Hi everyone!
For this first “Good News” post, I tossed and turned over a number of ideas, but eventually decided to chose a single, highly important topic to discuss: Pride Month. June is the month when we celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and their impact on the world. My resolve to write about this was strengthened when I found something disappointing: out of the top 20 Google articles, none of them were from the reliable & mainstream sources I use, like Reuters, The New York Times, or Associated Press.
For years, the LGBTQ+ community has suffered. Members of the LGBTQ+ community have been marginalized and attacked for simply being who they are and loving whom ever they love. Even LGBTQ people who made incredible discoveries and far-reaching legacies have been pushed aside, or worse. Take the sad tale of brilliant British mathematician and visionary computer scientist Alan Turing. He was a hero of WWII for his work deciphering the Nazi code, until the government caught wind of something:
Turing was gay.
This shouldn’t matter, right? No matter who he loved, he was a heroic figure who ought to be appreciated. Unfortunately, the United Kingdom, mirroring the thoughts of far too many past and present, disagreed. Gayness was considered immoral and illegal, and Turing was actually arrested. Arrested for the crime of loving a man.
Turing was forced to take hormone injections to “correct” the “issue,” as though being different was a disease. The injections ruined the once-sharp mind, and are a probable cause of his untimely death by suicide.
This is not a lone incident, either. Across the world, to this day, there is an uncomfortable number of people who consider being LGBTQ immoral. These homophobic people then try and force their twisted and backwards values on others. There have been recent protests trying to keep LGBTQ people out of the military, and in Idaho a group of white supremacists made plans to disrupt a Pride gathering, but were stopped by police before they could carry out their planned riot.
And all of this hate, for what? So some people will change who they love or their orientation? Why? People are people, and we need not fear differences. Just because someone thinks differently than you does not mean that they are immoral - no human should ever be talked of that way for something that they cannot control.
There is hope, however. The UK issued an official apology to Turing, and put him on the 50-pound banknote. And then there’s Pride Month! This month, we are celebrating the LGBTQ community and contributions to society. I encourage you to do your part, and contribute to the celebration in any way you can, whether it’s joining a protest against anti-LGBTQ laws, marching in a parade alongside your family and friends, or learning as much as you can about the LGBTQ+ community and commit to becoming an ally! Today is the time for change, and we all need to help drive it.
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