Open Letter to Robert Gruss, Anti-Gay Catholic Bishop and My Neighbor | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | May, 2024 | Medium
Open Letter to Robert Gruss, Anti-Gay Catholic Bishop and My Neighbor. Please stop stigmatizing LGBTQ people. Please embody the values of gentleness and lovingkindness your faith encourages..
Teens Stalk, Beat Gay Couple on Michigan Campus. Can We Wake Up Yet? | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Apr, 2024 | Medium
LGBTQ Michiganders like me have been reeling since last week when seven high school students stalked, cornered, violently attacked, and hospitalized a gay couple on the Michigan State University…
Guy literally rolls out the red carpet for strangers and their reactions are fabulous - Upworthy
Alan Wallace, who routinely posts uplifting videos that “share the warmth” of his hometown over on TikTok, recently added a video of himself going up to random folks on the street and giving them a moment to shine as he unfurled a red carpet at their feet. And let’s just say, they nailed it. People ..
Saying Gay to Children Should Be OK, Says Batman Biographer | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Apr, 2024 | Medium
Do you love Batman? Do your kids thrill to the heroism of the Caped Crusader? For generations the Dark Knight has entertained kids the world over. Despite this, they might not know who created…
https://www.bklynlibrary.o...
Brooklyn Public Library Offers Free eCards to Teens Nationwide Facing Book Bans in Local Communities | Brooklyn Public Library
Librarians and Teen Volunteers Spearhead Books UnBanned Initiative to Combat Censorship Brooklyn, NY—Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is launching a new campaign today, titled Books UnBanned, to help teens combat the negative impact of increased censorship and book bans in libraries across the country...
Lesbian Couple Loses Dream Wedding, Neighbors Rain Down Love | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Jan, 2024 | Medium
Once upon a fairy tale, I fell achingly in love with Jason, a beautiful young man from Australia. I dreamt of a big wedding in the glorious Notre Dame Basilica at the heart of Montreal’s Old Port…
American Educators Losing Careers Over Perceived LGBTQ Identities | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Feb, 2024 | Medium
Somehow, it feels like decades ago that I celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court decision (Bostock v. Clayton County) that declared that Americans enjoy the civil right to be hired (and not to be fired)…
As a Gay Ohian and Michigander, My Politicians Break My Heart | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Jan, 2024 | Medium
I was born and raised in Ohio, just a short drive from Michigan where I live now. After decades in Iowa, Berlin, New York City and Montreal, I had no idea how much I missed this part of the country…
Parents Demand ‘Right’ to Straight Teacher for Their Public School Kids | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Jan, 2024 | Medium
Imagine one of the most lovely towns in the American West. Stunning mountain scenes inspire people through almost every window. You can fish in rivers and streams leaping with salmon and trout. You…
I Remember Perry as the Right Blames School Shooting on ‘Trans Extremists’ | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Jan, 2024 | Medium
A school shooting in Perry, Iowa? Tell me it isn’t so! I used to know sleepy little Perry so well. A long time ago, I loved a boy who went to Perry High. My memories of overnights at his family farm…
Medium Helped Give This LGBTQ Advocate the Best Holiday Gift Ever | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Jan, 2024 | Medium
To say I struggle with the winter holiday season is an understatement. I love festivity and celebration, and I have a deep cultural reverence for Christmas traditions of love, charity, light, warmth…
Nikki Haley, the U.S. Military Is Not at Risk from ‘Woke’ or Trans Inclusion | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Jan, 2024 | Medium
Is it deja vu all over again? Last spring, U.S. Representatives Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Green, and Lauren Boebert (none of whom ever served in the military) made some pretty startling claims. To…
How Did My Story About an Abused Gay Teen Draw Waves of Anti-Trans Hate? | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Dec, 2023 | Medium
Actually, I just made that up based off OG, which I get called a lot because I’m old. (61 in the gay male world can feel more like 161!) OQ is my little joke, but I’m not really kidding. When I…
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Autistic woman orders room service, reveals inner turmoil - Upworthy
Ordering room service may be a simple matter for some, but for people with autism or anxiety, it can take enormous mental and emotional energy. TikTok user Paige Layle, who advocates for autism and ADHD acceptance, demonstrated what the process of ordering room service was like for her and it offere..
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In Ohio a miscarriage leads to a charge of "felony abuse of a corpse"
The anguish of Brittany Watts Miscarriage of a fetus more than halfway to term is one the most psychologically devastating events a woman can suffer. At any time, the trauma is extreme. At 21 weeks, the expectant mother could be weighing names. She may...
Meet David Wernsman, Kidnapped and Beaten at 17 for Being Gay | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Dec, 2023 | Medium
The U.S. troubled-teen industry has been in the headlines a lot lately. Maia Szalavitz recently wrote for the New York Times (free link) that the industry offers trauma, not therapy, and is in…
Mysterious woman tells school board that Scholastic book sparked porn addiction
On November 14, a 20-year-old woman named Lanah Burkhardt appeared before the school board of the Conroe Independent School District in Texas. Burkhardt told the board that, when she was 11, she read a Scholastic book that introduced her to "a single kiss." According to Burkhardt, her expo..
State-Funded School Orders Girls to Break Up: Part of Growing U.S. Trend | by James Finn | Prism & Pen | Nov, 2023 | Medium
Have you heard about “school choice?” It’s an umbrella term meaning anything from states supporting homeschooling, to states encouraging the growth of public charter schools, to states diverting tax…
https://www.dailykos.com/s...
The Washington Post is very worried that American women don't want to marry Trump supporters
In an editorial published last week, titled, “If Attitudes Don’t Shift, A Political Dating Mismatch Will Threaten Marriage,” the Washington Post’s editorial board points out that political polarization in this country has reached the point where it is...
A Very Trump Thanksgiving
It would be nice to have a holiday that the former guy didn’t intrude into. My idea of a vacation would be a long weekend where Donald Trump didn’t threaten a federal prosecutor, a judge’s law clerk, or democracy itself. But we are not there yet. I hope we will be there, or close, by this time next ..
