Jul 11, 20236 min read

Turn On the “Spotlight”

7-Eleven.

I remember being young and riding my bike with my uncle to the 7-Eleven up the street. We would get ice cream sandwiches and soda, and I usually got a YooHoo. I used to be in love with that stuff. We went on lots of rides together and also went on walks. I genuinely believe that he taught me so much more than I’ve learned from many things. I look back now and realize how much he taught me, and how much I learned about being myself from watching and learning from him. When I was a little, he went on a trip around Africa, Europe, and other various parts of thec world . I was very young, around five years old. Later, I found out that he found himself and learned things that changed him forever. I don’t know why he went on that trip exactly, but I can only imagine the things he learned and how it helped him heal as a human. We all need to just get away sometimes.

I plan to go on a trip like that one day if I ever get on an airplane again. ( Funny, but not really) Today is 7-Eleven and trauma is still a real thing. I know now that the thought of an ice cream sandwich with my uncle can always replace negative emotions. It’s amazing how small memories can captivate you in a moment, take you back, and allow you to reside there, even if it’s just for a short period of time.

The Move: Spotlight

I got to thinking about my uncle when I was watching a movie last night. He always told me that I could be whoever I wanted to be, and to never keep a secret, always be real, and to be proud of who you are no matter what, as long as you’re not hurting anybody or yourself. I also learned about advocacy from my uncle. I learned about what being a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community can mean not only to members of the community, but also to our friends, parents, teachers, and children. This is one of the reasons I grew up not seeing things like orientation, gender and color. People are just pe to me. These stories need to be told, and people need to learn. From others life experience. Systematically, we’ve been trained our whole lives by society to accept certain things and negate others. Much like it happens All the time all over the planet. Especially when it is those you trust, or those ego become the foundation of your faith.

I watched a movie last night called Spotlight. It is a 2015 American film directed by Tom McCarthy and written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The movie follows the "Spotlight" team, an investigative journalism unit in the U.S., as they investigate cases of child sex abuse in the Boston area by numerous Catholic priests. The film is based loosely on a series of stories by the "Spotlight" team that earned The Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. The ensemble cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci, with Brian d'Arcy James, Liev Schreiber, and Billy Crudup in secondary roles.

The things that these reporters did, and the lengths that they took to uncover some of this information, I commend them for, I look at everything that the church did to cover up certain things, and it boggles my mind. It made me think of how many other things are swept under the rug, allowed to be done, and accepted for no reason at all. It makes me want to stand up and scream for all the marginalized groups, all the children that have had to keep quiet, and all the people that have had their lives taken just for being who they are and living the dream we all want to live.

What can I do?

I took some time this weekend to research advocacy groups. I’ve waited far too long to become a part of the change. I can only write so much, and the more people I meet in the community and outside of the community, the more people I can help and relate to, which changes things exponentially. I plan on working with the Fairness Campaign and have reached out to the House of Ruth. I am looking forward to learning more about Sweet Spring Breeze, an advocacy group for LGBTQ+ youth that have nowhere to go, whose families have put them out, or who are just misplaced. I also signed some bills and sent some letters online, which is really easy to do on the ACLU website.

I will include a lot of these links at the end of this blog. I hope this wasn’t too heavy of a subject for Tuesday. I got inspired and wanted to do something about it, and then I shared it with you because I think that maybe it might inspire someone else. I know I’m not the only one suffering, and I pray every day for there to be less suffering and for people to be happy, healthy, and loved with ease. However, the struggle is real, and hatred is abundant. We need to do something together, not separate.

It doesn’t matter to me where you come from, what color you are, who you sleep with, or how you identify. I am accepting and do my best only to judge people by their actions, which speak so much louder than words. Recently, I’ve had to eliminate some people out of my life that I love but had to detach from , with love, because of the bigoted ideals and oppressive mentalities they held. Maybe one day they’ll come around, but until then, I’ll just pray for them to find love in their hearts, no matter what they believe. It’s the Buddhist in me I guess.

There are so many things that you can do to help, advocate, and be a part of in order to assist marginalized communities or people.

One of the most important things that I did this past weekend was sign a petition to protect Tansgender youth. I personally am not a trans person; however, I have very good friends in the community that are. One of my best friends is a happy, healthy person who lives their life just to be themselves, not for anyone else. Without the help and dedication of these doctors and medical professionals, he would not be the person he is today.

Really…

Call, I don’t understand how it’s anybody’s business/right to take away rights from children and parents. When, from what I understand, it’s such a difficult process to go through in the beginning, to make it even more difficult, and to have more hoops to jump through would make it seemingly impossible for anyone trying to become who they really feel they are and want to live as, happily. The ACLU published an article titled “ How We’re Winning The Fight to Defend Trans Rights“

In the article it details how each state is defending transgender youth rights specifically. In a historic two-week trial that took place in Little Rock last fall, a federal judge confidently overturned the nation's first categorical ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The judge found that the 2021 Arkansas law violated the rights of transgender youth under the Equal Protection Clause, their parents under the Due Process Clause, and the First Amendment rights of their medical professionals and Doctors

The Judge , James Moody wrote “The evidence showed that the prohibited medical care improves the mental health and well-being of patients and that by prohibiting it , the state undermined the interests it claims to be advancing.”

After I signed the petition I received a letter from the ACLU containing this excerpt:

“Hi Windy,

Thanks for joining the ACLU's pledge in support of trans youth.

By adding your name, you're showing up for trans young people across the country – and getting us closer to our goal of 100,000 people strong for trans youth.

Now, there's just two more very quick but very powerful things you can do next:

First, amplify this crucial message by sharing your pledge of support out on Twitter.

Second, with the record number of bills restricting LGBTQ rights in state legislatures right now – we created a way to follow what’s happening across the country. Please use and share this tracker as a resource to stay in the fight.

It may seem like a small gesture, but the more of us showing our support publicly for trans young people – the more our movement can grow and make an impact across the nation. Let's show anti-trans politicians – and everyone – that trans youth belong and have adults who will not stop fighting for them.

Thank you,

The ACLU Team”

This letter includes a link that helps track all 491 ANTI GAY/LGBTQ+ bills listed by state. You can easily sign up to write a letter to your legislature and voice your opinion to help hundreds of thousands of people.

My eyes well up with tears as I write this. I wasn't raised in a family of bigotry or hypocrisy. I was raised by people who believe in equality and rights for everyone. What's the purpose of living in America if we don't have the rights that we preach so highly about? I genuinely thank you for taking the time to read this, if you have. It means a lot to me, and I hope that my expression in these matters inspires someone else to do something positive.