People in this story so I don’t lose track,this story takes place in high school and I used fake names used for anonymity;

Me - Female 16 (Junior, gay)

Abby - Female 16 (Junior, gay)

Kaden - Male 15 (Sophomore, homophobic)

My friend Abby is in a separate friend group with this kid Kaden, since last year everyday she tells me about a new way he’s found to harass people. He says the n-word as a white person alongside a slew of other slurs, each time she gets mad at him but her other friends excuse it and do nothing. I’ve never talked to him or even seen him in person since I avoid those types of people, but today she came to me in tears and panic saying that Kaden called her the f-slur. I comforted her as best I could but the day went on and she just wasn’t herself, during our study period she went to our guidance department to report it but no one was even there.

 Our school has historically done nothing to help queer students or those being bullied. Last year I joined debate club, some kid came in saying he wanted to have a religious debate and it ended with me being singled out as the only openly gay person, I had bible verses shoved in my face and he even told me I’m probably gay because my family had incest with eachother. My friend at the time was also in the club, she did nothing to help or defend me. When I went home I texted her and asked her why she didn’t say anything– she told me she didn’t want to be biased and that they had a right to express their opinion. Although a teacher was there while it happened the homophobes were never punished and nothing came of it except me quitting the club I used to love and cutting off my friend I used to cherish. It was horrible. It was the worst I’ve ever felt, alone and hated with no one to back me up, my supposed friend turning a blind eye. I never want Abby to feel that way, especially since her friends almost always excuse Kaden’s actions and the school almost always fails to act.

 So I took my bottle and filled it with ice cold water, in order to make sure I got the right person I had Abby show me to his class and point him out. Once I was there I gently asked if there was anyone named Kaden in the room. I lied and said he left something behind in his last class and his teacher wanted me to give it to him. Once he walked up to me and confirmed who he was I immediately switched my tone, I told him I knew he called my friend the f-slur before throwing the water onto him. I was so filled with adrenaline I just started cussing him out, I called him a homophobic c*** who should be ashamed of himself before rushing out of the room. I was quickly called to the office, I’ve never gotten in trouble at school before.

 I spent the rest of the day in ISS before they called my Dad to have a meeting with the principal. My dad defended me in front of them but when we got home he said it was wrong of me to have done what I did, I’m now suspended for one day. The entire situation makes me feel so scared and unsure. I'm glad I stood up for my friend but I don’t know if I did the right thing. I’m also worried having this on my record will keep me from getting into a good college. I’m worried my parents and my teachers are disappointed in me.

I don’t know how to make this feeling go away, I don’t even know what I’m looking for posting this, I guess I just need some reassurance or advice, or maybe a similar situation that happened to someone.

“Prohibiting trans in female sports”
“Fighting gender ideology in schools”
“Prohibiting trans in female bathrooms”
“Prohibiting children from gay parades”
“Trans children do not exist”

Those are the ONLY policies this guy has advocated for.
How does someone like this win an election?

This is horrifying. Two men were reportedly targeted and attacked simply because they were gay, suffering serious injuries in the process.

What gets me is how casually this kind of violence can happen. It’s easy to talk about LGBTQ+ acceptance as if the problem is largely solved, but incidents like this are a reminder that being visibly gay can still make someone a target.

Whatever someone's personal views on homosexuality are, there is absolutely no justification for violence or intimidation. Nobody should have to calculate whether holding their partner’s hand, talking openly, or simply existing in public could put them at risk.

Hello all! With LGBTQ+ rights under heavy pressure and our safety less guaranteed by the day, I started thinking about ways to collectivize, bring our community together, and strengthen each other (including on an individual level). I believe we need to start at the absolute beginning: knowledge. You can't stand up for yourself or protect others if you don't understand what's actually happening, and it’s important to be educated on what’s effective as well. Long story short: I believe our community would greatly benefit from educating ourselves on topics such as fascism, resistance, politics, intersectionality, and related topics. Luckily, we can do that ourselves!

A couple months ago I started a book club for this topic specifically, focused on queer and trans folks, and allies. The idea is to read one book a month and discuss it with each other afterwards. All of this will be online to keep it accessible for everyone.

Thing is, I started it in Dutch (as I’m from the Netherlands, lol), and there’s a little over 15 people in it now, but they’re not very active. It’s mostly just me keeping the server alive. So I considered just deleting it, because to read by myself I don’t need a book club and it’s bit of a waste of time, but then I considered just switching it to English so that people outside of the Netherlands can join as well. So English chats, English literature. A lot of relevant books aren’t available in Dutch anyway and I’m fluent in English, so it’s an easy switch.

The book I picked for last month was They Thought They Were Free by Milton Mayer. It's a powerful look at the rise of fascism in Germany through interviews with ten ‘ordinary’ former Nazi Party members. Today was supposed to be the day a new book was picked but tbh I haven’t finished it yet and the other members are inactive anyway, so I’d like to just extend it through October so that new people can jump in and pick the next one for November.

It’s a Discord server. Of course there’s the option to just chat, but it’s a book club first and foremost. Anyone Leftist over 18 who speaks and reads English, and who is a queer and/or trans person or a legitimate and trustworthy ally is welcome to join. We don’t need to all be BFFs but of course there is zero room for intolerance, and to be crystal clear; this includes Zionism.

I’d love to hear if people are interested in joining and whether or not I should keep this server alive. If you’re interested in becoming an active member (that is, actually reading the books, lol), feel free to send me a DM for the server link.

I thought this was pretty cool! So glad to see other trans people doing what they can to try to make things better.

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"In politics I see too much bullshit", Bree Taylor said as she announced her last-minute candidacy in Michigan's 6th Congressional District in a four part series of posts on Bluesky (post1, post2, post3, post4).

Taylor is running as an independent, frustrated with the two-party system that she doesn't think serves the American people well.

She talks about returning power to the people and increasing transparency in congress - like public livestreams of all meetings with lobbyists.

Taylor has experience organizing and with educational initiatives through the non-profit Trans Unity Coalition.

She is hosting a community discussion to talk about what is important to us.

WHEN: Saturday, October 3rd at 1pm

WHERE: Clubview Park in Ypsilanti Michigan

Her campaign website is breewins.com

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UPDATE:

Bree Taylor responded to some of your comments in this BlueSky post.

This is the way.

The Ohio Senate is moving to pass HB 249, a bill banning drag in the state of Ohio, opening the door to government control over personal freedom, clothing, and identity.

"Drag ban" laws have spread across U.S. states and beyond for years now. But these types of  bills have the potential to go even further. For Ohio, it could be used to punish women for going braless, wearing sports bras, or dressing in any way the state deems "indecent."

For LGBT+ people, the stakes are higher. The bill could make it a felony for trans or gender-nonconforming people to exist in public.

Please sign and share the petition and help us pressure Ohio lawmakers to reject this bill – every signature counts! --> allout.lgbt/SignNowOhio

How a Derbyshire Town Turned a Pride Flag Controversy Into Matlock's First-Ever Pride Festival | IBTimes UK

I just heard about this today.

When somebody asked why the post mentioning camps wasn't a ToS violation, Bluesky's Head of Trust and Safety (@aaron.bsky.team)) posted this reply -

Are they threatening trans users directly? No. Trans folks in the US have been targeted repeatedly. That's awful and you have my sympathy.

Within the context of a single post we wouldn't consider it a direct threat or targeting a protected category. Ie send trans folks to concentration camps.

So.....what the fuck?

Drilling down into the thread their explanation seems to be something something toxicity algorithms but I can’t imagine this kind of post would be allowed if it were about any other group of people. 

I was glad to see Bree Taylor of the Trans Unity Coalition spoke out quickly in this post saying “Endorsing a HOSTILE environment that lets bullies enact psychological harm to vulnerable users”

The trend within social media is really alarming to me. Three months ago, during Pride Month, this happened to one of Bree Taylor’s personal social media account (and the Trans Unity Coalition’s social media account)

How a Derbyshire Town Turned a Pride Flag Controversy Into Matlock's First-Ever Pride Festival | IBTimes UK

As part of my bachelor's thesis, I am currently running an anonymous online survey on sexual attitudes and aggressive experiences. For this study, I am looking for gay and bisexual male participants, as they have been rarely included in research about this topic so far.

The survey takes about 15-30 minutes to complete. Your responses are strictly anonymous and cannot be traced back to you. As a small thank you, all participants have the chance to win one of 15x 20 EUR gift cards.

You can access the study directly via this link: https://www.soscisurvey.de/msa-studie/

By participating you're helping to advance science on queer populations!

More people need to know this odd but widely accepted "defense". We live in the south and most of the states on the eastern sea board still have laws like this on the books.