Elin Gregory

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So the year rolls around and here we are observing another blog hop to remind ourselves to be mindful, careful and to call out Homophobia and Transphobia whenever we see it. So far, so good. It’s nice to get a concrete reminder of this but we’d do well to remember that the problems we hop about once a year are things faced every day, all year round, for many of the people to whom we count ourselves allies.

As the weeks pass by and the roll call of people young and old who have fallen victim to these phobias mounts, it’s important to remember that they aren’t just names on a screen but people with hopes and dreams, with loved ones, with ambitions for the future. For some of them, tragically, that future has been cut short, for others they have faced acts that are so subtle as to be almost unnoticeable to folk who aren’t in their position but act like the slow drip of acid, eating away at their well being. This is less newsworthy than a murder, than an assault, than the awfulness of suicide, but it’s an everywhere, everyday tarnish on the gloss of civilisation. Victimisation, large and obvious or small and insidious, must stop.

We must see it for what it is, we must be aware of its effects and we must support the push for equality.

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This year’s theme for the IDAHOT organisation is Mental Health and Well-Being. Please support it if you can.

Click here to be taken to the list of participants in the blog hop or use the links below.

As usual there must be a prize so I’ll make my usual donation to the Albert Kennedy Trust on behalf of the Hop and one commentor, chosen at random, may pick a book from my backlist. Good luck.

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It’s May 17th again – don’t the years roll by quickly? – and time for another:

Hop Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

This isn’t to say that this is something we should be bearing in mind just once a year. I would hope that anyone who reads this is already well aware of the message but a bit of reinforcement never hurts.

One of my favourite quotes is from Plato. In the original text there’s a lot more to it but the sentiment remains one of the best rules of thumb that I know, and it is usually rendered as:

Be kind – for everyone you meet is fighting a battle about which you know nothing.

It doesn’t usually cost anything to be kind but it can take some effort.

I had an email this week, one of those annoying All Staff emails that usually refer to pilates classes in the lunch hour at a venue 30 miles away, or surplus office equipment. Normally I delete them but this one caught my eye because it had this heading:

It had been sent by Stonewall Cymru, Yr elusen cydraddoldeb lesbiaidd, hoyw, deurywiol a thraws yng Nghymru [The all-Wales charity for lesbian, gay, bisexual & trans equality], as a little reminder that all public places and the public servants who work in them should be mindful, careful and thoughtful at all times and not just when they think they should. Battles are being fought every day, quiet, painful secret struggles, by brave warriors whose polite smiles conceal the wounds they carry.

At the very least we should not be adding to the burdens carried so secretly but Stonewall Cymru takes it a step further with their watchword DimAnwybyddu = No Bystanders. If you hear the comment, that nasty sneering throwaway cut, challenge it. If you see something you suspect might be bullying, interfere. Even the old and the slow, like me, can bear witness, and make it clear that we are prepared to do so.

As usual I’ll be donating, as usual to AKT, and as usual I’m offering a prize to a commenter – an ecopy of A Taste of Copper. Don’t forget to leave your contact deets in your comment.

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Sometimes even the calmest of people get annoyed and that has happened recently in the LGBTTAQI fiction community. The news that a family run pizza business has received over a million $ from like minded bigots after being criticised for refusing to serve LGBTTAQI customers was so startling, infuriating and ridiculous, that several writers had a chat and decided to put their ire to good use. Invitations were issued, word spread and the initial group were soon joined by writers bloggers, designers, and publishing companies – in all two hundred and twenty four individuals – all of whom agreed that they too were just a little peeved and felt something should be done.

Now obviously there’s nothing to be done directly about the pizza parlour’s spectacular windfall but we can do a charity fund raiser of our own.

Click on the graphic to be taken to the master post where you will find a list of all participants and the instructions about how to win one of the many prizes.

What do you have to do? Donate to the LGBTTAQI charity of your choice then tell us about it in a comment to that blog post. No need to comment here. I’m just a conduit. When you comment, providing links to the charity’s donation page would be a really cool thing to do in case any potential donors would like to donate but haven’t chosen where yet. Not to be pushy but my own personal favourite is the Albert Kennedy Trust that does terrific work here in the UK by providing a safe clean home for LGBTTAQI youths who have nowhere else to go. HOWEVER, if you’ve read this far I’m sure you have your own favourite local charity and it would be really cool if you can show them some love. It doesn’t have to be much. For the price of a couple of days worth of fancy coffee AKT can take a kid off the street and give them a safe place to sleep for the night.

Here’s the link again. Please click it and do what you can.

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