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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 6 months

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Outside the California State Capitol last month, a fitness trainer turned school board president fired up the crowd at a parental rights rally, telling them they were all fighters in “a spiritual battle” for their kids and must answer the call from God.

Sonja Shaw, who was elected to the Chino Valley Unified School District board of education last November with an assist from a local megachurch and its Christian nationalist pastor, didn’t equivocate in naming the enemy: state Democratic officials who are challenging her right-leaning policies—and drafting laws that hinder book bans and protect teachers from harassment.

“Today we stand here and declare in his almighty name that it’s only a matter of time before we take your seats and we be a God-fearing example to the nation, how God is using California to lead the way,” Shaw crowed, adding, “We already know who has won this battle. You will be removed in Jesus’s name! You, Satan, are losing.”

Now Shaw is in the national spotlight in wake of her Chino school board passing codes that ban pride flags in classrooms and force educators to inform parents if their children identify as transgender—the first such policy to be passed in the state.

This summer, Shaw’s school board meetings, about 35 miles east of Los Angeles, became chaotic spectacles, ones that attracted the Proud Boys and other right-wing extremists and pitted them against students and parents protesting what they’re calling anti-LGBTQ practices that endanger children. When California superintendent of schools Tony Thurmond appeared at the July meeting in opposition, Shaw unceremoniously silenced him.

Weeks after state Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a civil rights probe into Shaw’s “gender disclosure” policy, his office sued the school board. Bonta said the policy violates the California constitution and state law, and would cause LGBTQ+ students, “mental, emotional, psychological and potential physical harm,” according to a press release.

Other right-leaning school boards across the state have followed Chino Valley Unified’s lead. Shortly before filing suit against the Chino board, Bonta issued statements denouncing the Anderson Union High School District, Temecula Valley Unified and Murrieta Valley Unified school boards’ decisions to pursue “copycat” anti-trans policies.

“These students are currently under threat of being outed to their parents against their will, and many fear that the District’s policy will force them to make a choice: either ‘walk back’ their constitutionally and statutorily protected rights to gender identity and gender expression, or face the risk of emotional, physical, and psychological harm,” Bonta said.

To concerned observers in Chino, Shaw’s tack is not unlike what’s happening at school boards across the country, with brawls over curriculum, social emotional learning, and the banning of books that focus on race and LGBTQ issues. Extremist groups like Moms for Liberty have spawned a mainstream narrative that public schools are “indoctrinating” children with “woke” ideology and into believing they’re a different gender.

But in Chino Valley, the school board’s new direction appears to be spurred on by a man behind the curtain: Shaw’s megachurch pastor Jack Hibbs.

Indeed, three of the board’s five members belong to his church, Calvary Chapel Chino Hills.

At the Sacramento rally, Hibbs boasted of his congregation’s work in electing Shaw. Calling her a “true modern-day Deborah,” Hibbs said the soccer mom “heeded the call to run for the school board” and that “when churches get involved and get informed, people vote.”

God, Hibbs said, installed Shaw into her position.

“Get on your knees every night,” Shaw told the crowd. “All day I talk to him. People probably think I’m crazy, but I’m really just talking to God all day.” After reciting a Bible verse, she added, “I have looked demons straight in the eye and with God’s authority rebuked them back to hell where they belong.”

“You can do that too, trust me.”

Residents have long raised alarms about the school board’s religious bent. And Pastor Hibbs and members of his megachurch congregation appear to be more involved than ever in Chino’s public schools.

Last week, in an interview with right-wing provocateur Charlie Kirk, Hibbs said that he brought the policy language to the school board after Republican state Assemblyman Bill Essayli’s “parental notification” legislation died without a hearing.

“He came back thinking he was defeated,” Hibbs said. “What we did is that we read his bill and we took the verbiage from that bill and then introduced it to our unified school district school board and they voted and adopted the verbiage.”

“Guess what happened?” Hibbs continued. “We found out something, Charlie, that the most powerful politics is local…”

Hibbs then turned to Bonta’s lawsuit against the board, saying, “We’re going to take that on, we’re going to make sure that this goes to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

The pastor, who hasn’t returned messages left by The Daily Beast, wasn’t shy about his fight on the school board’s behalf.

Before he signed off, Hibbs told Kirk that children are “groomed” into trans ideology in the classroom and that schools want to “castrate your children” and “mutilate them.”

Ahead of the parental notification vote in July, Hibbs also urged people to flock to the fiery board meeting. “We’re asking people to show up by the thousands,” he said in a video announcement on the church’s Facebook page. “Please make it a priority.”

Meanwhile, Calvary Chapel has boasted on social media of collecting tens of thousands of ballots for state and local candidates endorsed by Hibbs. The church’s ballot collection, a practice it’s engaged in for years, is conducted with help from Hibbs’ political organization Real Impact.

A teacher in another district—who alleges she was fired for refusing to follow her school’s gender identity protocols—heeded Hibbs’ call. “I could no longer be both a Christian and a public school teacher,” she said at the board meeting. “Then I remembered what Pastor Jack Hibbs taught me, that the word of God says… that being a coward is a sin.”

Still, Shaw claims that neither she nor the school board follow Hibbs’ orders. “Absolutely not. No one has a direct line to Pastor Jack Hibbs. Pastor Jack has never said, ‘Hey, guys, I want you to bring this policy forward.’ Never ever did he do any of that,” she told The Daily Beast. She added, however, that she couldn’t speak on Hibbs’ involvement with the board of education prior to her election.

The mother of two daughters—a freshman and junior in high school—Shaw was a Bible study leader at another church before joining Hibbs’ Calvary Chapel Chino Hills about two years ago.

Last September, Shaw told the San Bernardino Sun that she wasn’t running for election on the behalf of the 10,000-member Calvary Chapel. “They keep calling me ‘the church’s choice.’ I’ve never met Pastor Jack (Hibbs). I’ve never been brought up on stage,” she said.

One month later, however, Hibbs introduced her at the pulpit, telling his Sunday service that “she’s truly going up against the machine” before leading a prayer for her victory. Shaw bowed her head as Hibbs lifted a hand in the air and declared, “She has decided, Lord, to take on the woke-ism that is attacking our children.”

Hibbs has emboldened supporters to fight progressive education bills and prop up Christian candidates. In his sermons, he has tearfully prayed on stage for Donald Trump to win the 2020 election, said COVID-19 vaccines would lead people into accepting “the mark of the beast,” and called “transgenderism” a “sexually perverted cult” and “an anti-God, anti-Christ plan of none other than Satan himself.”

On education, he’s claimed that he and his acolytes are “trying to rescue kids from a system that is sexualizing them,” that kids “come out of school questioning their gender but they don’t even know how to do simple math” and “are being raped by the public school system.”

Hibbs has also taken aim at California’s abortion protections, describing them as “Infanticidal Death Policies,” in a document circulated to his congregation in October 2022, just before Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s re-election.

“If God does not intervene in this upcoming election through His people, which has always been his MO, and, if Newsom has his way, then this will certainly be proof that judgment has begun in California if not the United States,” the document reads. It ends by encouraging followers to return their ballots to the church.

“We should be able to stand against the school board,” Hibbs said in May. “We should be able to stand against some teacher that is molesting your child—if not physically, in their minds.”

In July, Hibbs delivered a skewed history lesson claiming that some founding fathers “inherited” slaves but actually cared for them. “Before you call them rich white guys who were slave owners,” Hibbs preached, “you need to finish the sentence: They were rich white guys who were slave owners who clothed, fed, and in many cases took very good care of their slaves while at the same time juggling two worlds…”

The megachurch has also tried to meddle in Chino Valley public school classes and teachings. Calvary Chapel members once funded textbooks for an elective course in two public high schools on the Bible as history and literature and tried to alter rules for sex education curriculum.

The church also runs a Christian “Released Time” program, where public school students can duck out of class for weekly one-hour Bible lessons held in buses outfitted with tables and chairs. This program had a table at the district’s back-to-school night, and a volunteer in a Calvary Chapel Chino Hills T-shirt handed out candy and Bible coloring books.

“This is a national movement and it’s intentional,” former school board president Christina Gagnier told The Daily Beast. “I think Chino Valley is a cautionary tale.”

District parent Glory Ciccarelli condemned Hibbs’ words on slavery at the August board meeting, urging Black parents to leave his church and “wake up and realize that what our ancestors went through is slowly getting phased out of the curriculum to the point where our kids will eventually be taught that literal slaveholders were nice guys…”

Ciccarelli told The Daily Beast that her biggest issue with Chino Valley leadership is “the apathy they have for the Black kids in the district,” and that the board needs professional development training relating to race and culture and diversity in hiring.

But she believes that Hibbs’ influence over certain board members could derail any progress in the district. In addition to Shaw, two other school board members—James Na and Andrew Cruz—are also members of Calvary Chapel.

“Cruz and Na are quite literally acolytes of Jack Hibbs at this point,” Ciccarelli said. “In my opinion, everything they say and believe as it relates to the school board is basically something they have heard from him.”

Hibbs, she added, “reminds me of Jim Jones with the way he is so easily able to control so many people at the same time.”

At the July board meeting that attracted far-right extremists like the Proud Boys, some local parents pushed back against the church’s connections to the school board.

“Madam President, board, cabinet, and staff,” quipped one father of a queer child, “I didn’t know I came to church tonight. I thought it was a board meeting.”

So many citizens had signed up to speak, waiting in a line outside in 100-degree weather, that the board cut the public comment period from three minutes to one minute per person.

Lisa Greathouse, a local mom and former school board candidate, defended teachers against claims they were “indoctrinating” and “grooming” kids. “Make no mistake,” Greathouse told the auditorium, “what this board is pushing through now is just the tip of the iceberg. They are taking their cue from their megachurch…”

Outbursts from hecklers interrupted the proceeding, which had a heavy police and security presence. Speakers from out of town and from Calvary Chapel preached about God and the Devil, facing off with parents and students who warned Shaw and her board they would have blood on their hands should the “outing” policy pass.

One moment in particular was so explosive it made headlines: Shaw excoriated Tony Thurmond, California’s state superintendent of schools, who’d asked her to reconsider the policy about notifying parents if their children identified as trans. He said it might run afoul of student privacy laws and jeopardize kids who “may not be in homes where they can be safe.”

Thurmond wasn’t finished with his remarks, but Shaw cut him off for time like she did anyone else. “Tony Thurmond,” she seethed, “I appreciate you being here, tremendously. But here’s the problem: We’re here because of people like you. You’re in Sacramento proposing things that pervert children!”

After Thurmond tried to continue, Shaw yelled into her mic that she wouldn’t let him “blackmail” or “bully” her district. Video of the scene showed Thurmond exchanging words with a group of cops before walking away.

In a statement, Thurmond told The Daily Beast that a group of concerned students contacted him about Shaw’s proposal, and he rearranged his schedule to be there. “Let’s be clear about these policies—a small group of anti-LGBTQ+ politicians like Ms. Shaw believe they have the right to dictate when and how students and their families talk about their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Thurmond said. “They are trying to turn our public school educators—who are already overworked and underpaid—into the gender police.”

“Choosing when to come out and to whom is a deeply personal decision that LGBTQ+ young people have the right to make for themselves.”

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Ashlee Peters, the parent of a child in the district, watched the scene unfold. “As an educator and as a mom, you just sit there and go, ‘I can’t believe this is happening in my community,’” said Peters, who has been a public school teacher for 22 years.

Peters was also in line when far-right activist Bryce Henson, who also goes by Ben Richards, walked around trying to bait people into reacting on camera. “He would come up to you and be like, ‘I just want to talk to you, why can’t we just have a conversation about this?’” It was a sneak preview of the testimony to come.

Inside, people proselytized and spewed hatred, calling LGBTQ people “terrorists” and warning “demons are after our children.” Richards called transgender, Black Lives Matter and Juneteenth flags flying outside his San Diego school district a symbol of “systemic radical leftist indoctrination." One mother ended her speech with, “As Jason Aldean would say, ‘Well, try that in a small town.’”

When it was her turn, Peters warned that the “outing” policy would “create a hostile environment” for LGBTQIA+ students and that the board’s “reckless pursuit of personal agendas” could bring about “expensive lawsuits.”

The atmosphere was so tense that security escorted a person out who put hands on someone else, Peters said. “It seriously feels like I’m in some sort of weird dystopia,” Peters told The Daily Beast. “I don’t know how this happened because it does not feel real.”

Peters believes that what’s unfolding in Chino Valley Unified is a wake-up call to monitor school board elections. “I just didn’t think it was going to happen in my community because I live in California,” she said. “I feel relatively safe living in a blue state—that religion wasn’t going to suddenly take over my public school system, and it has.”

Even though the involvement of Hibbs and his megachuch in local public schools has been center stage in Chino Valley this year, it’s a battle that’s been brewing for at least a decade. Back in 2014, the Freedom from Religion Foundation filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents in Chino Valley over prayers and Bible readings at school board meetings, arguing these practices “constituted an establishment of religion in violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments.”

The prayers and Bible verses were being led by Calvary Chapel members James Na and Andrew Cruz, who were elected to the school board in 2008 and 2012 respectively.

According to the prayer lawsuit, Na once told spectators of a school board meeting that their “lives begin in the hospital and end in the church, and urged everyone who does not know Jesus Christ to go and find Him.” In 2013, Na sent out a letter to school district “family member[s]” that referred to Hibbs with an excerpt from “Pastor Jack’s Christmas story.”

“The community is going to rise and create a war chest to help you,” Hibbs told the board in 2016 in the midst of the legal battle, though a crowdfunding drive affiliated with the church apparently never delivered. A school board spokesperson previously said that funding was intended to bring the case to the Supreme Court.

A federal judge ultimately ruled in the parents’ favor, and the board lost its Ninth Circuit appeal, leaving the district with $282,000 in legal bills.

This apparently hasn’t stopped Cruz’s Christian commentary. In April, he went on a rant wherein he said that if he were governor, he’d mandate citizens be trained in firearms and that, “I do love one man, I really love this man, and that is Jesus Christ. It’s in my head.”

Since his election, Cruz has especially ignited parents’ ire and weathered calls to resign as a result of his offensive remarks and chemtrail conspiracy theories. In 2015, Cruz said mothers who don’t vaccinate their kids are wrongfully vilified while “illegal aliens” bring infectious disease to America. In 2018, Cruz infamously said that “it wasn’t Hitler that was bad, it was the people that follow the laws and the agenda” while discussing “parents rights.”

That year, Na and Cruz (and Hibbs) proposed that parents have the ability to opt kids out of sex-ed discussions on gender identity, sexual orientation, and discrimination—and for schools to notify parents when a transgender student uses a locker room or shower. Those measures failed.

Na is also not without controversy. Aside from his religious musings at the board, he’s also been accused of trying to recruit at least one student to Calvary Chapel.

At a June board meeting, a statement was read on behalf of Esther Kim, who was the panel’s student representative in the 2021-2022 school year. “In sophomore year, I met Mr. Na through a personal phone call where his school board role and my school were acknowledged,” Kim said. “During an unrelated conversation, he attempted to persuade me to go to his church.”

[...]

Federal law explicitly prohibits churches from engaging in political campaign activity.

Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, where Jack Hibbs is pastor and school board member Sonja Shaw is a parishioner, should immediately have its tax exempt status revoked under 501 (3)(c).

File a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service HERE. Email the completed form to [email protected].

Specific info for the IRS form:

• This church's EIN (Tax ID #) is 33-0419808.

• Address: 4201 Eucalyptus Ave, Chino, CA 91710

• Complaint Against: Jack Hibbs, Pastor

• Date Of Violation: April 19, 2023

• Description: Pastor Hibbs held a political rally outside the California State Capitol in opposition to a specific bill pending in the legislature. Also published a notice in the church newsletter soliciting attendees for this political lobbying rally under the headline, "California Lobby Day: Stop AB 2223."

• Evidence #1: Political Lobbying Violation on the church's newsletter (include link)

• Evidence #2: Archive.org snapshot of the newsletter article (include link)

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pronoun-fucker · 2 years

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A researcher who lost her job at a thinktank after tweeting that transgender women could not change their biological sex has won her claim that she was unfairly discriminated against because of her gender-critical beliefs.

Maya Forstater suffered direct discrimination when the Centre for Global Development (CGD), where she was a visiting fellow, did not renew her contract or fellowship, an employment tribunal found on Wednesday.

The tribunal also ruled that Forstater, the executive director of Sex Matters, suffered victimisation with respect to the removal of her profile from CGD’s website.

Its decision comes after Forstater successfully brought a test case to establish that gender-critical views are a protected philosophical belief under the Equality Act. She initially lost that case at an employment tribunal in 2019 but won a landmark decision on appeal last year, with the judge stressing that while gender-critical views might be “profoundly offensive and even distressing to many others … they are beliefs that are and must be tolerated in a pluralist society”.

The case was then sent back to the tribunal to decide whether Forstater’s claim had been proved on the facts. It upheld two complaints of direct discrimination and one of victimisation. Two other complaints of direct discrimination and one of victimisation were unsuccessful.

The judgment stated: “Absent an explanation from the respondents, the facts are such that the tribunal could properly conclude that the tweets were a substantial part of the reason why Ms Forstater was not offered employment; and the respondent’s evidence, far from proving the contrary, supports the finding that they were …

“We reminded ourselves that it would be an error to treat a mere statement of Ms Forstater’s protected belief as inherently unreasonable or inappropriate.”

The tribunal examined a number of tweets by Forstater, including tweets in which she drew an analogy between self-identifying trans women and Rachel Dolezal, a white American woman who misrepresented herself as black, and another in which she said: “A man’s internal feeling that he is a woman has no basis in material reality.” It concluded that the tweets asserted her gender-critical beliefs.

It said the same of one that described self-identification as a woman as “a feeling in their head”, rejecting the suggestion that it equated self-identification with mental illness.

The tribunal also considered tweets in which Forstater said she was surprised people could say they believed that males could be women, and that they are “tying themselves in knots”.

It said they were “fairly mild examples” of mockery, adding: “Mocking or satirising the opposing view is part of the common currency of debate.”

The three-member panel, led by the employment judge Andrew Glennie, said a description of a Credit Suisse executive, Pips Bunce, who identified as a woman for part of the week, as a “part-time cross dresser” could have been put in “more moderate terms”.

But two of the three panel members said it “did not amount to an objectionable or inappropriate manifestation of Ms Forstater’s belief, given the context of a debate on a matter of public interest; the fact that Pips Bunce had put themself forward in public as a person who is gender fluid and who dresses sometimes as a woman and sometimes as a man”.

Responding to the decision, Forstater said: “My case matters for everyone who believes in the importance of truth and free speech. We are all free to believe whatever we wish. What we are not free to do is compel others to believe the same thing, to silence those who disagree with us or to force others to deny reality.”

She also thanked JK Rowling for standing by her. The Harry Potter author tweeted: “Every woman who’s been harassed, silenced, bullied or lost employment because of her gender critical beliefs is freer and safer today, thanks to the warrior that is @MForstater.”

Stonewall, the LGBTQ+ campaign group, said: “Today’s judgment … does not change the reality of trans people’s workplace protection. No one has the right to discriminate against, or harass, trans people simply because they disagree with their existence and participation in society.”

Amanda Glassman, chief executive of CGD, said: “We are reviewing today’s judgment, which found in favour of Ms Forstater on some claims, and dismissed others. CGD’s primary aim has always been to uphold our values and maintain a workplace and an environment that is welcoming, safe, and inclusive to all, including trans people.”

Remedies will be determined at a later date.

Link | Archived Link

#radical feminism #gender critical #transgender #trans activism #Maya Forstater

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aenwoedbeannaa · 1 year

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ok but let me just talk about the lgbtq representation in the last of us and why it's so important and why i am so happy that there is much more lgbtq representation in media, especially the young, confusing, awkward love between ellie and riley.

i am bisexual, so i'll start with that. it might make me biased but who fucking cares. anyways, when i was 14/15, i was kissing girls to "impress boys" and then wondering why i liked it so much, and why it made my chest hurt when the girls i was kissing went off and got boyfriends.

the only media i had at that time (we're talking 2009/2010) was Rent. maureen was my favorite character (chaos bi queen). i became literally obsessed with idina menzel. had such a huge crush on her. won a meet and greet at her concert in chicago in 2009 and got so tongue-tied i could barely talk to her lmao.

anyways, i didn't fully realize i was bi until about 5 years ago when i accidentally came out to myself and a table full of mostly old white christian men at a christian legal society retreat (story of how i ended up at that is too long for this post).

my main point, i guess, is that i am so fucking happy that kids today are growing up with more lgbtq+ representation in media. i feel like maybe my childhood would have been a little less awkward and confusing if i had more characters that reminded me of me, and i hope that at least for someone, somewhere, seeing these characters brings them some sort of peace knowing that, yes, there are other people like me. and it is ok to be me.

#txt #well that was an essay #tlou #tlou hbo #lgbtq #pedro pascal #bella ramsey #bisexual

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tylerxm · 4 months

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'' Home '' (Narcos)

pair: steve murphy • javier peña (narcos)

genre: fic, lgbtq+

audience: teen

contains: fruity ppl, steve murphy out of the shower, serious but steady javier peña, fluff, obscene language, mention/use of alcohol, mention of drugs, mentions of connie and olivia, flirty peña, slight angst?, dumbass steve, no one confesses shit, so fucking cheesy, peña talking spanish, persecution, MARVEL MENTIONED.

word count: 3.6k

enjoy! ;)

It had been a long, really long years for Steve.

Steve had moved to Texas after finishing off Escobar like almost 4 years ago, what he didn't know was that his former (and only) best friend lived in his same building, he discovered it a few weeks ago when both of they had met at the entrance of the building. They greeted each other, hugged, and Peña invited him to a coffee. Steve must have admitted that he missed him a lot, too much, but he wouldn't say it to his face. Not yet, at least.

The thing, Javier had left the DEA and they had won. At least, that's what we all thought. The Texan updated the American, telling him about the things that happened since he arrived in Texas until now. All that was the same day they met again, and they had a long night of alcohol, coffee, food and chisme. Steve felt like home. He really did.

Peña the night before today had suggested that Steve should move into his apartment since it had two rooms. Steve happily accepted, the rent was shared between them.

Steve found a somewhat mediocre but well-paying job 10 km from his house, it was an office job as a secretary in a appliance company. He didn't work on weekends.

Compared to Peña, he had found work as a librarian, but he was 'unemployed' at the moment so he couldn't do much...

They were having something to eat on a terrace, each one asking each other about something or other about life and health, until the topic of love came up to life.

──── So, what about Connie? How's Olivia? ──── Peña took a sip of his non-alcoholic beer in case he had to drive at any moment, raising one of his eyebrows curiously.

Steve just showed a shy and clear smile, taking a bite of a mixed sandwich that he was carrying between his fingers.

──── Dunno, we broke up a while ago. It was before we could catch Escobar, way before. All I know is that Olivia's almost 5 years old and I get to see her next month. ──── The blonde's blue eyes lit up slightly. For some reason, that made Peña's heart warm.

──── I didn't know you broke up. I'm sorry. But at least you get to see her. I haven't seen Olivia for a while. ──── He remembered the time he had to take care of her when she was 2 years old, he did felt like she was a miracle. He seemed to have this face of hating little children, but he actually had a certain charisma with them.

──── It's okay dude. Sometimes in life you achieve things and other times you lose them. I got through it. ──── Steve smirked slightly while taking another bite of his sandwich. Peña felt a confusing but yet warm emotion when he saw Steve smile or laugh. Since when was his smile so fucking pretty and charming?

Peña carefully bit into his sandwich, not looking at Steve.

──── So what about you? Are you into anyone at all? ──── Steve asked.

The Texan opened his eyes in surprise as he almost choked on that piece of food he had previously chewed. He stifled a sigh after coughing for a while, even Steve got scared. Why the hell had he reacted like that? If the answer was simple enough, he believed.

──── N-Nope. I'm an old bachelor, and I haven't been with prostitutes either. ──── He coughed again while laughing and hiding his true feelings and thoughts that not even himself recognized.

Steve couldn't help it and laughed at Peña's obvious but confusing nerves. Peña looked away with a very slight blush, somewhat embarrassed by what had happened.

──── But, being honest. I think I do like someone. I'm not sure. ──── Peña admitted, smiling sadly, taking another sip of his beer. Steve seemed curious.

──── Well, then spit it out Peña. ────

Javi's nerves increased as he tried to compose himself, thinking of how to send him a hint. What are you? Fucking fifteen?

──── Well, h-...She's blonde. Like- ugh. I don't even know how to start. ──── Peña sighed deeply when he felt the stranger's oceanic eyes on him, closing his eyes to begin.

──── She is beautiful. I could say that I feel really lucky to have her. I've known her for a few years, but I feel like I've known her for a lifetime. She is blonde, yes, but she is not a blonde like it stands out a lot, it's a honey blonde, I feel like it would smell like cologne and lavender. just like her. She is tall, and when she smiles small but noticeable dimples form. And she has these blue eyes that when I look at them, it seems that I am reflecting in them and I see waves breaking in the port, a calm and beautiful sea, just like her. ──── Peña cleared his throat, now finally looking at Murphy who was apparently really attentive, even surprised. Surprised by Javi's passion.

──── Wow. That was-. Wow. I'd wish someone would tell those things about me. ──── Steve complained jokingly.

──── Yeah, haha. The thing is that there's no woman. ──── Javier admitted the last thing in a whisper, averting his gaze, praying that Steve hadn't heard him. He looked at him curiously.

──── Nothing. Just forget it. ──── The one with brown hair left the money on the table to give Steve the signal to go. ──── I'll tell you the plan on the way. ────

A totally unknown person had called Peña about an issue, more about the issue of drug traffickers and the already executed Cali Cartel. Despite no longer being in the DEA, he wanted to settle things to get away from all that stuff. He still possessed his gun.

Steve was in the driver's seat because Pena had said he would be back in a few minutes, so he didn't bother getting out or moving the car. The engine resonated while still running, since he had turned on the heating since it was starting to get cold.

He took a drag on his half-filled cigarette, now sighing, letting the smoke leave his system. He looked up at the sky, which had beautiful colors like shades of orange, pink and red. The sun was going to set soon and they were 30 kilometers away from home, the trip was going to be a bit long.

Steve was thoughtful, but not even he knew why. He was thinking about Peña, thinking about how he had gotten there, what he would have been through if he had never met him, and where he would be if it wasn't because of him. I was really grateful to have a best friend like him. So attentive, willing, ambitious, attractive, desirable and handsome-

BANG!

──── What the fuck? ──── The American turned to look out the window next to the passenger seat. Shouts and insults in Spanish could be heard on the other side of the opaque fence. More shots were seen, that made his breathing stop for a moment fearing the worst.

But, his knot disappeared when he saw Peña jump the pole with the gun in hand, running as he headed to the car.

──── We gotta go dude! ──── He said agitatedly into the distance as he ran and frowned. Murphy was very confused. And worried.

──── What? What's going on? Are you hurt? Why there where so many shots? Wh- ──── The oldest was interrupted by Peña, who before getting into the car he shouted.

──��─ Floor it, Murphy! ────

And finally that scream brought him back to reality in a few seconds. He released the handbrake, backed up quickly to take a run, and floored it. They immediately left along the road, skidding as they heard more bullets almost going through the car.

Peña quickly came out of the window and shot the two cars behind them, leaving them without wheels and mobility. Peña put the rest of his body inside, sighing deeply with his eyes wide open. They both remembered the old times.

──── Virgen Santa. ──── Peña said in a sigh, trying to calm down.

──── What the fuck just happened, Javier? ────

Oh right. Shit.

──── Uhm. Remember when I told you about that mysterious guy calling me for leaving this all behind? Well- things went out wrong. At least they're not really big, they're like just 20 people. We're okay. ──── Peña smiled slightly, leaving his hands under his neck. He closed his eyes, calm.

Steve took that relaxation away from Javi as he turned the car into the emergency corridor. He looked at Peña after putting on the handbrake. The sun reflected his face in a spectacular way, that made Peña a little nervous, feeling fluttered.

──── "We're okay"? Javier, we've could died. We're not that young anymore, and we aren't in the DEA anymore to be so carefree and sure of the problems we get into or create. I came here to get away from everything, and live in peace. But it seems that you just want to lead me to your misery. ──── His blue eyes penetrated Peña's gaze, whose eyes were wide open.

He opened his mouth wanting to explain everything but not being able to say even "I". Peña looked with regret at Murphy, who deep down felt bad and bitter for scolding Peña, but he was right. The Texan's heart became smaller as if it was squeezed hard.

──── I-I'm sorry. ──── He stuttered with ellipses in between, not knowing what else to say. It was the first time he was like this in front of someone.

The American just released the handbrake and got back on the road. He never looked at Peña again, but he looked at Murphy the entire time. They didn't even speak the rest of the trip. Peña felt his throat way too tight like to talk now.

It was 6 PM. It'd gotten dark and the atmosphere in the apartment was tense and heavy. Kinda.

It was cold, very cold. Javi was watching a movie in the living room while he was covered with a soft passion red blanket, it only covered his legs. And the heating didn't work properly.

Meanwhile, Steve was in the shower splashing himself with hot water. The Texan had left food on the counter just in case, while he ate some dry cereals, which were his favorite snacks.

The bathroom door opened.

Steve had a towel tied around his waist, still somewhat wet across his torso, back and hair. He approached Peña and sat next to him watching the movie for a few seconds. It was his favourite movie.

──── This is my favourite movie. ──── He broke the ice as he spoke with a neutral face, settling down.

──── Dr. Strange? I've seen it like, 5 times now. Didn't know you were into Marvel. ──── Peña commented as he went back to chewing on his snacks, now feeling somewhat calmer seeing that Steve was talking to him again. How odd.

Steve looked at the bowl of cereal, grabbed a handful and put it in his mouth. Peña smirked.

──── I've been into Marvel for a while. Didn't know you were into Marvel. That's funny. ──── He also smirked.

Peña stopped looking at the screen while Steve was attentive despite having seen the movie about 17 times. Peña sighed deeply, putting the bowl of cereal aside.

──── I'm sorry about- ────

──── Save it. ────

Steve interrupted Javier with a small smile on his lips, without showing his teeth. He looked carefully at the stranger, taking his eyes off the television. The half Colombian got slightly nervous.

──── I'm not mad at you, I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I said awful things and I'm sorry. We're both here to forget things and that's how's gonna stay. But if you need help, count on me. ──── Javi's heart began to race rapidly again. To hide his nervousness, he laughed and gave Steve a light push on the shoulder. The American snorted a laugh.

──── You're being so cheesy about it. Ew. ──── Peña replied "bitterly", now laughing again.

──── Yeah, it was too soft, even for me. Sorry dude. ──── Steve raised his shoulders with a smile on his lips, that smile that Peña loved so much, the smile that illuminated his worst days.

──── Nunca pares de sonreír. ──── Peña said in his native language as he closed his eyes and leaned his back against the back of the sofa. Steve got a little closer to him so he could snuggle under the blanket starting to getting cold. He should definitely get some clothes on.

──── The hell did you say? I just understood 'smile' and 'stop'. Do you want me to stop smiling or sum'? ──── He raised an eyebrow curiously as he asked "hurt", not removing that smile of his from his face.

──── I said that you should never stop smiling. ─── Peña answered, now hearing a laugh from his partner. That made his smile bigger, and his stomach get butterflies.

──── Now who's the cheesy one? ──── Murphy teased.

──── Oh fuck off. ──── Peña laughed at him again, getting kinda fluttered cause of that statement.

Now he wasn't cold. He was warm. He was next to the person who'd made him feel warm every single time he'd see him. His home.

#narcos #narcos netflix #steve murphy #javier peña #steve murphy and javier peña #stavier #lgbtqia #gay #bisexual #fluff #fanfic #soft fic #javier is shy and so fucking serious #steve is blind asf

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cyarsk52-20 · 3 months

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While this might sound like (just) a fandom post for Taylor Swift, it’s not.

It’s a remark about how social media sways public opinion and how the patriarchy is still alive and well in American society today.

If you’re not listening to Taylor, you cannot objectively claim a lack of talent. You cannot objectively claim she’s overrated. And you definitely cannot claim to not like her “genre” (unless you listen solely to like death metal or trap).

Taylor has recorded 10 studio albums in 17 years. She has fluidly moved between country, pop, rock, synth, hip hop, folk, alternative, and indie genres.

She has written or co-written 243 songs, some in collaboration with or even for such names like: Little Big Town, Miley Cyrus, Sugarland, The Civil Wars, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

In her 200 million records sold, Taylor has won 324 awards, including 12 Grammys, 23 MTV Video Music Awards, 40 American Music Awards, 40 Billboard Music Awards, 12 Country Music Awards, and an Emmy.

She is the most-awarded artist of all times at the AMAs and BMAs, and she ties with Frank Sinatra, Stevie Wonder, and Paul Simon for most Album of the Year Grammys.

Swift was “the most streamed artist of 2023 on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music; the first act to place number one on the year-end Billboard top artists list in three different decades (2009, 2015 and 2023); and the first living artist to simultaneously chart five albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200.”

Rolling Stone described Taylor as “a songwriting savant with an intuitive gift for verse-chorus-bridge architecture,” and scholars and critics have compared her to literary figures such as Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson, and John Keats, as well as to modern songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney.

Over 20 universities include a Taylor Swift course in their catalog, including Harvard, Mizzou, Berkeley, Stanford, and Brigham Young.

Taylor has acted in five movies, headlined six tours, and can play guitar and piano. She has developed, written, and directed several of her own music videos.

She has influenced the music business by revitalizing vinyl records, championing artists’ rights on streaming services, and changing the way label contracts are written. Her journey to take back her intellectual property by re-recording her first six albums is one of the best business and personal decisions any artist has made regarding rights.

She’s not just a talented performer and savvy businesswoman. She is also very human and fights for things she believes in. Taylor speaks up for the rights of women, LGBTQ, and artists.

She has donated millions to charitable relief and philanthropic efforts, as well as to the arts. She generously gave millions of her revenue in bonuses to her Eras Tour team.

She was sexually assaulted by a DJ in Colorado and reported it. The DJ was terminated and sued Taylor for $3 million in damages, so she counter-sued for a symbolic $1 and spent over two years in a legal battle that ended in a jury deciding in her favor. Since then, Taylor has been even more active in fighting for the rights for women to be heard.

She genuinely enjoys her fans and has fun leaving clues and hints in her music to keep her fans engaged and like they’re part of the story. She always seems sincerely delighted to be doing what she’s doing.

Her 17 years in the industry have proven her talent. It shows that she’s earned every fan she has and dollar she’s made. (And if you think she’s only country-pop, then you need to spend a day with Folklore or Evermore.)

If you have a negative reaction towards her as a person, it’s because our society still goes after successful women in a way that men avoid. The media turns on celebrities - especially women - who dare to do things like countersue a sexual assault case, speak against corrupt politicians, or not laugh at misogyny.

I will never apologize for being enchanted by this one. She is a poet, and she’s possibly the most self-aware artist I’ve ever heard speak. 🫶🏻

(ETA: I did not pay for this post. I did not anticipate the shares. And I wasn’t out to seek attention. Why strangers feel the need to message me rude things because I posted on my personal page is beyond me. This is why we can’t have nice things.)

Author: Megan K Hall

#Taylor swift #tswift #taylor swift debut #the eras tour #swifties #taylor alison swift #tayvis #kansas city chiefs #1989 tv #taylor and travis #travis kelce

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 5 months

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Capitalism: trickling down bootstraps since the Industrial Revolution.

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

December 6, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

DEC 7, 2023

In the Washington Post today, Marianne LeVine, Isaac Arnsdorf, and Josh Dawsey reported that the Trump camp is eager to get people to stop focusing on Trump’s authoritarian talk, noting that Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) says the presidential candidate was just joking when he said he would be a dictator on the first day of a return to the White House. While the Republican base appears to like Trump’s threats against the people they have come to hate, two Trump advisers told the reporters that “recent stories about his plans for a second term are not viewed as helpful for the general election.”

Republicans have also moved quickly to cut ties with Florida Republican Party chair Christian Ziegler, who is under police investigation for rape. Ziegler’s wife, Bridget Ziegler, co-founded Moms for Liberty, an organization that has focused on removing from schools books that they find objectionable, generally books by or about racial or ethnic minorities or LGBTQ+ people. Often Moms for Liberty members have implied, or even claimed, that those trying to protect school libraries are sexual predators or “groomers.” Ziegler herself has been active in shaping anti-LGBTQ+ policies in the state.

But the police and court documents about the case revealed that the Zieglers and the woman Ziegler allegedly raped had participated in a three-way sexual relationship in the past. The rape allegedly occurred after they had set up another encounter that Bridget could not make. The woman then canceled, telling Ziegler “I was mainly in it for her.” He went to her home anyway.

The story of a key anti-LGBTQ+ activist engaging in same-sex activity as part of a threesome sent Moms for Liberty hurrying to say that Bridget Ziegler was no longer on their board (although both Zieglers were still on their advisory board) and purge her name from their website. And though no charges have yet been filed, Florida governor Ron DeSantis has called on Christian Ziegler to resign from his position at the head of the state Republican Party.

The Zieglers helped to tie the Republican Party to Moms for Liberty shortly after the organization formed in January 2021, and DeSantis was very much on board, apparently seeing their message of taking the war against “woke” to the schools as a political winner. But, as Amanda Marcotte pointed out in Salon, the 2022 midterms revealed that most voters did not like the extremism of that group and that it was a political liability.

The fact that DeSantis is dropping his former ally Ziegler so fast suggests that DeSantis is eager to divorce himself from both the story and from the extremism of Moms for Liberty.

The Trump Republicans took another hit today as well, when a grand jury in the state of Nevada charged six people who falsely posed as electors in 2020 in order to file fake electoral votes for Trump to replace the state’s real votes for now-President Joe Biden. The six Republicans charged with filing false documents include the chair and the vice chair of the Nevada Republican Party. If convicted, they face up to nine years in prison and $15,000 in fines.

Nevada is the third state to charge the fake electors with crimes. Georgia and Michigan have also done so.

Ten fake electors in Wisconsin today settled a civil lawsuit over their own participation in Trump’s false-elector scheme. The settlement involved correcting the historical record. The ten agreed to withdraw their paperwork with the false information, explain in writing to the federal offices that the filings had been “part of an attempt to improperly overturn the 2020 presidential election results,” and acknowledge that Biden won the 2020 election. Going forward, they agreed never again to serve as presidential electors in an election in which Trump is running.

But while there are signs that even leading Republicans recognize that the extremism of the Trump Republicans is unpopular in the country, Trump Republicans are tightening their hold on Congress. Today former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced that he will resign from Congress at the end of this month. Far-right MAGA Republicans ousted McCarthy from the speaker’s chair in October.

Representative Patrick McHenry (R-NC), a McCarthy ally who took over as acting House speaker after McCarthy’s removal, announced yesterday that he had changed his plans from earlier this year and will not run for reelection.

While hardly moderates—both refused to work with Democrats either to pass legislation or to elect a speaker—they appear to be ceding ground to the MAGA Republicans.

Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone reported today that one of those MAGA Republicans, House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), spoke freely Tuesday night at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., at a celebration for the National Association of Christian Lawmakers. Although the address was being livestreamed, Johnson apparently believed he was speaking privately. He told the audience that the Lord called him to be “a new Moses.”

Johnson, an evangelical Christian, told the audience that the U.S. is “engaged in a battle between worldviews” and “a great struggle for the future of the Republic.” He said he believed far-right Christians would prevail.

The influence of Trump is also evident in the Senate, where there is broad, bipartisan support for supplemental funding for Ukraine, but where Republicans are refusing to pass such a measure without attaching to it an immigration package that overrides current law, replacing it with Trump’s immigration plans. Such plans could not pass on their own, as Democrats would stop them in the Senate. But by attaching them to a bill that is imperative for national security, Republicans hope to force Biden into it.

Democrats have repeatedly called for new immigration legislation, but their refusal to remake immigration policy as the hard-right wants has made Republicans balk. Now Democrats are still offering to negotiate a reasonable package, but as Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) said earlier this week: “I think there’s a misunderstanding on the part of Senator Schumer and some of our Democratic friends…. This is not a traditional negotiation, where we expect to come up with a bipartisan compromise on the border. This is a price that has to be paid in order to get the supplemental.”

In a speech this afternoon—just a day after Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) finally permitted the Senate to fill 425 senior positions in the U.S. military and while he is still preventing 11 top-level positions from being filled—President Biden called it “stunning that we’ve gotten to this point…. Republicans in Congress…are willing to give [Russian president Vladimir] Putin the greatest gift he could hope for and abandon our global leadership not just to Ukraine, but beyond that.”

“If Putin takes Ukraine, he won’t stop there,” Biden warned. “It’s important to see the long run here. He’s going to keep going. He’s made that pretty clear. If Putin attacks a NATO Ally—if he keeps going and then he attacks a NATO Ally—well, we’ve committed as a NATO member that we’d defend every inch of NATO territory. Then we’ll have something that we don’t seek and that we don’t have today: American troops fighting Russian troops—American troops fighting Russian troops if he moves into other parts of NATO.

“Make no mistake: Today’s vote is going to be long remembered. And history is going to judge harshly those who turn their back on freedom’s cause.”

“Extreme Republicans are playing chicken with our national security, holding Ukraine’s funding hostage to their extreme partisan border policies,” he said.

Biden reiterated that he and the Democrats are eager to pass new immigration legislation, but “Republicans think they can get everything they want without any bipartisan compromise. That’s not the answer.... And now they’re willing to literally kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield and damage our national security in the process.” He begged Republicans to get past partisan divisions and step up to “our responsibilities as a leading nation in the world.”

Hours later, Senate Republicans voted against the supplemental aid package.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#U.S.Senate #political #Jesse Duquette #The Daily Don #Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #authoritarianism #fascism #NATO #Extreme Republican #national security

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mariacallous · 6 months

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WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish opposition leader Donald Tusk declared the beginning of a new era for his country after opposition parties appeared to have won enough votes in Sunday’s election to oust the ruling populist party.

That party, Law and Justice, has bickered with allies and faced accusations of eroding rule of law at home in its eight years in power. It appeared that voters were mobilized like never before, voting in even greater numbers than when the nation ousted the communist authorities in 1989.

If the result predicted by an exit poll holds, Law and Justice won but also lost. It got more seats than any other party but not enough to build a government and pass laws in the legislature.

The Ipsos exit poll suggested that Law and Justice obtained 200 seats. The far-right Confederation got 12 seats, a showing the party said was a defeat.

It also showed that three opposition parties have likely won a combined 248 seats in the 460-seat lower house of parliament, the Sejm. The largest of the groups is Civic Coalition, led by Tusk, a former prime minister.

“I have been a politician for many years. I’m an athlete. Never in my life have I been so happy about taking seemingly second place. Poland won. Democracy has won. We have removed them from power,” Tusk told his cheering supporters.

“This result might still be better, but already today we can say this is the end of the bad time, this is end of Law and Justice rule,” Tusk added.

Law and Justice leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski acknowledged that the outcome was uncertain for his party. He told supporters at his headquarters that his party’s result, at nearly 37% of the vote, according to the exit poll, was a success, making it the party to win the most votes for three parliamentary elections in a row. But he also acknowledged it might not be able to keep power.

“We must have hope and we must also know that regardless of whether we are in power or in the opposition, we will implement this (political) project in various ways and we will not allow Poland to be betrayed,” Kaczynski said.

If the result holds, and Law and Justice is the single party with the most seats, then it would get the first chance to try to build a government.

It falls to President Andrzej Duda, who is an ally of Law and Justice, to tap a party to try to form a government.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Polsat News that Duda “will entrust the mission of forming the government to the winning party and in this first step we will certainly try to build a parliamentary majority.”

Three opposition parties, Tusk’s Civic Coalition, Third Way and the New Left, ran on separate tickets but with the same promises of seeking to oust Law and Justice and restore good ties with the European Union.

Wlodzimierz Czarzasty, a leader of the Left party, vowed to work with the others to “create a democratic, strong, reasonable and predictable government.”

Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, the head of election campaign for Third Way, called it a “huge day for our democracy.”

“There is a lot of work to do for all of us, and it’s going to be a huge challenge,” she said, adding: “we are very satisfied and full of hope that things will be much better in Poland in the days, months and years to come.”

Votes were still being counted and the state electoral commission says it expects to have final results by Tuesday morning.

At stake are the health of the nation’s constitutional order, its legal stance on LGBTQ+ rights and abortion, and the foreign alliances of a country that has been a crucial ally to Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Law and Justice has eroded checks and balances to gain more control over state institutions, including the courts, public media and the electoral process itself.

During the campaign many Poles described the vote as the most important one since 1989, when a new democracy was born after decades of communism.

Turnout Sunday appeared to be even higher than the 63% of those who voted in 1989 to oust the communists.

“It seems that we have broken a record,” said Sylwester Marciniak, the head of the state electoral commission.

Despite many uncertainties ahead, what appeared certain was that support for the ruling party has shrunk since the last election in 2019 when it won nearly 44% of the vote, its popularity dented by high inflation, allegations of cronyism and bickering with European allies.

If the result holds, it marks a sharp defeat for a ruling party that adopted divisive policies at home, often pushing laws through without trying to build consensus.

Others saw economic threats in the way the party has governed and believe that high social spending has helped to fuel inflation.

There is also a high level of state ownership in the Polish economy, and the governing party has built up a system of patronage, handing out thousands of jobs and contracts to its loyalists.

A political change could open the way for the EU to release billions of euros in funding that has been withheld over what the EU viewed as democratic erosion.

The fate of Poland’s relationship with Ukraine was also at stake. The Confederation party campaigned on an anti-Ukraine message, accusing the country of lacking gratitude to Poland for its help in Russia’s war. Its poor showing will be a relief for Kyiv.

Around 29 million Poles from age 18 were eligible to vote. They chose 460 members of the lower house, or Sejm, and 100 for the Senate for four-year terms.

A referendum on migration, the retirement age and other issues was held simultaneously. Some government opponents called on voters to boycott the referendum.

More than 31,000 voting stations operated across Poland, while there were more than 400 voting stations abroad. In a sign of the emotions generated by the vote, more than 600,000 Poles registered to vote abroad.

Individual parties need to get at least 5% of votes to win seats in parliament, while coalitions need at least 8% of votes.

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iwanthermidnightz · 11 months

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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/may/19/pop-stars-must-do-more-to-defend-lgbtq-fans-taylor-swift

Taylor Swift has flagged her sympathies with this community, so why is her Eras tour visiting US states enacting repressive laws without comment?

Look what an overly aggressive security guard made Taylor Swift do. Over the weekend, the singer won praise for calling out a guard, mid-performance, who was being rough with a female fan.

However, as a queer Swiftie, I can’t help but wish she would channel that same energy and her enormous platform into denouncing the record number of anti-LGBTQ+ laws being introduced across the US. Since starting in March, Swift’s Eras tour has taken her to numerous states that have ushered in some of the most extreme anti-LGBTQ+ bills in decades, including Florida, Tennessee and Texas. Yet the singer has stayed silent.

For some, Swift’s silence undermines, or at least draws into question, the flurry of LGBTQ+ advocacy she embarked on in 2019. After a gay friend helped Taylor realise her position on LGBTQ+ rights wasn’t “clear enough or loud enough”, she came out swinging for the gays. Close to a million people signed her petition in support of the Equality Act, she brought drag queens on stage with her at a major award show, and also made enormous donations to LGBTQ+ charities such as Glaad and the Tennessee Equality Project. (She also released the homophobe-bashing single You Need to Calm Down, though perhaps erasing that from our collective memory would be more of a win for LGBTQ+ rights.)

When Swift broke her political silence in 2018 by publicly supporting two Democrats in the US midterm elections it felt like a watershed moment. The singer had seemed to have gotten over being “so fearful of making a mistake that [she would] just freeze”, as she once told Vogue. As she said in her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana, she cared more about being “on the right side of history”. Which is why her silence now feels so loud.

But the issue of pop and politics goes beyond Swift, raising questions about our expectations of pop stars, figureheads who have by and large become more politicised over the past decade. Should artists use their platforms to speak out on social issues, and if so, how often and to what extent? (The current calls for Swift to denounce past controversies by her rumoured boyfriend, Matty Healy of the 1975, for example, are both misogynist – expecting a woman to account for her partner’s behaviour – and demonstrative of fan entitlement.) Do we expect them to understand and respond to all the hot-button issues going on around the world? Which countries (or states, for that matter) is it OK for them to perform in?

Now more than ever, these are valid questions to ask of pop stars. Major pop tours are watercooler events akin to sports games, Succession and Eurovision: one of the biggest platforms around, speaking directly not only to young audiences who look to their idols for support, but the wider public who might be influenced by their views. And queer fans can reasonably expect to see support for their causes because today’s pop spectacle was built on the backs of trailblazing queer icons, to whom every star owes a spiritual debt. (In 2017, Swift’s Reputation tour paid nightly tribute to the 19th-century US dancer Loie Fuller, a gay woman who pioneered modern dance and theatrical lighting and fought for artists to own their work.)

It’s understandable that many stars are wary about speaking out, particularly when on stage. Audiences have come for a show, not a political rally. Perhaps that’s why some stars opt for softer actions, such as Harry Styles waving a Pride flag or Beyoncé making venue toilets gender-neutral on her current Renaissance tour. These gestures of support can mean so much for a young queer or questioning fan. But Madonna put her career on the line in the 80s and 90s with her HIV/Aids activism, including a card detailing The Facts About Aids enclosed with 1989’s Like a Prayer album. Considering we’re living through an era of humanitarian and climate crises with a growing backlash against the rights of women, people of colour and LGBTQ+ people, today’s pop stars aren’t taking radical enough action.

So while we can applaud artists such as Lizzo, Orville Peck, Kelsea Ballerini and Hayley Kiyoko for their recent advocacy against the anti-drag and trans laws emerging across the US, statements and symbolic gestures won’t do anything to help the families of queer and trans kids fleeing Texas and Florida. What matters today is how pop stars who want to make a difference use their voice, platform and wealth to materially improve the lives of vulnerable communities. Shortly after the Grenfell tragedy in 2017, Adele stopped her Wembley concert to plead with the audience to donate £5 to the Unite for Grenfell relief efforts. On the Eras tour, it’s been revealed that Swift is making “sizeable” donations to local food banks at each stop.

Boycotts can also be effective. It was only seven years ago that North Carolina introduced an anti-LGBTQ+ bathroom bill, which sparked such a huge backlash that businesses left the state and major sporting events and concerts were cancelled. Less than a year later, the draconian law was repealed. LGBTQ+ communities are fighting for their freedom and it’s those kinds of actions that could make a meaningful difference to their safety. Imagine if pop stars highlighted local queer groups at each of their concert venues with donation stands. Or if they signposted information about local, state and national politicians fans could contact about anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. It would also be extremely powerful to see this done by artists without obvious queer fanbases such as Drake or Bruce Springsteen (who was among the artists to cancel shows in North Carolina in 2016).

With all eyes on these tours and every moment being beamed directly to TikTok, they’re one of the most powerful platforms out there and it’s devastating that more isn’t being made of these opportunities. The era of speak now is over. It’s time for pop stars who care about equality to act now.

#not not true #the lgbtqia+ community is under attack yet again

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