When I read through the article here, some old memories were triggered, some feelings of fear, frustration, prejudice and hatred came back to me. I am old enough to remember knowing very well that "our kind" were considered junk or misfits or unrepentant sinners... While I feel we've come a long way, it takes very little to undo much of our progress of simply being recognized as equal to others... not trash to be discarded. Our history matters - because if people know our history we become human beings to them and we learn, hopefully anyway, from the judgements and mistakes of others in the past. I hope some of you will take the time to read this article I posted here. 'Bury them in fruit jars.' A gay mass murder and the cover-up that followed - LGBTQ Nation
Damn! I never heard about that fire! Good article. In my own experience, I moved to San Francisco and across the street from my apartment was a lesbian bar. AS soon as they realized that I was just a guy that wanted to shoot some pool and have a few beers, I was accepted as just a regular patron. One night a bunch of cops busted into the bar and arrested all the women that had on men's suits!! Took ém away, I suppose to jail. I always ask myself and call upon others to ask themselves: How does anyone else's lifestyle affect me? Short of harm to others, the answer is : They don't. Too much hate and too much religion in the world for my taste. If laws are broken--by straights OR gays--there needs to be appropriate charges brought. I have a gay daughter --she is an intelligent , caring individual, but she is not the reason I feel as I do. I have always felt that short of harm to others--people should mind their own damn business.
If have no recollection of even hearing about that fire at the time. If there was a news story at all, if must have been a short one. Yes, it is happening again. This time, it is transgender people that are on the front line (as we were at Stonewall), but everyone in the LGBT+ alphabet soup has a target on their back.
