Rainbowland
The bigoted and, in my opinion, the criminal Trump presidency has resulted in the termination of rights for the LGBTQ community.
Trump’s biased choices for the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) led to what has been happening during the last several years, including a record number of anti-LGBTQ bills.
Since the beginning this year alone, more than 400 anti-LGBTQ bills have been introduced across the various States … and we’re only into July. How many more are planned?
In particular, bills restricting education and health care are emerging in unprecedented levels, as well as a drive to ban access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
As well, there is a forceful emphasis on regulating curriculum in schools, including discussions around gender identity and sexuality. An example is the “Don’t Say Gay” Florida bill, now spreading to other States, and a new focus on banning drag shows, which I guess means they’ll destroy any DVDs and streaming access to such classic movies as Some Like It Hot (Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Munroe), Tootsie (Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange) and Hairspray (John Travolta and Michelle Pfeiffer).
However, the loss of viewing certain movies is nothing compared to the terror that gay and trans people are being subjected to in the US right now. The landscape is changing so quickly for them, and their basic human rights are being stripped away.
Some States are introducing “forced outing” bills, requiring teachers to inform parents when a student starts using a different name or pronoun, without the consent of the student. This means young people can no longer turn to, or trust, their teachers. Sadly, I believe it means that, like in decades long passed, youth will turn to self-harming or even suicide … that is, if they’re not bullied or murdered by haters who will feel emboldened to attack people of this community. The American Civil Liberties Union has been tracking this alarming data.
In the news recently was one teacher fired for questioning why her students were suddenly not allowed to sing the Dolly Parton/Miley Cyrus song, Rainbowland, nor Kermit the Frog’s Rainbow Connection. The religious-right of the Deep South are in control, at the moment, and for the sake of all gay, queer and trans human beings, I hope this turns around soon.
Below, see an interview on The Damage Report, and listen to the two songs mentioned above. You can also hear from the teacher who lost her job.
The Damage Report
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-zPrJkwmqU&t=33s
Dolly Parton and Miley Cyrus: Rainbowland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRQ8GA3wjFo
Kermit the Frog: Rainbow Connection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WS3Lkc6Gzlk
Interview with the fired teacher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCSCpfTusbA