“History never repeats, I tell myself before I go to sleep,” Split Enz once (or a million times) warned via the medium of a seemingly benign pop chorus. If only. History, including the mistakes in judgment that we frequently make, runs more like a pendulum than a direct line (see the Dark Ages, the Enlightenment and back again); in today’s direct-hotline-to-everything internet world, history doesn’t even require a context in order to regenerate itself in another, strikingly similar form when you least expect it. Does that sound heavy? It is.
Following our last issue’s verbal and visual parade around the historic marriage equality ruling from the Supreme Court – “We won!” – most of us around Watermark and in the community could feel the weight of what happens next and how we confront our continuing challenges in housing, the workforce, bullying, trans rights and the upcoming national elections. God, we’re downers sometimes.
But it’s not all Sturm und Drang (see, history!). The last couple of weeks have brought along some amazing changes, including the Boy Scouts of America decision to, gasp, allow gay leaders in its ranks and the federal government to cease discrimination against transgendered soldiers. We’re moving, people!
This week, we’ve gone a bit pedantic for our cover feature, not because we mean to be jerks or school marms, but because there are a lot of moments that have fed the drive of the LGBT movement and pushed us into the realm of general, respected humanity (or closer to it). We thought we might take a minute to go back to school, cram for a test and flunk it.
It wasn’t that long ago that pageant queen and orange-juice peddler Anita Bryant stomped a heel on the rights of gays in Florida and across the country, all with a fake smile, one that eventually held a pie atop it. Or when the Mattachine Society gathered in quiet corners to subvert society via pamphleteering. Or when men were covering their faces while being pushed into police vans outside of a bar called Stonewall. It wasn’t that long ago that the “gay cancer” turned into AIDS and killed a significant portion of our population, something that took treacherous years for then-President Ronald Reagan to even recognize. Or when LGBT citizens of Florida couldn’t adopt children; or, for that matter, get married.
But all of that is fixed, right? We can move on, take our PrEP pills and party, because life is all sunshine and roses. Except – cue Debbie Downer noise here – in Orange County alone, HIV cases have increased 47 percent in just one year, income disparity between LGBT workers and their straight peers is still a thing and there are people holding rallies to support the Confederate flag. We’ve got some distance left to run.
Fortunately, there are people who are willing to run that distance in Washington, D.C., the Florida Legislature and in our local municipal governments. This week, we introduce our new political column Uprisings, which will monitor, with some humor (it makes for a nice accessory), the political landscape that is certain to affect our lives over the next 16 months and beyond. We also cover some good news and bad news about services for the LGBT community in both the Tampa Bay area and Orlando.
Oh, and for fun, we catch up with Hilary Duff, who has just recently caught up with herself (and Grindr).
We made history. We are living in historic times. Don’t go to sleep.
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