It hit 96F degrees (36C) at 10 a.m. this morning, and now, an hour and a half later, it is 102F (39C) and climbing to 106F. I was going to go for a drive today, but with gas over $4 per gallon, I think I'll wait a day or two.
I have been feeling rather beaten down by all the attacks on our community by our own government. I just have to wonder what the benefit is?
When I was growing up in the 60s in California, race riots were the thing. The Watts Riot happened not too far from where we lived and prompted my parents to move to the desert. Racism was real and an everyday occurrence. Racial slurs and jokes were everywhere.
And yet, people of color were our classmates. Some of them had amazing athletic abilities and became our sports heroes. They were celebrated for their skills and never criticized for their race, because we knew them personally. We knew that they were just regular people doing what they enjoy, what they were good at, and trying to get along in the world.
In 2016, the Veterans Administration announced (more than once) that they were proud to care for all veterans, including those in the LGBTQ+ community. And now, those healthcare services have been removed. All references to LGBTQ have been removed from the VA website, clinics, and medical centers. All because of the bigotry from one man.
So the question remains: how does the government benefit from this?
They cannot claim cost-savings. VA Healthcare providers are government employees paid a salary. So it doesn't matter if the patient is suffering from PTSD, shrapnel wounds, endocrine imbalance, disease, or cancer. They get paid exactly the same amount. The prescription drugs do not change either. They are the same drugs prescribed to cisgender veterans. The removal of care because of sexual orientation makes even less sense.
The department has now been instructed by policy not to mention LGBTQ, transgender, or gender dysphoria in any records, brochures, reports, or communications. How much money does that policy save? Zero.
So what is the point of all this madness?
In the 1960s, the racism was obvious. It is difficult to hide the color of one's skin.
For LGBTQ people, it is not obvious if we choose not to divulge our gender or sexual preferences. Many of us are stealth for safety reasons.
The bigotry survives among populations who do not know someone of a group personally, so they continue the stereotypes, slurs, and jokes.
Perhaps the whole point of this government's attacks on us is that very reason. To drive us out of visibility, to force us to stay stealth, so that people will think they have never met someone like us. They will never know that we are just normal people doing what we enjoy, what we are good at, and trying to just get along in the world.
Because as long as people remain in their own little world, they will drink the Kool-Aid and accept whatever the powers-that-be tell them. They don't know any better, so they cannot question or dispute the false claims and stereotypes.
By being out and involved in our communities, not as activists, but as ambassadors, we show the world that we do exist, we are not the stereotype, and that we are just good and normal people. The only cure for ignorance is education.
There are people who will hold on to their beliefs despite evidence to the contrary. There is no cure for stupidity. Fortunately, there are fewer stupid people than there are LGBTQ people, so there is still hope.
