I’m a White Male-Identified Queer Imperialist Pig!
How are you?

Young dykes calling out white gay men as Imperialists; imposing the Canadian system of values and rights on other countries when it comes to queer rights as Imperialist; the oppression queers live under in Canada; the temerity of expecting others to take a page out of our model for human rights. I hear a lot of these statements and it makes me shake my head with wonder; wonder at the name-calling and wonder at when and why did we develop such animosity toward one another? Read the full story

Recently, I posted a couple of pieces about death squads in Iraq hunting, torturing and killing gay men. This is not a new story it’s been going on since the invasion but has barely been noticed by the media. In both posts I included the email address for the PMO and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I wanted to share with you the letter I received from The Honourable Lawrence Cannon last week in response to a letter I wrote to him about this horrible situation. This proves that our politicians are listening. Please take a moment to send your thoughts to Ottawa. We can help.

To wit: Read the full story

This week I attended a Human Rights Panel Discussion on International Transgender Politics at Toronto’s Gladstone Hotel. It was one of the most fascinating and moving evenings I have experienced in a long time.

Among the speakers was Victor Mukasa – who is this year’s Pride International Grand Marshall – who spoke with incredible eloquence, frankness and humour about his experiences being a Trans person in his home country of Uganda where he is not even recognized as a human being.

Other speakers from here in Canada as well as Mexico and Venezuela told stories – both personal and anecdotal – of being cast adrift, abandoned, forced into prostitution, beaten and even killed by police and left on the road. And while they are happy to be here in Canada where there is relative freedom and safety, they still feel invisible and marginalized.

They are reaching out to us.
For the most part, we are ignoring them.

What shocked me was how abandoned these people feel by the gay community. One of the constant themes from many of the speakers was how they feel misunderstood, invisible and unaccepted by the gay community despite the TT & I in LGBTTIQQ2S. They are reaching out to us. For the most part, we are ignoring them.

I have no simple solution or master plan to bridge the gap between the Trans community and the rest of the queer community. For my part I can open my mind and my heart to better understand their experiences and reality. I need to learn more. The key to closing the gap, I believe, is education, understanding, and acceptance. That is, after all, what we all have been fighting to achieve for decades.

When I was in grade 6 (30+ years ago), I was terrified of getting up in front of my class to give a presentation, book report or say “Hello”. So I was captivated and truly impressed by a San Diego 6^th-grader who has turned the local school system on its ear for her report on gay rights activist Harvey Milk.

I watched a video interview of young Natalie Jones and her mother Bonnie on CNN over the weekend. She was bright, erudite and completely perplexed as to why the principal of her school insisted on sending out permission slips to her classmate’s parents because she planned on doing her class report on Milk. This, apparently, was deemed a ‘sensitive topic’ and triggered a policy dealing with sex education.

While Mt. Woodson school Principal Theresa Grace thought Natalie’s report was top-notch, she was forced to follow San Diego’s Ramona Unified School District Board’s rules over the subject matter. Ultimately, 13 letters went out and Natalie presented her PowerPoint report on Milk to 8 classmates during a recess break and not during regular class like her fellow students. The ACLU is now involved and may sue San Diego County.

What really struck me about this story wasn’t so much the political minefield Natalie wandered in to, but how this poised and intelligent 12-year-old girl dealt with it all. She was well spoken, well-educated and couldn’t understand why there would be any problem with doing a project about Harvey Milk whom she felt – aside from being a gay man – was a person who was key in an important civil struggle. To her it was about human rights and an historical figure who happened to be gay. She was inspired to do her report after watching the movie, ‘Milk’.

Natalie Jones speaks with insight and eloquence
far beyond her young years.

It warms my heart to see young people like Natalie Jones speak so eloquently while others much older and in positions of power and influence speak with such ignorance and hysteria. And kudos to Natalie’s mother Bonnie for raising such a bright, open-minded young person. People like this give me great hope!