#savemrashton #mypridewontunravel
What is gay, but is not sex?
Image: a Venn diagram with circles labeled "gay" and "sex". The "sex" field is blank, as is the overlapping section. The gay-inclusive, sex-exclusive field is populated with the phrase COMING OUT.
I challenged some relatives to complete this Venn diagram, and they refused.
What else goes into that queer, asexual moon on the left?
#savemrashton #mypridewontunravel
Image: a black and white photograph of Dag Hammarskjöld (1905-1961). He has eyes like mine.
Text (hot pink, in quotes): "Never, for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or convictions."
I didn't graduate from teachers college because I came out as queer to my students.
My situation exposes social inequality in the freedom of expression for LGBTQ+ professionals. My conviction is that being LGBTQ+ is not political or sexual. LGBTQ+ teachers are right to come out if we want to.
The community has not made this peaceful or quiet for me. But I can't deny my experience or convictions.
Dag Hammarskjöld was the Secretary General of the United Nations. He kept his personal life private. Little is known about his relationships or his sexual orientation.
If Dag Hammarskjöld was LGBTQ+ and kept it hidden, we lost a queer icon without even knowing it.
The school where my placement was terminated is named after Hammarskjöld.
#savemrashton #mypridewontunravel
"Hey #ChatGPT, please give me 10 #pride month jokes that will make my queer friends laugh."
Jokes 5, 6 and 7 turned out okay! And none of them were mean
The hate my campaign is getting on the bad social media sites... is weird. Not one comment is from a right winger. All the hate is coming from left wing rainbow accounts. I really needed these jokes today.
#savemrashton #mypridewontunravel
🌈🍎Now this is how a proper Canadian school board handles discrimination!
This poster is mounted in every classroom. It tells students and teachers exactly what to expect when harmful behaviours emerge.
It's text heavy, so in lieu of descriptive alt text please see the Halton District School Board announcing it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Pd4Ybz1fmv0&t=31s
But if you only follow one link, please make it my GoFundMe.
I am a queer student teacher who did not graduate because I came out to my students. So I hired the best gay rights lawyer in Canada and I am crowdfunding my legal bills.
I wish I'd been teaching in Halton!
#savemrashton #mypridewontunravel
Ooh... I have posted an update on my GoFundMe page. It's 18 minutes of engaging testimony on systemic #homophobia in the Faculty of Ed at my university.
🌈🍎 First period is the best time of day to deliver listening-based lessons. It's morning here in Thunder Bay. So -- good morning! Enjoy.
See the update (and original) at
https://gofund.me/a5fbd7c5
Thank you for boosting/favoriting/following/crossposting/clicking/watching/donating. You're beautiful.
Hi.
I don't understand their motivations, but someone on TikTok is trying to torpedo my GoFundMe.
I am the queer student teacher who did not graduate because I came out to my students. #savemrashton #mypridewontunravel
You and I are likely in agreement that propping up the loser in a "both sides" argument is unethical journalism, especially when dealing with disputes over climate change and human rights.
Words of encouragement and vocal support would be very healthy for me to hear/read right now. I need to keep fighting. To my detractors, this is just another thing. To me, this is my life.
My very real GoFundMe is live here: https://gofund.me/a5fbd7c5
Please donate to put a queer teacher in a classroom. It's where I belong.
#savemrashton
#ourpridewontunravel
Image: Mr. Ashton, wearing his Lakehead University lanyard over a Hawaiian shirt, standing unshaven before a grey sky, grimacing like a detective.
Text: Be gay solve crimes
#savemrashton #ourpridewontunravel
🌈🍎If you're following what's going on: there's a new video up on my GoFundMe. https://gofund.me/a5fbd7c5
Generous and provocative people helped me reach my goal of $7200 by July 8. I still have another $1100 to go before July 15. Please help!
The bombshell news update is that my lawyer has come out to confirm his involvement: Dr. R. Douglas Elliott.
Dr. Elliott (honorary doctorate) is a Law Society Medal-winning LGBTQ+ lawyer. He was a lead on the cases that won:
1. Gay Marriage
2. The LGBT Purge class action
3. GSAs in schools.
But I lose him on July 15 if I don't reach the rest of this goal!
I am a queer student teacher who did not graduate because I came out to my students.
Please donate and help me negotiate a teaching license. I need to be allowed in my classroom.
https://gofund.me/a5fbd7c5
I am so close to my goal, and my supporters on social media are being harassed until they remove their posts!
If you are told not to interact with me, treat that advice with suspicion. I'm fighting for something very important: the right to come out at school.
And I need to be a teacher. Lakehead's strategy to discredit me closes the door on that career and every other career. None of this would have happened if I hadn't come out to my students!
We really, really need to win this. Please donate to my GoFundMe, even something small, so that the donation count keeps rising and my supporters are vindicated. I'm so close to my goal. I can now breathe easy until July 8. The July 15 legal bill is not yet covered.
#savemrashton #education #queeringcurriculum #tiktok
It finally happened: somebody I knew heard about my story without me having to tell them. The truth has got its shoes on! 👟👟
Frank Dominic is a fellow educator and prominent TikTok source on Canadian news and politics. See his viral post here: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZM2rCUj1Q/
It took 4 degrees of friendship for this professional hero to get the link to my GoFundMe. I am thrilled that he used his platform to speak up for me, and grateful to my friend for sharing the link with other people, who shared the link with their own people, and so on. Solidarity works! LGBTQ+ rights are a team effort.
The story is also available directly from me on my GoFundMe. https://gofund.me/a5fbd7c5
Mr. Ashton