While as a journalist I hope it’s clear that I have a particular affinity for them, I also hope we can all agree that words matter.
Choosing them carefully and deliberately can change the world, for better or for worse. It can do so one person at a time or in staggering numbers, and neither is without merit. Your influence just depends on the size of your platform, which thanks to modern technology is larger than ever for almost all of us.
It’s a part of what can make social media so maddening. It’s amplified each of our voices and brought society closer together than ever, particularly as we socially distance from one another, all while simultaneously managing to push many of us further apart.
I believe that’s because while we’re just fingertips and a few keystrokes away from vast wells of knowledge, too many of us choose not to drink. In other words, Aunt Karen just needs to Google it.
Unfounded opinions cloaked as facts aren’t limited to the internet, however, and can come from much larger, much more public stages. Like the podium in front of the president of the United States, who liked or loathed is as closely scrutinized by the world at large as he is on its great wide web. The same is true for most heads of state.
Referring to COVID-19, which at the time was known to have killed more than 51,000 Americans, Donald Trump suggested that sources of light or disinfectants could treat the respiratory illness.
“I see the disinfectant that knocks it out in a minute, one minute,” he shared April 23, “and is there a way we can do something like that by injection inside or almost a cleaning? As you see, it gets in the lungs, it does a tremendous number on the lungs, so it would be interesting to check that.”
After medical experts and even the makers of disinfectant brands like Lysol publicly denounced the president’s words, the White House utilized the opportunity to attack journalists for reporting them. Trump subsequently claimed he was being sarcastic.
Former vice president Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president who will likely challenge Trump in November, chose his own words carefully in a response. “I can’t believe I have to say this,” he shared, “but please don’t drink bleach.”
The differences between the two men couldn’t be starker, especially concerning LGBTQ Americans. As transgender soldiers fight for a country that negates their rights to do so and as this administration argues that our community should be able to be fired simply for who we are, we must remember that.
Words matter, and when this country holds its 2021 inauguration and this year’s victor recites their presidential oath, it’s imperative that he believes that. We need a president who will preserve, protect and defend the U.S. Constitution not just for the few, but for the many. Biden will, because he has.
“I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual men and women marrying, are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties,” he said as vice president in 2012, three days before President Barack Obama publicly supported marriage equality. “And, quite frankly, I don’t see much of a distinction beyond that.”
Three years later, the tides turned and the Supreme Court made marriage equality the law of the land. As the LGBTQ community faces its next uphill battle before that same body, albeit with two Trump appointees, having a president on our side can make all the difference.
Just as important as words are actions. That’s why in this issue we introduce you to four essential heroes who are making a difference in Tampa Bay and Central Florida. As we collectively grapple with COVID-19, a nurse, server, delivery driver and entertainer share their stories from the front lines of this pandemic.
We examine its effects in other ways in Tampa Bay and Central Florida news, as area leaders make difficult decisions about this year’s LGBTQ celebrations and ceremonies. St Pete Pride, the state’s largest outing, announces it will be held in the fall.
Tampa Pride, which was previously rescheduled to May, postpones until 2021 – and in Central Florida, the Pulse Remembrance Ceremony goes virtual. We also hear directly from State Rep. Jennifer Webb about what resources are available to help our struggling communities.
Watermark strives to bring you a variety of stories, your stories. I hope you avoid digesting bleach, check your voter registration status and enjoy this latest issue.
