Friday, March 8, 2024

Today's tonic: In his SOTU speech, "Biden projects a vision of strength that’s been missing from his presidency but will be needed in 2024 campaign"

Today's tonic: In his State of the Union speech last night, "Biden projects a vision of strength that’s been missing from his presidency but will be needed in 2024 campaign" 

Like many decent, progressive people, I've been alarmed by the return of the lying, criminal, rapist, fraud-loving, anti-democratic, narcissistic, ineffectual, dangerous Donald Trump to the American presidential race this year.  

Despite the misguided worldviews of the Republican base who seem happy to tolerate the lowest depths of depravity their favourite candidate constantly embodies, despite everything his corrupt Supreme Court Justice appointees are doing to help Trump win, I still had confidence in the wisdom of the majority of the American people to not return this villain to the White House this year. 

Last night, President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech put to rest any notion that Biden's too tired and unable to show the strength, vigour and inspiring progressive vision to excite the United States again and win this thing.  Biden knocked it out of the park!  He gave us all a tonne of great policy to get excited about and get behind to help him win re-election.  

I've learned to ignore the media frenzy, the constant coverage of this race designed to keep you watching, keep you riled up and upset, and worried for the future.  It's not real. 

The fundamentals of this race are clear.  And last night, we're reminded that Biden can and always brings it when he needs to.  He did it spectacularly well in 2020.  And I think he's in the process of doing it even better in 2024.  

Time will tell but I'm feeling very good today thanks to Biden's performance last night. 

In the meantime, if you didn't watch it, have a look at the speech from last night.   


Thursday, March 7, 2024

Today's call out against hypocrisy: "The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts"

I wanted to highlight this Xtra article this week by trans writer and activist Faye Johnstone, "The new generation of gay Conservative sellouts." 

Here's an excerpt below: 

"Never underestimate the willingness of rich, cis, conservative gay people and so-called allies to sell out the rest of us.

"In the 1970s, some gay community leaders turned their backs on the “less respectable” (read: trans, gender-weird, drag-performing, poor, racialized and/or flaming) members of their community in a cynical ploy to gain acceptance and power for themselves—at the expense of their more marginalized peers. There’s no better example than when, in 1973, the New York Pride Committee tried to bar trailblazing trans women of colour Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera from participating in the Pride parade because they were giving the organization “a bad name.” This decision by the local Pride committee exemplified a broader trend where some gay activists sought to push out more marginalized community members to win respectability and influence. 

"Flash forward 50 years and history is repeating itself in Canadian politics. As anti-LGBTQ2S+ hate rises across Canada, with even CSIS sounding the alarm, and trans lives being used as a political punching bag by far-right groups, Melissa Lantsman and Eric Duncan, the two (and only two) openly gay Conservative MPs, and other Conservative MPs who’ve called themselves our allies, are turning their backs on LGBTQ2S+ rights.

"Following federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre siding with transphobes in his opposition to gender-affirming care for minors, his remarks at rallies about so-called “gender ideology” and, most recently, his comments in support of banning trans women from women’s washrooms, not only have Duncan and Lantsman refused to speak out, Lantsman went so far as to defend Poilievre’s comments. Asked about his stance by the Hill Times last week, Lantsman said, “I think the leader has made his common sense Conservative position very clear, and our caucus stands by it, alongside most Canadians.”

Monday, February 5, 2024

Why Danielle Smith’s proposed anti-trans legislation is so wrong...


Sadly, it was probably only a matter of time before Alberta Premier Danielle Smith used her majority government power as Conservative premier to try to control and even put at risk the lives of queer youth.  

Smith's history supporting queer rights isn't stellar.  Just 12 years ago, she didn't think it was a big deal for one of her then-Wildrose candidates to have called for all queer people to burn in a "lake of fire".  Her judgment has been questioned for some time.  I think she's just gotten better at looking the part of premier lately. 

Except last week when Smith announced new legislation she plans to introduce this fall in the Alberta legislature that would, among other things, ban gender-affirming health care of any kind for Alberta youth 15 years old or younger, even puberty blockers and hormones.

Smith's paternalistic rationale given to justify this ban is that youth must be prevented from making decisions they may regret later in life.  

It's the same sort of paternalistic, nonsensical thinking that surrounded the debate over sexual orientation and gay people in decades past in Canada.  Back then, many conservatives like Smith also believed being gay was somehow a "phase" or something you fell into by choice, and could easily be "converted" out of through some old-fashioned Christian deprogramming.  Of course, they were wrong then about gay people, just as they're wrong today about trans people.  I knew I was gay when I was 13, and it definitely wasn't some "phase." 

The end result of this particular provision in Smith's proposed law today will be that more trans youth - who typically experience higher rates of depression, self harm and suicide after the onset of puberty - will have to suffer in painful silence until they're 16 before they can do anything about it.  Many more of them won’t make it to 16 if this law passes. 

Smith is also promising to ban trans girls from competing in sports against cisgender girls.   It's not clear at all that this is a problem in Alberta or anywhere else.  It's not like there are armies of highly athletic and muscular trans girls demanding to get into girls' soccer leagues or swim teams.  This is a solution in search of a problem.    

In addition, Smith announced that should trans kids under 16 want to at least be called a name or a pronoun that conforms with their gender at school, they will be outed to their parents, who will then be able to veto this freedom.  If those parents then become violent toward those kids or kick them out of their homes, Smith doesn't seem to care.

Furthermore, Smith announced if 16 or 17-year-olds want to change their names or pronouns at school, they will also be outed to their parents (who at least won't have a veto over that choice).  If those same parents then become violent toward those young people or kick them out of their homes, Smith again doesn't seem to care. 

The end results of all of these policies will be more suicides, more self harm, and more violence. 

Smith's plans also call for bans on any types of gender-affirming surgeries for those under 18. 

Fact: no one under age 18 has ever undergone gender re-assignment surgery in Canada because the medical profession and other professionals, not to mention trans folks, have rightly decided those irreversible steps do need to wait until adulthood.

So why ban something that isn't even happening?  

The answer is simple: Smith's priority is playing politics and further inciting cultural wars, and she seems happy to sacrifice the well-being and safety of queer youth to do it.  Rabid right-wing zealots have latched onto the issue of transgendered peoples as a wedge issue to try to spread hate, divide societies and win more political power.  

Smith is a part of that problem, as evidenced by her recent appearance with American right-wing liar Tucker Carlson, Canadian asshole extraordinaire Jordan Peterson and convicted criminal Conrad Black. 

Even more awful was Smith's duplicitous presentation last week, speaking in soft tones (what an accomplished actor she is), pretending to "care" about the well-being of queer youth.  While in truth, she stabbed them in both the face and the back.  

Tucked away in the announcement is the pledge to now remove "sexual orientation" education, as well as "gender identity" education and even sex education from school lessons for all Alberta youth unless their parents "opt in" and consent to their kids receiving these lessons.  Yes, Alberta students won't be allowed to learn anything about LGBTQ+ people unless parents are okay with it.

In the 80s and early 90s, my high school was a hotbed of homophobia and violent harassment mostly thanks to my fellow heterosexual students.  I suffered in great silence and isolation in my Catholic public school, but I don't think my experiences were much different from those who attended public schools in Ontario.  Rampant, repulsive homophobia was completely mainstream then.  It was hard to live through. 

Today, sadly, I suspect if you walk down typical high school hallways in Ontario, Alberta, or anywhere, I'm sure there's little difference: verbal assaults using the word "faggot" I hear are still common, as is vicious bullying, as we know. 

Schools, school boards and governments are obliged to try to provide safe learning environments for all children, not just heterosexual children.  

The introduction of mandatory education into the truths around sexual orientation - including that LGBTQ+ people don't choose their orientations, and that homosexuality exists in roughly the same percentages (about 3 to 5%) across all demographics in society and has for centuries (since we've been able to record these histories) - is essential to combating homophobia in schools and promoting the safety of queer youth in our care.  

To make this essential education now optional, with the likelihood the most homophobic will now be free to continue their homophobic bullying, even encouraged to do so implicitly by Smith's draconian law, will make Alberta schools more dangerous for queer youth and queer people in general. 

Even to target LGBTQ+ peoples for this special mistreatment sends a message of anti-queer disrespect, that there is something wrong about learning these truths.  Why else would you be required to opt in to receive them? 

Merely teaching children that LGBTQ+ people exist is not indoctrinating children.  It's teaching them the truth about the real world. For the queer children in schools, learning you’re not alone saves lives.

It has long been clear that when it comes to laws governing children or youth in our care - such as in our public schools, or in other laws impacting on children - those laws must always be in the "best interests of the children."  Courts have struck down numerous laws that violated the "best interests of children." 

Of course, "best interests of the children" doesn't mean "doing whatever the kids want."  In fact, many children might disagree often with what is determined to be in their best interests.  

I do sympathize with parents who feel they have a right to know if their kid is using a different pronoun or name at school.  I also sympathize with queer youth who have a right to privacy and safety as they struggle to figure out who they are and where they fit in this scary world.  

As we struggle to find the right balance on this issue, I think one thing is clear: our laws should always be written with the best interests of children in mind.   

The proposed laws announced last week by Danielle Smith are anything but.  When or if Smith actually introduces this legislation in the Alberta legislature, we'll see if she includes the Charter of Rights' notwithstanding clause in it, which would exempt the legislation from Charter challenges for five years. 

But I’m not sure even the notwithstanding clause would protect these laws from being challenged and struck down.  They are clearly written in violation of the best interests of children or youth.  They clearly put children and youth in danger and subject them to considerable harm.  I expect the courts would agree and strike them down given the chance.  

This is not an area in which provincial governments should be legislating.  One-size-fits-all policies will lead to inevitable harm.  We ought to leave these difficult, deeply personal and medical issues up to the individuals involved: the parents, the medical professionals, the educators, and most importantly, the children and youth in our care.    Not overreaching, misguided politicians trying to win more political power for themselves. 

Sunday, December 31, 2023

2023 was a tough year for the planet, but thank the Universe for Jimbo!

It's been a tough year for the world.  

Fascism and dictatorship are on the rise, while democracies are under constant attack.  War continued in Ukraine thanks to the most evil person on the planet: Putin.  

Fascist Islamic antisemitic hatred in the form of Hamas also lashed out and brutally murdered 1,200 Israeli citizens and kidnapped over 200 more in southern Israel on Oct 7th.  

The Israeli response pushed back hard, as any decent country would, launching a war against the Hamas cowards, who willingly again hid among their own people in Gaza, thus causing Gazan casualties to skyrocket.   

Fascism continued to rise in the U.S. with the dangerous man child Donald Trump continuing to seize attention and win the hearts of the deplorables in the morally bankrupt Republican Party.   

Other forms of bigotry skyrocketed too, inspired by Donald Trump and other fascists.  

Trans youth, perhaps the most vulnerable and misunderstood human beings on the planet, were the targets of amoral, despicable right-wing politicians and others eager to join the fascist bandwagon.  

There was decent pushback though.  Jack Smith courageously charged the fascist Trump with many crimes in the U.S. surrounding his efforts to destroy American democracy.  Trump and co-conspirators also faced other charges in the state of Georgia and Florida.   

Those who believe in the rule of law continue to demand it be followed.  We'll see if Republican-leaning judges still stand by it too in 2024.  America may be reverting to fascist / sociopathic rule one year from now if some polls are to be believed (I don't believe them.)   

I'm lucky to be with my loving husband going into 2024.  My family is relatively well and happy.  My friends are still pushing through despite some personal setbacks this year.  I'm thankful for so many good things and pledge to continue to work hard to better those things I can change.  

As I look back at this year, I remember the great art and entertainment that brought me and many others happiness.  

My favourite pop culture icon to re-emerge with a hilarious vengeance: Canadian-born drag queen superstar Jimbo, who won Rupaul's Drag Race All Stars Season 8.  

Yes, they've had eight All Stars seasons.  This Canuck made me proud and helped me laugh my ass off this year.  Put aside your worries and enjoy some of the highlights below as you end out 2023:

 

Saturday, December 30, 2023

My Favourite Films of 2023 - FINAL

Barry Keoghan in Saltburn
 

FINAL UPDATE January 18, 2024:  I'm happy once again to share my annual list of my favourite films released this past year.  When I first posted this on December 30th, 2023, I hadn't yet seen all of the major 2023 releases I wanted.  But as of this week, I've finally seen everything I expected to be near the top of my list.  

Here is my list of 2023 favourites, in order! 

1. Saltburn - This one is not for everyone's tastes. I tend to prefer well done films that I also find super fun to watch over and over as my top pics every year. If some of the cultural politics around a film also appeal to my sensibilities, that helps a lot. This year, this darkly comedic, artful, satirical thriller takes the cake on so many levels. Adorable and talented Irish actor Barry Keoghan gets his sexy star turn as an Oxford scholarship student who befriends the rich son of an aristocratic family, and spends the summer at their lovely castle estate named Saltburn.  This wicked tale exposes and demolishes the stupidity of its upper class characters, who spend the movie largely bullying Keoghan's lead, slowly laying the groundwork for their fates. Additional viewings of this flick are essential, especially the final scene featuring a very naked Keoghan dancing throughout the mansion, probably the hottest, most beautiful image released on film this year.  This is an instant class revenge / queer classic from director Emerald Fennell, who proves her stunning feature debut Promising Young Woman was no fluke, but the start of a hopefully long, great filmmaking career. 

 

2. Oppenheimer - Probably Christopher Nolan’s most accomplished film, he paints a chilling picture of science and technology in cahoots with military and geo-political forces racing to beat the Nazis at the end of World War II.  Cillian Murphy is perfectly subdued as the head scientist grappling with his own ethics.  The rest of the cast, let alone the technical achievements here are stunning.  The notion these nuclear scientists literally gambled on destroying the planet by conducting the first atom bomb experiment, depicted here as only Nolan can with minimal special effects, is bone chilling.  It is three hours long, and by the end many might feel overloaded with details.  I’m not sure what could possibly have been cut, though.  I am sure Nolan’s headed to a well-deserved Best Director Oscar at the Academy Awards in March 2024.   

 

3. American Fiction - I missed this film at the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award in 2023. Finally, I caught the film in January 2024 and it's utterly wonderful, goodhearted, smart, and hilarious! Oh, man, this is so good. Jeffrey Wright plays an African-American fiction writer unable to get his next serious and straight-laced book published, and frustrated by what he deems the plethora of badly written "black trauma porn" stories finding massive audiences on the market. So he decides to write his own version of said black trauma porn called "My Pafology," which he later renames "Fuck". Hilariously, publishers eat it up and the book gets published and becomes a huge hit, even the movie rights get sold, leading to a deeply funny, ironic, perfect ending. I'm still chuckling about moments in this film days later. Plus, the characters and family story lines here are so enjoyable and moving. Overall, a great viewing experience!

 

4. Poor Things - Yorgos Lanthimos' latest masterpiece is also more charming, engaging and energetic than his previous great works (which include The Favourite and The Lobster). I loved the sharp hilarious writing in this edgy re-working of the Frankenstein story. Emma Stone is perfect, as are all the actors involved. This is very much deserving of the praise it's receiving. The art direction, costume design, hair and make-up, and all other technical aspects of this film are beyond beautiful. The stunning attention to detail is so welcome, giving this bizarre fantasy comedy such vibrancy, especially on the big screen. It probably didn't need all the nudity, but it certainly adds to the rawness of the festivities.

  

5. The Zone of Interest - British Jewish director Jonathan Glazer presents here perhaps the most quietly disturbing and unforgettable portrait of civilized evil I’ve seen on film in years.  The Nazi commandant in charge of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, lives alongside the horrific camp in a lovely house and grounds with his German wife and children.  We never see directly inside Auschwitz, only its foreboding walls and barbed wire, plus we often hear sounds of gunshots, dogs barking, muffled screams and trains pulling into the camp.  We also occasionally see the burning smokestacks especially horrifying at night shining shades of fiery red through closed bedroom curtains.  Much focus is paid to how these characters try to normalize everything about their existences, focusing on the comforts and beauties they cling to, including garden flowers (occasionally covered by human ash) and swanky parties amongst the Nazi elites in the area.  When the commandant is threatened with a transfer to another camp, it’s despicable how his wife fights to stay in her “fantasy” home they’ve spent years striving to build.  Living next to Auschwitz is literally her dream come true.  These characters are all complicit in the evil that surrounds them.  Evil’s fascination and comfort with physically beautiful things makes those things seem complicit too.  

 

6. Barbie - I have to say this film delivers on the social commentary and satire we hoped it would.  It is truly a new feminist masterpiece!  The acting by Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as her boyfriend Ken is stupendous, particularly Gosling whose performance is the stuff of comic genius (and will likely be rewarded with a Best Supporting Actor nomination early in 2024.)  But the biggest accomplishment is the writing by Greta Gurwig and Noah Baumbach.  America Ferrera’s monologue on the impossible challenges of being a woman is a stand-out.  This film’s massive international success reminds us that you can recycle a concept or even a toy brand and turn it into something modern, smart, thought-provoking, supremely funny and entertaining, as long as the creatives in charge are uniquely talented.

 

7. Killers of the Flower Moon - Martin Scorcese’s latest masterpiece depicts a series of murders of Osage members and relations in the Osage Nation after oil was discovered on tribal land.  The tribal members had retained mineral rights on their reservation, and thus became the targets of racist, greedy white invaders trying to get their hands on that wealth.  The story focuses on how William King Hale (played by Robert De Niro) manipulates his simpleton nephew Ernest Burkhart (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) into marrying Mollie Kyle (played by Lily Gladstone), an Osage woman whose family owned oil head rights.  The film is long at 3.5 hours, but still kept me engaged throughout, but perhaps my bathroom break at the halfway point missing a few minutes helped with my viewing stamina (note to movie theatres: it’s time to bring back 10-minute intermissions to give the audience a break so they can comfortably endure ever-longer feature films.)  Nevertheless, this is a timely exploration of the immense evil that took shape around a little known and tragic period of racist American history. 

 

8. The Holdovers - Touching, beautiful, this is a quiet masterpiece about a brilliant but cantankerous classics teacher (Paul Giamatti) charged with supervising a handful of high school boys at their private school over the Christmas holidays in early 1970s New England.  Particular focus is on the emotional and intellectual bond that forms between Giamatti and one brilliant young student played by newcomer Dominic Sessa.  Da’Vine Joy Randolph as a mourning mother who keeps the males at the school fed adds to the delight of this latest masterpiece by Sideways director Alexander Payne.  I do agree this is Payne’s best film and will warm your heart if you give it a chance.

 

9. Anatomy of a Fall - A refreshing take on the whodunnit / courtroom drama, this French film with a tonne of English dialogue details the criminal investigation and trial of a successful writer after the surprise death of her less-successful writer husband at the family chalet.  The only witness is her partially blind young son.  Sandra Huller plays the woman to perfection, leaving us wondering throughout if she’s guilty or not.  The gripping conclusion unfolds organically, giving great satisfaction and emotional authenticity to a tragic situation.

  

10. All of Us Strangers - This lovely film is more muted and minimalist than I anticipated, but still quite moving. The story is about a lonely gay man in London, UK played by the beloved Andrew Scott. Approaching middle age and somewhat dissatisfied with his screenwriting career, he visits his childhood home where he miraculously finds his parents, both dead since they were killed tragically when he was 12, alive and the same age as he last saw them. Of course, this film engages in a lot of magic surrealism, integrating this mental and emotional exploration of the past with the present, as the lonely man simultaneously begins a new relationship with an attractive and equally lonely neighbour played by Paul Mescal. The effect is deeply authentic, but might leave some strangely dissatisfied with its quiet ending. There are no easy resolutions in life, and this film admits it readily, while still being beautiful.

 

11. Past Lives - A remarkably endearing and honest cross-decades romance about revisiting old loves who got away.  The best straight romance of the year.

 

12. The Killer - David Fincher again delivers shocking action and tension in this artful and well-written thriller about an assassin (played by the always sexy Michael Fassbender) who screws up on the job and then spends the rest of the movie (very efficiently) cleaning it up.

 

13. Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse - This animated adventure sequel (as well as the first Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse) adds as much if not more wonderful depth, character development and intrigue than most of the live action versions. 

 

14. Asteroid City - Another quirky delight from Wes Anderson, who brought us one of my favourite films in The Grand Budapest Hotel.  This one is less funny and accomplished, but still greatly entertaining.  The alien visitation scene is worth the price of admission.  

 

15. Maestro - I enjoyed this somewhat flawed character study about uber talented conductor Leonard Bernstein.  Bradley Cooper completely inhabits the character and is 100% convincing in all aspects of the role including the musical genius, body language, and frequent queerness.  I also bought into the romance with his true love played by Carey Mulligan, the woman who accepts him unconditionally.  Cooper does suck up most of the oxygen but Mulligan does hold her own next to him.

 

16. One Life - I saw this at TIFF 2023, although it won’t be released until 2024.  This moving, absorbing story about a British humanitarian who helped save 700 Jewish refugee children from German-occupied Czechoslovakia just before the start of World War II is made greater by the ever-wonderful Anthony Hopkins in the title role.  

 

17. Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 - I’ve loved this trilogy in all of its naughty, original, hilarious, once-impossible-to-produce glory. Oddly for this third part in the trilogy, I found myself tearing up on several occasions. But also laughing out loud often.  This features another great vocal performance by Bradley Cooper who again plays Rocket, arguably the lead character this time around. 

  

18. Rustin - Colman Domingo is great in this good film about activist Bayard Rustin whose friendship with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. set the groundwork for the 1963 March on Washington.  

 

19. Nyad - Annette Bening delivers as Diana Nyad, the marathon swimmer repeatedly attempting to cross from Cuba to Key West.  But I especially loved Jodie Foster as her best friend who provides essential support to Nyad's exhausting efforts. 

20. Air - Thoroughly entertaining story about the partnership between a visionary Nike executive played by Matt Damon and basketball legend Michael Jordan that revolutionized the world of sports marketing and athlete compensation in major commercial deals. 

21. John Wick: Chapter 4 - Delivers what John Wick films have always delivered, but even more.  And with more beautiful art direction. 

Disappointing:

May December - Decent enough, although not at all convincing and ultimately disappointing film from the inconsistent Todd Haynes.  Natalie Portman is always interesting to watch in this, while Julianne Moore simply wasn’t.  Was she underwritten? It would seem so. I also didn’t buy the central story set-up of an actress spending weeks with her troubled subject before shooting a movie, nor did I believe Charles Melton’s character only now comes to realize he might've been exploited by the love of his life.  Far too easy a conclusion for a film that pretended to be more nuanced.

The Little Mermaid - Fine enough adaptation, but overly slow and often boring. Stick with the animated original. 

Not interested in seeing: 

Napoleon - Sadly, director Ridley Scott has been phoning it in for years now and, from what I can see, this film looks horribly inaccurate and heavy-handed with tropes that were tired in Scott films directed 20 years ago, let alone today.

I still need to see these films, in order:

Blackberry 

Origin 

The Color Purple

Priscilla

The Marvels

Passages

Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part One

Wonka 

The Boys In The Boat

Ferrari

Haunting In Venice

Dicks: The Musical

Dream Scenario

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Eileen

The Boy and the Heron
Memory

Manodrome

The Iron Claw

Pain Hustlers 

Dumb Money

Bottoms

Anyone But You


Monday, October 16, 2023

Today's tonic: Poland frees itself from its neo-fascist, homophobic, anti-democratic government and embraces change

Donald Tusk, leader of the Civic Coalition

Amid the many horrors in Israel and Palestine this past week or so, this little bit of international good news is extremely welcome. 

Exit polls indicate that Polish voters this past weekend have given their progressive and centrist opposition parties enough seats in their next parliament to form a government, thus turfing out the far right neo-fascists of the Law and Justice Party, also known as PiS.   Now that's an appropriate term for these jerks.  

The neo-fascists greatly hurt many democratic ideals during their eight years of elected power in the country, including taking away women's rights over their own bodies by virtually outlawing abortion, threatening the independence of the judiciary and press freedom too by taking hold of the state broadcaster, and attacking LGBTQ rights.   

"The exit polls suggested that the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party received the most votes (about 36.6%), but that Donald Tusk’s Civic Coalition together with two other opposition parties should have a route to a parliamentary majority.

Tusk, who was Polish prime minister between 2007 and 2014 and then became European Council president for five years, declared victory almost immediately after polls closed on Sunday, claiming there was no route for PiS to claim a third term in office.

“It’s the end of the evil times, it’s the end of the PiS rule. We made it,” Tusk said, speaking at a party event inside Warsaw’s ethnography museum to the sound of cheers from supporters. “We won democracy, we won freedom, we won our free, beloved Poland … this day will be remembered in history as a bright day, the rebirth of Poland.”

An updated exit poll released on Monday put PiS on 36.6% and Tusk’s Civic Coalition on 31%, with strong showings also for two groups that could form a coalition with Tusk: the centre-right Third Way (13.5%) and the leftwing Lewica (8.6%). The poll projects that the opposition coalition will win about 248 out of 460 seats.   

Final results are still coming in, but it seems clear change is coming for Poland. 

Wonderful news for democracy and freedoms for all.  

Wednesday, September 20, 2023

No one is imposing "gender ideology" on children in schools, decent folks are trying to save trans & queer kids' lives and anti-LGBTQ protesters today are simply trying to hurt or even kill them

Let's call a spade a spade.

Gender-non-conforming kids and queer kids in our schools are extremely vulnerable to bullying, discrimination, harassment, and violence. 

This was my experience as a gay youth in my high school.  Sadly, it's the experience of most queer youth. 

Kids who are questioning their identities aren't a new phenomenon.  

Kids who are today questioning their gender identities are simply authentically asking these questions because we live in an era when many correctly have come to understand that trans and non-binary people are, have always been, and always will be a small but very beautiful part of the human family.  This has to happen in safe spaces where such kids don't fear violence, harassment and ignorance.  

So-called One Million March for Children Canada protesters marching today to promote hatred, purportedly to defend children, are actually attacking children including their safety.  They are promoting an environment which promotes violence and intolerance of children.  They are making their lives more dangerous. Period. 

Sadly, these anti-gay protesters are, in truth, trying to hurt or even kill these vulnerable youth.  

If their rights are denied, if their lives are disregarded and negatively impacted by these ignorant crackdowns on rights, many of these vulnerable youth will suffer, choose suicide or self-harm.  

I'm thrilled many counter protesters, who seem to outnumber these bigots in many places, are out in full force today to communicate clearly the rights of these kids matter.   

This debate is simple: what's more important?  The best interests of children in our care?  Or parents who may be so ignorant about their children's identities they need schools to tell them these truths.  Those parents need to have better relationships with their kids.  Not strip all queer kids of their rights.   

The safety, security and best interests of children and youth in our care should always be the top priority of adults, parents, educators and all.  Everything else is secondary.  

Parents do not have the right to undermine children's safety.  

#NoSpaceForHate

ADDENDUM

I just want to add that I think our laws need no changes or inappropriate interventions from government.  Educators are already empowered to inform parents when concerns about a child or youth’s safety or security arise.  

I simply don’t agree schools should be legally compelled by government to inform parents if a youth decides to experiment with name changes or gender identities.  It’s one size fits all and inappropriate.  Instead, if there is an issue of safety or security for the youth, including if they are vulnerable to self harm, and educators believe the parents must know about the situation, then of course parents must be informed.  

I also don’t believe outing kids should be banned as there might be cases when that’s appropriate as it’s in the best interests of the children for their parents to know.  

I’m against banning outing and I’m against mandatory outing.  Every situation is different.

I compare it to a case of a Muslim or Christian student who decides at their school to explore a different religion.  Imagine if the government compelled schools then to inform parents of those choices.  It would be unconscionable. So why must gender identity be treated differently?