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A Word to the Global LGBTQ+ Community

I'd like to take a moment to welcome and address the LGBTQ+ community. As some of you know, this is intended to be a safe, supportive blog, forum, and resource specifically for the worldwide gay community and its allies.

It is a difficult time in world history. With the pandemic raging for years now, the lives of people everywhere have been indelibly and substantively changed. We must go about our daily lives with caution as a matter of course, now ~ and be careful about even the simplest human interactions. As a result, people have been under great mental duress, and positive and fulfilling interaction on a personal level has become more important than ever. And for the already all too often marginalized LGBTQ+ community, that need is perhaps even more dire. 

In the US ~ and even more so in other parts of the world, those in the gay community face even worse issues ~ discrimination {from the government, or other extremist elements of society}, hate crimes, hate legislation, and numerous other forms of persecution. Progress has been made in the US in some areas, such as with legalized gay marriage and the "illegalization" of workplace discrimination ~ but the society has also taken great steps backward thanks in part, to the previous administration and its homophobic legislative practices.

These malicious and malevolent beliefs and practices take a huge toll. Like many, I have witnessed firsthand how terribly destructive it can be when someone thinks they have to suffer rather than be free to be themselves. In the US, this is especially true for the LGBTQ+ youth, among whom suicide rates are extreme. Too, worldwide, the LGBTQ+ are often subjected to horrific, often lethal violence ~ sometimes from their own governments. 

And yet, the resilience and spirit of the LGBTQ+ never ceases to amaze. Even in these draconian countries {such as Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan, and others, where homosexuality is punishable by death}, LGBTQ+ organizations still exist ~ often in secret, fighting the risk of arrest or even death, to persist in offering support and aid. And that speaks volumes. Indeed, one of the most wonderful and uplifting things about the LGBTQ+ IS our sense of community, and the strong supportiveness we generally have for one another. This sense of community is born of a collective empathy and understanding of the all too often extreme difficulties most of have faced at one time or another. It has often been this sense of camaraderie that uplifts us and enables us to persevere against those who would harm us.

Indeed, I believe it is this wonderfully positive and enduring quality of the LGBTQ+ that can give us a unique strength and the potential to rise above the persecution and accomplish great things. Who could offer stronger Love to the world than those whose Love has been tested to the limit? And while I don't mean ignoring and/or not dealing with the terrible things that go on in the world, it is ultimately still Love that will see us through. Love of the Earth, Love of humanity, Love of those dear to us, Love of ourselves. .. This is the Love that will give us the wherewithal to persevere ~ Love that is especially strong and characteristic of the LGBTQ+ community.

So I hope that we all, in the LGBTQ+ community everywhere ~ will take heart, feel fortified, and a part of the special connection and support intrinsic to our group and its allies. .. There are so many things we can do ~ be it locally, nationally, or globally. .. Join pro-activist groups, be vocal, be visible ~ fight discrimination, persecution, and injustice wherever it might arise. So often limitations are only from within the mind ~ and also far too often, are limitations that others would set for us. I think that when we gather the courage and bravery that comes with that special connection among the LGBTQ+, we will be able to step up and step forth, and take flight far beyond any limitations others might try to impose upon us. Our strength is born from Love, and Love is never wrong.