I know that a couple of weeks ago I wrote about how Gay kids, particularly Gay boys, have it better today that when I was their age back in the 60s and 70s when I was coming to terms with my own sexuality. Young men today are openly coming out to the
world announcing the fact that they're Gay in their mid-teens, some even younger. While it's there today, the hatred I had to deal with was far more dangerous than it is today. At least for the most part. Too, I should have been clearer as to one
point, that being it is so much different here in Canada than it is in the United States, where Homophobia and Transphobia has always been a serious issue, and it's becoming more serious today, especially with an all-out war being carried out against the
LGBTQ community. It's a sad state of affairs that this hatred is escalating, and it's even sadder that it's the religious right that's escalating this hatred. I guess it's just Christians being Christians. And they wonder why the young people are
walking, or is it running away from organized religion. This time though, I want to write about something I've been following that is going on in the U.S., as what happens down there will eventually work its way up here in Canada.

The one pastime I've come to enjoy since I F​*I*N*A*L*L*Y retired is reading. Mostly, being an Atheist, though I identify as Humanist, in addition to being 100% certified Gay, I read books that either speak about the Atheist concept or expose the
negative side of religion. And believe me, there is a lot to the negative side of religion. I've read Robert Jones's book about white nationalism and racism, and I just started to read "The Power Worshipers" by Katherine Stewart. I also just finished
a book that approaches the Gay lifestyle as a theology. It's called "Jesus Acted Up" by Robert Goss. That book was from 1993, and the first two chapters talked about the hatred LGBTQ people receive from members of the religious right. With that book,
even though it was written in 1993, with some of the events going on lately, especially in the United States, that book could have been written last year. Being an openly Gay man, some of those events, sorry, make that most of those events going on
concern me. Here is one instance: Recently, the United States Congress passed an anti-lynching law, something that should have been done decades ago. But three Republican lawmakers, Andrew Clyde from Georgia, Thomas Massie from Kentucky, and Chip Roy
from Texas, wanted specific protection for LGBTQ people excluded, claiming that it would be understood that they would be included in the law. Well, it isn't! And with some of the crazed religious leaders in the United States, like that nutcase
Jonathan Shelley from Texas, could take that interpretation to mean that it would be perfectly legal to grab some Gay guy, drag him off to a park and hang the guy from a tree and leave his body hanged until it was confirmed that he was dead! The reason
items like this concern me is that Canada is rapidly swinging hard right, and items such as this will eventually filter its way into Canada. Look at the recent terrorist attack on the nation's capital, Ottawa. Sorry, I meant say, the trucker's convoy.
No! I am sticking to what I first called them, terrorists. They are very vocal and extremist anti-LGBTQ, and if those a-holes had been in the U.S., they would have been in Washington, D.C. on January 6th, 2021.

Admittedly, for the most part, the hatred that is mushrooming in the U.S. toward the LGBTQ community hasn't worked its way to this side of the border. That's not to say it isn't here. It is! I've noticed it ever since I began coming to terms with
being Gay when I was in my early-teens. I actually knew before that that I was Gay, like when I was 10-years-old. I finally got to embrace it 2-1/2-months before my 19th birthday when I met the most seriously beautiful guy in the world, and on
September 8th, 1973, I got to enter "heaven" when I had my first ever sexual encounter. Even though I lived in fear about my sexuality for years, the worst event happened on, of all days for me to choose, April 10th, 1977, Easter Sunday. What happened
that day? That was the day I came out of the closet and announced to my family that I was certified, 100% Gay. What gave me the confidence to make my announcement was that Ashley, my boyfriend/lover, was standing beside me holding my hand. I was 22-
years-old, but I already had my own apartment. It was a good thing too! First, my mother, who was a big-time Homophobe, threatened to have me beheaded. Then she told me to leave and never show my face around her again. It took my father, my sister,
who already knew I was Gay, and two cousins who also knew I was Gay to intervene to get mother to change her mind about me.

As I said, the hate has always been there, and for the most part, it just wasn't as bad as it has been in the U.S. Then a couple of incidents happened that opened my eyes. Back in in 2018, right after the last Ontario (where I live) general election.
The provincial Premier, our equivalent to a U.S. State Governor, was influenced by a Christian-based hate group called Campaign Life Coalition to install a known bigoted Christian nationalist as education minister. This idiot never went to public
school. He was educated in private Christian schools. Also at the influence of that hate group, the Premier appointed another Christian nationalist as the minister's Parliamentary Secretary. This Christian nationalist is well-known for his Homophobic
views. He learned them from his bigoted parents who chose to home school him to keep him sheltered from learning that there might be kids who don't share his hatred for LGBTQ. The previous government was Liberal, and one of the pieces of legislation
they tried to put into law was a modernization of the sexual education program. One highlight was that the program was to teach is that Gay people exist. The first action those two Christian nationalists took was to cancel that modernization. We can't
recognize that Gay people exist now, can we!

Further hatred came out in 2019 when the Canadian government decided to issue a commemorative Loonie (Our one-dollar coin) to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of the Homosexual lifestyle being removed from the criminal code. Imagine! Being Gay was a
crime! Punishable by death by hanging no less! Anyway, another hate group called CitizenGo lead a protest in Ottawa and got up a petition to stop it. The coins were issued, but they were quickly removed from circulation, by collectors! If one did
show up in some store's cash register, there would be a bidding war erupting! Just for the record, I managed to get my hands on five of them! I have them on display inside a display case that has a diecast model of a Mazda Miata. (I love that car!)
Speaking of the Miata, did you know that the Mazda Miata is a favorite among Gay men? So yes, I love that car for that very reason. If I ever get one, I plan to paint a rainbow stripe right down the middle of it! I will also attach a GAY PRIDE license
plate frame on it!

Most recently, as you might be aware, the Canadian government finally took the right action and outlawed the barbaric practice of conversion therapy. I hated that therapy! I knew two guys who were forced into it back in the 1970s, when they were in
their 20s, and both committed suicide by hanging themselves. As it happened, yet another hate group called Liberty Coalition, ran a hate campaign against the government in January as a protest for banning conversion therapy. More than 4000 churches
preached their hate-based condemnation of the government. So the hate is there, and it is growing! Lastly, there is currently a campaign by our federal conservative party to elect a new party leader. The person who will most likely win that position
is a man named Pierre Poilievre, who is well known for his extremist right wing views, including a burning hatred for the LGBTQ community. He has vowed that when he becomes Prime Minister, he will outlaw and ban same-sex marriage, will re-instate
conversion therapy, and he will return the Gay lifestyle back into the criminal code, making our lifestyle illegal, and yes, being Gay will again be punishable by death if he gets his way! He is well supported by Christian nationalists, and by the the
terrorists who took part in the trucker's convoy.

Okay, I have gotten wwwaaayyy off track with what I wanted to write about!

Now that I've spoken about some of the hate that has come to light in Canada, what I wanted to write about is about something we should all be concerned about, and that is about the meteoric rise of book banning that is going on in the United States, in
the schools. The reason for the concern is that there was a list created by Texas Attorney General jackass Krause. He had listed 850 books that he deemed inappropriate for school kids. This list has made its way to Florida, North Carolina, Virginia,
West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Idaho, just to name a few. Less than 20% of the books are or were authored by writers who identified as POC (People of Colour). The majority of the books, more than 80%, being banned are ones written by authors
who identify as LGBTQ and the subject matter is LGBTQ related. This whole issue boils down to anti-LGBTQ attacks by Christian nationalist groups, and to be honest, the issue will seriously jeopardizing the lives of LGBTQ kids, most of whom are already
marginalized and extremely vulnerable. There is even one case in West Chester, Pennsylvania where this "loving Christian woman" named Jenifer MacFarland has filed a "freedom of information Act" (FOIA) request to obtain the names of all the students who
signed out a Gay-based book entitled "Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Mala Kobabe. Luckily, the school board denied her request, only telling her how many times the book was taken out of the library. her fight is not over, as she has hired a lawyer to get
that information she's demanding. Why does she want those kids' names? She's a Christian, and a republican. Put two-plus-two together!

There is another LGBTQ-based book among that 80% on the hitlist. You guessed it! It's Juno Dawson's book, "This Book Is Gay".

So who are these nutcases trying to ban all these LGBTQ-based books that they're so terrified of? And why are they so terrified?

First, if I may recommend a wonderful website called Book Riot (www.bookriot.com). Now, I'm not really THAT avid a reader, but I have come to appreciate reading as a nice pastime, especially in winter. Book Riot has daily columns geared toward book
recommendations, with a different category each day. They also have columns on such topics as how to deal with reading a book that deals with a difficult subject. That one came in handy when I was trying to read a book entitled "IndoctriNation", about
how the public education system is "poisoning" students minds (by teaching them to think) and indoctrinating them with "liberal values", such as tolerance, acceptance, and respect. Oh the horror! When I finally got through it, I saw it for what it
really was, a book about how Christians are upset that students aren't reading the bullshit of the bible, and are turning into tolerant, accepting Liberals, instead of hate-filled bigots. One of the essays was written by a woman who quit teaching
because she had an LGBTQ student in her class, and the school administration would not remove that "disgusting person" from her class. If you want to get rally pissed off, read this book about how the Christian nationalists are trying to destroy the
public education system in the United States. If you can get through it without wanting to rip it up and burn it, you'll do better than I did! And as I said earlier, what happens in the United States eventually works its way into Canada.

On Fridays, the Book Riot website has a column about censorship and book challenges written by an ex-Teen Librarian named Kelly Jensen, who is also the site's Editor. Of all the columns on Book Riot, I enjoy her discussions on censorship the most! I
would love to meet her one day! She writes a main topic, then at the end, she has "several" links to other topics from various news sources. I say "several", because there are usually quite a number. For instance, on her February 18th, 2022 column,
she had 21 links posted. Usually, those links are paywall-free, and if there is one that has a paywall, she warns you about it. Speaking of Ms. Jensen's February 18th column entitled: "How Faith-Based, Right-Wing Money Is Waging War Through Book
Challenges", she delved into some of the sources of these book challenges. As the title of her column indicated, most, if not all of these challenges come by way of right-wing Christian-based or backed groups. She even called it dark money! She
centered out well known Christian-based hate groups like Family Research Council, Focus on the Family, and Alliance Defending Freedom. The common factor? They are all extreme anti-LGBTQ organizations. One of the main protagonists is the legendary hate-
spreading bigot, Tony Perkins, who is well known for his burning and blinding hatred for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ. One offshoot organization backed by Perkins is a Florida based extremist group called 'Moms for Liberty', and their goal is to run
candidates for school boards so they can get all LGBTQ-based books banned, and get any students who identify as LGBTQ run out of the schools. At the very least, they want the public education system destroyed, thus opening the door for the voucher
system, which the Freedom From Religion Foundation is trying desperately to get stopped. 'Moms for Liberty', which should actually be called 'Bigoted Moms for Censorship, is operated by three "Christian" women, Tina Descovich, Tiffany Justice, and
Bridget Ziegler. As I said, their goal is to destroy the education system any way they can, and make any students who identify as LGBTQ to fear for their lives. Typical right-wing Christians: Very horrible people. And they wonder why the fastest
growing religious movement in the U.S. are people who identify as "Nones", they want nothing to do with religion, and half don't even believe in god!

Their is one group though that is combating the bigots of Moms for Liberty. That group is called "Red Wine and Blue", a play on 'red, white, and blue'. The "blue" means they're Liberals. I keep forgetting that blue means Liberal in the States, whereas
in Canada, Liberals are red! And in case you didn't already know, I'm a Liberal! In fact, I have THE three big strikes against me: I'm a Liberal, I'm openly Gay (I don't flaunt it, but I don't hide it either), and I'm an Atheist. The idea of this
organization is that these Ladies enjoy their quiet time with a glass of red wine and a good book. Oh, pour me a glass of Francis Ford Coppola's Director's Cut Cabernet Sauvignon! They also counter the Moms for Liberty bullshit. The organization is
best described as: "The Network of Suburban Moms Working To Stop Book Bans", and their nickname is "Book Ban Busters". They boast, and rightfully so, of a membership of over 250,000, compared to the extremist Moms for Liberty that only boasts of having
70,000 members. Let's hope 'Red Wine and Blue' has success in stopping these attacks on education, and more importantly, the attacks on LGBTQ students. Thinking myself, I wonder if this LGBTQ book banning nonsense starts to infest Canada's schools and
school libraries, would I be able to start an activist group and call it "Red Wine and Red"? After all, being as "red" represents being Liberal in Canada, and our flag is red and white, it should work. Hmmm...

Regarding these book bans, I have a straight friend who also is against banning books, particularly, banning LGBTQ-based books. He calls it bigotry to the max! If you want ever meet a guy who's so far to the left, it's him! He's also one for
patronizing artists and activist groups who stand up to bigotry, and is especially supportive of pro-LGBTQ rights groups. A few weeks ago, he presented me with a tee shirt being sold to fund-raise one of the YouTube channels he listens to. He has wo
himself! The tee shirt is black with big yellow letters that say: "BANNED BOOKS ARE THE BEST BOOKS". It also shows six books being burned with titles "BANNED", OBJECTIONABLE", CENSORED", POLITICALLY INCORRECT", CONTAINS LOW MORAL CONTENT", and DEEMED
UNACCEPTABLE". The message is, "Who gets to decide this?" Who indeed!

Speaking of burning books (shades of Germany in the 1930s!), if you know who hate preacher Greg Locke is, you probably already know about this. And if you don't know who this Locke moron is, consider yourself lucky. Locke in an extremist right-wing,
anti-vax, anti-LGBTQ Christian preacher in Tennessee. Back in February, he hosted a book burning party outside his church. He encouraged people to bring Harry Potter books, books on the occult, and if they could get ahold of any LGBTQ books, bring them
too, and throw them into the fire. Scary! Very scary! But, someone decided to crash his party. This guy showed up and yelled, "This is the bible, and it is evil!", then he threw the bible into the fire, yelling "Hail Satan!" as he threw it. Then he
stood there and held up two other books. "This is my copy of Darwin's Origin of the Species and Fahrenheit 451! I treasure them and you can't have them!" It was right at that point people realized what he was doing, and he got chased out of the area.
Talk about courage! I applaud him! By the way, if you check out the website Dead State (deadstate.org), the story and video are on there.

Sorry to be so long winded with this, but this is something I feel is important. As a member of the Gay community, I say we need to stand up and and speak up about this, as we are being targeted. if we don't, we'll be pushed back into the closet, or
worse, it will be open season on us, and we'll face being legally exterminated. Don't think it can't happen, because it can. And the religious right will be running the show!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to meet some friends at Starbucks!

Love you all!

🏳️‍🌈sexygaysenior54@gmail.com🏳️‍🌈
🌈 🏳️‍🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 🏳️‍🌈 🌈

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