I went to a safe space training on Saturday

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It is a program geared at making classrooms labeled safe spaces for LGBT students. I still am amazed at the progress Pete is making. He won Iowa, he freaking won Iowa. He is 2nd in New Hampshire. He could win New Hampshire. The fact is growing up in the 1970's and 1980's in Ohio my formative experiences of how gays (and we were all gays back then or called worse things) fit in with the world weren't positive in the least. First there was Harvey Milk getting assassinated in 1978 and then his killer getting a very reduced conviction in 1979. He committed suicide in 1984. Then their was the AIDS epidemic and the horror that entailed. It wasn't until I was in college that LGBT started seeing large victories such as state protections and the like.

It is amazing to think of what kids growing up now see. They see openly gay and lesbian teachers in even fairly conservative areas of the country, they are seeing a major political party have an openly gay candidate win the first contest and likely finish in at least 2nd in the 2nd one. In 1963, Bayard Rustin had to be disowned by the Civil Rights movement for them to have a chance to succeed. Barbara Jordan, Sally Ride, and many, many others had to hide their true selves from their employers and/or the public to be permitted to have rewarding careers serving the public. Yet today, a gay man was declared the winner in Iowa and is in 2nd place in New Hampshire.

Oh, and in eastern North Carolina, aka Jesse Helms country, I went to a safe space training, will put up the sticker in my room tomorrow, hold a Pride Alliance meeting tomorrow, and live my life as an openly gay teacher. And some kid somewhere, is watching this all happen, and knowing he or she or they or ze might have a place in this society after all. I don't know what else to say about this but wow.

[littlemissmartypants]

1. Kicked and recommended. ❤ nt