CatOut here in rural USA, joining any new group requires so much initial teaching from me, it's daunting every time. I have to do all the little social dances to slowly reveal that, yes, I am married to a man, and we even raised children together!
No, my son is not adopted just because he's brown, actually, my white daughter is the one that's adopted.
No, I don't work, I'm a homemaker, but please don't do that heteronormative thing where you think that means I'm "the girl" in the relationship. I don’t care about fashion, and please don't complain to me about your husband. No, I don't know your cousin/hairdresser just because they are also gay.
No, I'm not wearing a mask because I have cancer, but thanks for noticing my thinning hairline and inability to gain weight.
I'm exhausted already.
The thing that keeps me going is that they *can* be taught. I've learned that a majority of cishet white people will wake up if they just make one friend who isn’t exactly like them. Being that friend is an extremely difficult chore and takes an enormous amount of patience, but it works.
This is my contribution to the resistance. Protesting is way too dangerous for us out here, and calling local right-wing representatives who won by a 20+ point margin is an exercise in futility.
But through joining local groups and volunteering, I have changed a handful of people's minds and flipped them from right to left. I have to believe that this is worth something.
I remind myself how the only reason the National Parks Service was created by Roosevelt was because his conservationist buddy took him camping and convinced him to do it. Sometimes all it takes is one good friend to change the course of history for future generations.
Artemis
Shoq
Qasim Rashid, Esq.
Alan Bucknam
Shouty person
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Brian Jopek