- November 2022
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- March 2022
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Image by Mary Bettini Blank from Pixabay You've heard how Russian invaders have been targeting the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. According to reports, that didn't go well for one group of Russian soldiers.
It's unclear whether these soldiers were AWOL or avoiding Ukrainian resistance or what, but they tried to hide in the basement of a building. It turned out their hiding place was the office of the local LGBTQ organization, some of whose members discovered, beat and captured the Russians.
I'd like to think that instead of beating them I'd have forced them to pay a month's rent and wear glitter, but who can say?
The source of this story is Viktor Pilipanko, a Ukrainian LGBTQ rights activist and veteran who just rejoined the army. "This is our war, the Ukrainians, but we have also been fighting as LGBTQ people, and I'm sure that the comrades in Kharkiv understood that," said Pilipanko. "We are confronting a tyrannical, homophobic enemy."
That's certainly true. While life for queers in Ukraine is no picnic, it's better than Russia, where a certain shirtless leader's toxic masculinity and political desires have led to queer repression. The U.S. revealed that Russia's "kill list" of Ukrainians includes a number of LGBTQ people.
LGBTQ Ukrainians are fighting for their country and their lives. They couldn't be more inspired if Cher promised to sing to them in the trenches.
- February 2022
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Image: FacebookYet again, it's our fault. How do we live with ourselves?
According to Media Matters, right-wing media figures are having a fine old time pinning the Russian invasion of Ukraine on queers. If your head hurts trying to make the connection, I'll do it for you. Now that I've taken ibuprofen.
President Joe Biden's repeal of the ban on trans soldiers, along with the military's diversity training and general "wokeness," have all combined to weaken American forces to the point where Russian President Vladimir Putin saw his chance to invade Russia's neighbor.
On a Fox News show, Pete Hegseth claimed Americans have been "running around talking about genders and reparations," so "as a result, [Putin] thinks this is his moment to make an aggressive move."
Fox contributor Lisa Boothe tweeted, "America is weak. No one is afraid of us with dementia man in the White House and our focus is flying pride flags around the world."
Matt Walsh of the Daily Wire podcast said it was "not a coincidence that this has happened after Biden spent his first year in office focusing primarily on wokeness and intentionally making our military weaker and more feminine." He later added that Biden was attempting to “fill our military with lesbians who can’t do three pushups."
I wouldn't want to be Walsh when some lesbian sergeant challenges him to a pushup contest.
So thanks to integrating LGBTQ people into the military, American forces have been neutered, and Putin took advantage.
As these rightist talking heads blame us for the invasion, Christian fundamentalists, our usual accusers, haven't joined in.
Maybe they're just mad they didn't think of it first.
- April 2021
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In the Navy
This picture has been popping up on Facebook this afternoon, paired with the caption "Made Naval history today with the 1st EVER all gay helicopter flight crew!"
A fabulous photo in more ways than one.
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