I don’t do 1930s/40s comparisons lightly or often, but DeSantis could certainly be someone to take us down a similar road, just a 2020s version of it. He’s already taking actions in that vein — shipping human beings like cargo, book bannings, etc. I’m not suggesting it could be a literal Holocaust, but he will seriously and intentionally harm a lot of Americans (and more so, people wanting to become Americans) before he would be done. A lot of people would die.
Also, I’m not not saying he wouldn’t cause a literal Holocaust, either.
We will never stop fighting bigots like Ron DeSantis – they must be told repeatedly that LGBTQ Americans deserve ALL the rights due to them under our Constitution.#Pride2023https://t.co/oT6gpM9nPQ
— Democratic Coalition (@TheDemCoalition) June 30, 2023
JackFknTwista day ago edited O/T : – At the risk of having only one tune, I don’t think it can be said often enough that in their doctrinaire zealotry the conservative Justices of the Supreme Court have betrayed their underlying hypocrisy. In their preening self-importance all they have exposed is their lack on any integrity, their enthusiasm to lie at any opportunity and their shallow semblance of probity. What we have on the US Supreme Court is a few liars, charlatans and those willing to prostitute themselves at the alter of the Federalist Society on the one hand and to rich ‘grooming’ billionaires on the other. Was there ever a Supreme Court so compromised?
Yes, 1937 or so. Towards the end of the “gilded age”, the SCOTUS was as virulently anti-decency as Alito and Thomas are now. FDR, then president, make a threat to “pack” (unfvck) the court and the court suddenly changed its tune on what the law was. Then the plan to fix the court fell apart.
There’s some suggestion that a similar thing may have happened between last term and this one with regard to KNAW, Roberts and Raspberry Baret. They have not gone along with the same degree of YOLO-ALITO that marked last year / the Dobbs Term.
They can’t win on real issues that matter to people so we’ll have lots of noise on wedge issues over the next year. Brown people invading, drag queen groomers and Susie has to call her teacher they/them at school.
DeSantis keeps trying to resurrect the infamous Jones commission – which attemped to erase homosexuality from all colleges and other schools throughout the state some 50 years ago, along with the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who tried it nationally. The only result was the ruining of the reputations and hopes of over 200 students and faculty in Florida. This is evil in its strongest form.
Most of this is Florida law, so US SCOTUS is largely irrelevant unless there is a conflict with Federal Law. The Florida SCOTUS is packed with bigots, in a large sense the fate of Florida rests in the hands of the appellate courts.
That’s gonna be the kicker. We already know the FLSC is packed with bigots. The appellate courts are either going to side with a dictator or with the republic that placed them in their robes.
I feel like this is part of the whole make shit up and get it to the current Supreme Court so they can declare god and church and money or whatever. Like the website bitch in Colorado and the made up gay client.
Win or lose, Tater will screech about how he’s “fighting for families* and against woke culture & a woke & woke judges.” Others will be smart enough to point out his losses or how vaguely worded his laws are, but at the end of the day, DePudding will declare himself “the great fighter for American values*”
* values & families don’t include individuals, friends or family of the LGBTQ, nonChristians, nor nonWhite racial groups. Additional exclusions not listed or implied are applicable by the tiny dictator
Ron DeSantis is the worst candidate I’ve ever seen. It’s like he’s been assembled from the discarded spare parts of Bobby Jindal, Bill deBlasio, Rick Perry, and Scott Walker. https://t.co/5f6UILNVPI
DeFascist can indeed get the country on a different path – Here’s what Ron DeFascist has accomplished – – LGBT students cannot discuss their personal lives with teachers or counselors, making them feel marginalized, alone, and possibly increasing their risks of suicide. Some parents with LGBT family members are moving out of the state. State ACLU currently suing to end this. – Universities are unsure what they can or cannot teach based on the whims of literally one man. GOP prefer students to be inculcated with cheap cheerleading America First nationalism (this shut down by a judge, results pending) – History teachers can’t teach about the truth of American racism and black history because it might upset white people – Some teachers are seeking employment in another state. – A school principal had to resign because one of her teachers showed students a picture of Michelangelo’s David. – A teacher is under investigation because she showed 13 year olds a Disney movie with a gay character. – Women who discover they’re pregnant after 6 weeks, and are unable to have a child, can’t get an abortion in Florida, even though there should be retroactive abortion, Don Jr. lives there – Property taxes and insurance costs are becoming unaffdable – Million dollar contracts are given to DeFascist’s donors – 87,141 people died of Covid in Florida. Less would have died had there been the slightest of protective measures taken, but DeFascist didn’t allow that. – Hispanic farm and construction workers are not going to work out of fear of DeFascist’s draconian rules to punish undocumented workers and their bosses. Hispanic truckers are refusing to deliver to the state. Farm products are rotting while remaining unpicked. – Students and companies who support diversity and inclusion are no longer allowed to do so. – Trans children can no longer get medical care, use bathroom of pronouns of their choice (this shut down by a judge, results pending) – a court could temporarily remove children from their homes if they receive gender-affirming care – LGBT people who seek medical care can be denied it if they’re unlucky enough to have a religious fanatic doctor. – Drag queens can be arrested for appearing in drag in public where children can see them. (this shut down by a judge, results pending) – Any idiot can buy a gun without a permit, training, or with or without a criminal record. – Disney, the state’s largest employer, is suing DeFascist because of politically motivated harassment after he started a fight with them because they don’t approve of his anti-LGBT laws. Disney cancelled a $1 billion construction project that would have brought the state over 2,000 jobs. – More to come. White retirees probably love him because he’s getting rid of the blacks, gays, immigrants and other assorted annoyances. DeSantis calls Florida “the freest state in America.” Actually you’re free to move here, retire and die.
A “standing order” that Trump has claimed authorized him to declassify documents removed from the Oval Office could not be found by either the Justice Department or Office of Director of National Intelligence https://t.co/wPbnrUTi8s
The Supreme Court has issued an interim order recognizing marriage rights for same-sex and non-traditional heterosexual couples! This landmark decision calls for amendments to the Civil Code — [1/2] pic.twitter.com/hlW7MRvqHB
Fantastic news! The world is evolving, but sadly the GQP and TFG will do everything in their power to stop equality in this country from becoming pernanent and legal. I’m sure TFG is probalby labelling Nepal as one of those shit hole countries he doesn’t like.
Apparently, our evangelical and assorted radical Christian groups, who hate us with the love of God, didn’t know where Nepal is or didn’t know such a country existed. I’ll bet they’re boning up on their geography now.
The San Diego Union-Tribunereports: Two protesters offended by a Pride exhibit at the Rancho Peñasquitos Library have checked out nearly all the books in the display and vowed to keep them until the library eliminates what they call “inappropriate content” for children. The anti-gay protest is the latest example of a growing national backlash against Pride exhibits, which experts say has been fueled by debates over how schools should handle transgender minors. The Rancho Peñasquitos protest ratchets up the usual backlash San Diego library branches experience when they create Pride exhibits or host events like drag queen story times, said head librarian Misty Jones. The protesters, Peñasquitos residents Amy Vance and Martha Martin, said libraries are open, public spaces for children that should be free of references to gender identity and how adults experience sexual attraction. Read the full article. A local city council member is raising money to buy additional copies of the books.
Protestors ruin Rancho Penasquitos library's Pride exhibit by checking out nearly all the books https://t.co/q5erkSeWAZ
I’m starting to think this is a matter for the police. They checked them out and stated that they have no intention of returning them unless the library does exactly what they want. Last I checked, that’s called theft.
They get 5 renewals, unless the items have holds on them. So I urge anyone and everyone in San Diego who is disgusted by their motives to place holds. MANY HOLDS. That way they will be required to return the items or be turned in to a collections agency. That will also likely block their library privileges to borrow any other materials. If it goes beyond that, it is indeed theft.
I had a home in a small town for nearly 30 years. It had a small library, maybe twice the size of the one in my high school. The “Christians” would come in and check out ALL the non-Christian religious books and never return them. It was their way of making sure people couldn’t learn about other religions. And this was before Trump and the MAGA folks. If your religion of “Christianity” is SO GREAT, it should be able to prove itself against the others by its merits and ideals, not by making the beliefs of others unobtainable.
Damn these people. A book offered me permission not to hate myself for being who I am.
*** Editor note *** It was books that gave me my escape from my life. It was books that let me leave the life of abuse, hurt, and fear I was living constantly at home, in my home. It was books that let me understand I was not a horrible abomination in life that was going to do horrible things and die in a gutter as my adoptive parents (the ones beating and sexually abusing me and letting their kids do so) claimed long before they even knew I was gay, that I did not need to suffer in silence, (Which I did for most of my life). These books that these people are trying to ban and deny to the very kids that need them meant so much to me and other kids. Please do not let them. Look in the 1950s these people want to revert the social and country to there were no of these kinds of books, no positiverepresentatives in media, but gay, lesbian, and trans kids still existed. I am going to post a video about a old long time soap opera about gay people and the damage hate can do. Hugs.
When you say “wife,” “husband,” “fiancé,” “girlfriend,” etc.–all commonly heard from heterosexuals–you are inserting sexuality in public spaces where children are or may be.
Mere gender identification on a bathroom door is the actual issue here. These delusional evangelicals are literally incapable of connecting the dots on gender/sexual expression issues.
I’m currently reading a book about the John Birch Society and everything they are doing now is the same shit the Birchers were doing in the 50s and 60s. Only back then MSM and even the GOP leadership weren’t on their side.
They don’t care about corporations either. They only want Republicans to hold the power over everything – people, corporations, city councils, school boards, etc.
Republicans sure don’t like people voting, do they? They’ll overturn elections, make it harder for statewide resolutions to pass, throw out elected officials they don’t like, and now this. Democrats might wish to mention this on the campaign trail.
Kinda like how Texas has created special rules that only apply to specific counties that vote mostly Democratic that take away aspects of self-governance from them.
In public facilities, including prisons and schools, a new requirement will go into place requiring designated bathrooms for men and women, and individuals will be required to utilize facilities based on their gender as assigned at birth. It has no exceptions even for those who have fully transitioned through gender-reassignment surgery.
The Board of Education has already effectively expanded through high school a prohibition of instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity. A new law (SB 1069) codifies that at least through 8th grade. The legislation also prohibits any requirement that school officials use preferred pronouns that don’t match gender assigned at birth.
Health care providers can now turn patients away and refuse treatment based on “conscience-based objections.” DeSantis signed the new law (SB 1580) in front of a “Prescribe Freedom” sign and said it empowers physicians to act within their own morals. LGBTQ advocates label it a right to discriminate bill against gay and transgender Floridians, and the latter group has already seen restrictions on health care put into place this year by statute and the Board of Medicine.
Also going into effect today is the right to carry a concealed weapon without any permit or training, the right of hospitals to refuse care to undocumented patients, and a law allowing the state to use radioactive fertilizer byproducts in the creation of roads. That last one came about due to lobbying by the phosphate industry, which in 2021 saw a leakage of their toxic byproducts into Tampa Bay.
Georgia teacher Katie Rinderle read the children’s book “My Shadow is Purple” to her fifth grade students. But after one parent’s complaint, Rinderle was placed on leave and now faces termination under Georgia’s new censorship laws.
This month has been hard. Sudden large medical bills of $1,200, the information that we were too late getting our stuff to FEMA so the rest of the $37,000 dollars in repairs we have to pay for we have to fund, the $500 dollars to get the battery replaced in the car, my stress test during which I had my blood sugar crash and during the induced chemical part of the test I couldn’t breathe that left me shaken for two day. Bad mightmares and intrusive thoughts / memories I don’t want to remember. And so much more. Ron says I may need to talk to someone again, you know therapy, but I am just not ready. As the song says
There’s got to be a morning after If we can hold on through the night We have a chance to find the sunshine Let’s keep on looking for the light
Oh, can’t you see the morning after It’s waiting right outside the storm Why don’t we cross the bridge together And find a place that’s safe and warm
The only bright spot has been talking with my wonderful brother Randy and sending him a gift. Doing that helped me a lot and is a shining light in my otherwise dark mood. I hate the news, I hate the state I live in, I hate the maga that moved in to my formerly accepting park, I hate the direction of my country. Best wishes to all. Hugs
R.E.M. – Everybody Hurts (Official Music Video)
“Everybody Hurts” from R.E.M.’s best-selling 1992 album, Automatic for the People.
I wrote this a day or two ago, but did not post it. I do that a lot with personal post, especially when I am down or really upset. Just writing about it helps me emotionally and mentally. It is why sometimes I write about my abuse, it is my way of dealing with it. The weird thing is when someone else is hurting and I can help, it helps me when I help them. You would think it would be the other way round and just add more burden, but it doesn’t. Somewhere I read a burden shared is a burden lessened. So as I post this I want to add what I found out about the song. I included the responces / comments to show the songs impact. Best wishes, and Hugs. Scottie
Simply put, R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” is designed to prevent people from taking their own lives. In 2003, co-writer Peter Buck of R.E.M. had stated that its lyrical simplicity is founded in the fact that the track is “aimed at teenagers”. However, it should be noted, in contrast, that the cover art for “Everybody Hurts” features a man who is clearly a senior citizen. Or, as Buck later stated in 2005, this song has “tended to work for people of a lot of ages”.
But apparently R.E.M. wanted young listeners in particular who may be suffering from serious depression to identify with the song and take a different route as opposed to possibly self-harm. And the argument the band uses is that “everybody hurts”. In other words, the targeted audience is not alone in their suffering. In fact being discontent with the way things are going is something that we all go through at times. So instead of doing something extreme, they should “hold on”, as in not give up on life. And one particular remedy the band espouses is for such individuals to “take comfort in (their) friends”.
Facts about “Everybody Hurts”
R.E.M.’s drummer Bill Berry is recognized as being the primary writer of this song. However, the rest of his bandmates (Mike Mills, Michael Stipe and Peter Buck) are also credited as writers. The entire band also produced the song alongside Scott Litt.
Michael Stipe, who sings this track, has stated that “people” have told him directly that it has saved lives. Indeed “Everybody Hurts” has been recognized by some organizations which encourage suicide prevention based on its message.
John Paul Jones, of rock band Led Zeppelin, wrote the song’s string arrangement.
“Everybody Hurts” fared impressively internationally. It peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 7 on the UK Singles Chart. It also broke the top 10 in Australia, Canada, France, Iceland, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The music video to this track was directed by Jake Scott (song of iconic movie director Ridley Scott). It went on to win MTV Video Music Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Direction, Best Editing and Breakthrough Video.
Covers of “Everybody Hurts”
On 7 February 2010, a collection of stars including Mariah Carey, Miley Cyrus and Jon Bon Jovi released a joint rendition of “Everybody Hurts”. This rendition was released under the collective named Helping Haiti to collect aid to be sent to that country in light of an earthquake it experienced during that year. And R.E.M. waived the royalties they would receive from the money it generated in the name of that cause.
Music superstars P!nk and Kelly Clarkson covered “Everybody Hurts” to open the 2017 American Music Awards. They sung it in honor of America’s first responders (i.e. emergency workers) who were active during highly-publicized tragedies the nation was going through around that time.
President Donald Trump’s use of the song
“Everybody Hurts” has maintained a permanent presence in American pop culture. However, the track really caught the public’s attention in February of 2019 when US President Donald Trump used a meme created to mock his political opponents (i.e. the Democrats) which used the song. In response, R.E.M. – and particularly Mike Mills in particular – really let the President know that they didn’t support this decision and indeed are not supporters of him as a “world leader”. In fact they had Twitter remove the video on 16 February 2019, the day after it was posted, citing copyright infringement.
When did R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” come out?
“Everybody Hurts” was originally dropped as a part of R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People on 5 October 1992. Later, on 15 April 1993, it was also released by Warner Bros Records as a single. FYI, the hit single “Man on the Moon” also appears on the album Automatic for the People.
FYI, this song was later featured on multiple other albums of R.E.M., including the following:
The Automatic Box of 1993
In Time – The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003 of 2009
Part Lies, Part Heart, Part Truth, Part Garbage 1982-2011 of 2011
im so sorry about that, i hope your feeling okay right now. I just want you to know your very loved and he will be happy if you are happy. I know its hard to move on but you got to let ago and accept that his gone. he might be gone in real life but he will always be with you.
thank god for song, it shows love, compassion , hope and a way out for those who are at that dark place.the singer has opened his heart to you(as do the rest of the rem band) As an amature muso My eyes were fixed on the black ricky guitar but then my heart was convicted by my selfishness and I realised that love and caring are so much more valuable. Their is a answer in this song. listen and you will hear it. My life is great now . SO GLAD I did not end it when I was hurting . you do not have carry hurt on your own. from the heart of a stranger
I have attempted suicide twice, once I came very close. I now make sure I listen to this song when my demons catch up with me. It seems strange that a song can have such a powerful effect on a persons thoughts, but so do love songs, driving songs etc. But either way, I am thankful for the song and hope it has saved lives all over the planet.
Do not support Trump as a world leader? Really ? Just what do you support a grifting never do nothing in 50 + years in Congress demented farting embarrassing American economy killing demon from the very pit of hell Biden? Yeah. I thought so. Liberals are mentally ill. I guess you write that song for yourself.
My uncle/idol was murdered and his body was discarded less than 50 metres from the view of his mother’s window, me my nana and his son among others had to wait all night till morning for forensics. No one slept, we all for some 10 hrs wept in conflicting disbelief at the reality of my uncles fully avoidable fate. He chose this song as his funeral song.
Wow nr 9 ! Jezus you didn’t get the message of this whole item and song. May you find peace and soon find out that there is just one live and one world. So stop being angry about things you can’t change and enjoy your blessings.
This was featured on the Australia TAC drink driving advert that shocked millions of Australians into not drinking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8 Powerful song with a powerful video.
I really like the song and I’m thankful that they tried to prevent suicide and/or self harm with it but, being a person with suicidal tendencies I have two things to say about this son: the music extremely sad and whenever I listen to it it have the opposite effect on me, bringing all the bad memories of my past and I have to change the station. The second thing is that you can’t simply say “everybody hurts” to someone on the edge of talking their own life: depression makes you see a very narrow world and, somehow makes you not care about anyone else (if you could think about other people around you, you would never try to taking your own life). It’s a beautiful song and the intention behind it is good… but I wouldn’t suggest anyone with suicidal thoughts listening to this song in that particular moment.
DeFascist can indeed get the country on a different path – Here’s what Ron DeFascist has accomplished –
– LGBT students cannot discuss their personal lives with teachers or counselors, making them feel marginalized, alone, and possibly increasing their risks of suicide. Some parents with LGBT family members are moving out of the state. State ACLU currently suing to end this.
– Universities are unsure what they can or cannot teach based on the whims of literally one man. GOP prefer students to be inculcated with cheap cheerleading America First nationalism (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– History teachers can’t teach about the truth of American racism and black history because it might upset white people
– Some teachers are seeking employment in another state.
– A school principal had to resign because one of her teachers showed students a picture of Michelangelo’s David.
– A teacher is under investigation because she showed 13 year olds a Disney movie with a gay character.
– Women who discover they’re pregnant after 6 weeks, and are unable to have a child, can’t get an abortion in Florida, even though there should be retroactive abortion, Don Jr. lives there
– Property taxes and insurance costs are becoming unaffdable
– Million dollar contracts are given to DeFascist’s donors
– 87,141 people died of Covid in Florida. Less would have died had there been the slightest of protective measures taken, but DeFascist didn’t allow that.
– Hispanic farm and construction workers are not going to work out of fear of DeFascist’s draconian rules to punish undocumented workers and their bosses. Hispanic truckers are refusing to deliver to the state. Farm products are rotting while remaining unpicked.
– Students and companies who support diversity and inclusion are no longer allowed to do so.
– Trans children can no longer get medical care, use bathroom of pronouns of their choice (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– a court could temporarily remove children from their homes if they receive gender-affirming care
– LGBT people who seek medical care can be denied it if they’re unlucky enough to have a religious fanatic doctor.
– Drag queens can be arrested for appearing in drag in public where children can see them. (this shut down by a judge, results pending)
– Any idiot can buy a gun without a permit, training, or with or without a criminal record.
– Disney, the state’s largest employer, is suing DeFascist because of politically motivated harassment after he started a fight with them because they don’t approve of his anti-LGBT laws. Disney cancelled a $1 billion construction project that would have brought the state over 2,000 jobs.
– More to come. White retirees probably love him because he’s getting rid of the blacks, gays, immigrants and other assorted annoyances. DeSantis calls Florida “the freest state in America.” Actually you’re free to move here, retire and die.
Thank you!
My friend committed suicide and I heard this song on that same day I wished he would of heard it every time I hear this song I think of him I miss him
im so sorry about that, i hope your feeling okay right now. I just want you to know your very loved and he will be happy if you are happy. I know its hard to move on but you got to let ago and accept that his gone. he might be gone in real life but he will always be with you.
Thank you! Cried
thank god for song, it shows love, compassion , hope and a way out for those who are at that dark place.the singer has opened his heart to you(as do the rest of the rem band) As an amature muso My eyes were fixed on the black ricky guitar but then my heart was convicted by my selfishness and I realised that love and caring are so much more valuable. Their is a answer in this song. listen and you will hear it. My life is great now . SO GLAD I did not end it when I was hurting . you do not have carry hurt on your own. from the heart of a stranger
I need this…
I have attempted suicide twice, once I came very close. I now make sure I listen to this song when my demons catch up with me. It seems strange that a song can have such a powerful effect on a persons thoughts, but so do love songs, driving songs etc. But either way, I am thankful for the song and hope it has saved lives all over the planet.
What friends?
I light a candle for those who I know have left
??
Do not support Trump as a world leader? Really ? Just what do you support a grifting never do nothing in 50 + years in Congress demented farting embarrassing American economy killing demon from the very pit of hell Biden? Yeah. I thought so. Liberals are mentally ill. I guess you write that song for yourself.
Wow!! So much hate and anger. May God bless you.
Like the other side doesn’t hate? Please!
My uncle/idol was murdered and his body was discarded less than 50 metres from the view of his mother’s window, me my nana and his son among others had to wait all night till morning for forensics. No one slept, we all for some 10 hrs wept in conflicting disbelief at the reality of my uncles fully avoidable fate. He chose this song as his funeral song.
Wow nr 9 ! Jezus you didn’t get the message of this whole item and song.
May you find peace and soon find out that there is just one live and one world. So stop being angry about things you can’t change and enjoy your blessings.
This was featured on the Australia TAC drink driving advert that shocked millions of Australians into not drinking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2mf8DtWWd8
Powerful song with a powerful video.
I really like the song and I’m thankful that they tried to prevent suicide and/or self harm with it but, being a person with suicidal tendencies I have two things to say about this son: the music extremely sad and whenever I listen to it it have the opposite effect on me, bringing all the bad memories of my past and I have to change the station. The second thing is that you can’t simply say “everybody hurts” to someone on the edge of talking their own life: depression makes you see a very narrow world and, somehow makes you not care about anyone else (if you could think about other people around you, you would never try to taking your own life). It’s a beautiful song and the intention behind it is good… but I wouldn’t suggest anyone with suicidal thoughts listening to this song in that particular moment.