PFLAG Alamance in Person next week

PFLAG Alamance Monthly Meeting

Welcoming new people and old friends

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

7:00 p.m.

Welcome Back!

We are meeting in person next week

Please wear a mask if you're more comfortable, and we will be seated

with adequate space for you to feel safe.

We will meet as usual at Elon Community Church

271 N. Williamson Ave.

Park and Enter from the rear. Plenty of paarking there

Opinion - From the Wasnington Post . . .

The free-speech choice I faced as a professor and father of a trans son

It was one of the most difficult days of my life, and I am still torn by the questions it posed.

By Adam Briggle

April 2, 2022

On March 2, a Child Protective Services worker visited my home. Because my wife, Amber, and I are the supportive parents of a transgender boy, we had been accused of child abuse. About a week earlier, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) had issued an order requiring that citizens report parents such as us and that authorities investigate our cases.

Later that same day, the University of North Texas, where I teach, hosted a talk by Jeff Younger, a candidate for the Texas House of Representatives. Younger is a prime advocate of the “trans health care is child abuse” myth — the “tip of the spear,” as he describes himself. In 2019, as he began an ultimately unsuccessful fight for custody of his own transgender child (whom he persistently misgenders), he whipped up a right-wing frenzy — a crusade to “save” children by depriving them of care. Texas legislators failed to pass such a law in 2021. Younger wants to help them succeed in 2023.

In short, a person responsible for the attacks on my family was to speak at my university on the same day that the state launched its effort to tear us apart. Let me be clear: This is harm fueled by ignorance and hatred. Families such as mine are already terrorized. If the zealots succeed, we will be broken. I shudder to think what they would do to our son if they got their claws into him.

See the full article with links to other information.

Something to Think About . . .

by Cindy Davis

What Are Trade-offs?

Recently, my partner and I decided to postpone a trip to the North Carolina mountains. We were really looking forward to it, but with gas prices being prohibitive we thought it best to plan it for another time. Naturally, I hawed and harumphed, full of disappointment. In an effort to soften the blow we made a list of fun events that we could participate in locally and committed to making them happen during the week we were supposed to be away. I was proud that we managed to check off a bunch of stuff.

It later occurred to me that our trip was a tiny sacrifice to make, when I thought about the folks in Ukraine. I realized, that going forward, I am fully prepared to pay crazy gas prices (the result of sanctions against Russia) without complaining about it. Spoiler alert! It is not my goal to use this column to make political noise. There is enough of that going around. My goal is to examine what trade-offs are and why it is important to understand them.

Webster’s defines trade-off as “a balancing of factors all of which are not attainable at the same time…a giving up of one thing in return for another.” Wouldn’t it make life easier if we did not expect everything to always work out? At the same time? When I attempt to try new things, sometimes I quickly become frustrated if they do not go as I planned. (The Serenity Prayer, anyone?) I am, at times, stubborn and I jump ship before giving myself an opportunity to try again. I have also been known to pile too much on my plate, only to discover that I have piled too much on my plate! When I return to the drawing board I attempt to cut back on certain commitments and feel better as a result.

Trade-offs can be a truly valuable commodity. They can be liberating. If I jump to the conclusion that just because I am giving something up, it must be bad, I lose out on the potential possibilities.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass…it’s about learning how to dance in the rain”

-Vivian Greene

Cindy Davis is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor.

She was an advice columnist for the Times-News, and is also a PFLAG Board Member.

Cindy can be contacted at cbdpflag@gmail.com

Watch for Cindy's column each month on our Newsletter

From the PFLAG National . . .

Have A Gay Day, PFLAG Launches Billboard Campaign To Uplift LGBTQ+ Voices Nationwide

Today, PFLAG National announced its partnership with Have A Gay Day, a non-profit #LGBTQ+ organization based in Dayton, Ohio, on a nationwide digital billboard campaign. The partnership launches in advance of #TransDayOfVisibility with billboards displaying messages of support, hope and encouragement for the LGBTQ+ community, centered on #transgende r and #nonbinary youth and their families.

Learn more about this announcement at pflag.org/LoveTogether

From NBC News . . .

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sued by LGBTQ students, parents over new law

The group alleges that newly signed legislation — dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics — would violate their freedom of speech and other constitutional rights.

March 31, 2022, 2:12 PM EDT

By Matt Lavietes

A group of over a dozen students, parents, educators and advocates filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the state’s Board of Education, alleging that newly enacted state legislation would “stigmatize, silence, and erase LGBTQ people in Florida’s public schools.”

The Parental Rights in Education bill, dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics, was signed Monday by the Republican governor, following months of heated debate. The measure prohibits “classroom instruction ... on sexual orientation or gender identity” in “kindergarten through grade 3 or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate.” Parents will be able to sue school districts over alleged violations, for damages or attorney’s fees, when the bill goes into effect July 1.

See full article

Another Effort by PFLAG National

to Spread the Word of Love and Accepance

All Across the Nation

We are excited to share that we will be partnering on a billboard campaign, aimed at spreading awareness and love for our transgender and LGB loved ones and their families, on digital billboards across the country. Have a Gay Day launched this program several weeks ago, and it’s been getting a ton of love from community members, in the press, and on social media. You might even have seen one of these billboards already in your own state, as yours is one of the states where this program launched!