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Pen Points
Letters to Gay Today |
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Freedom Riders:
I actually welcomed his request in spite of the fact that I wasn't feeling that good yet and my husband and I rarely ever leave our beach home to go to busy Tampa, especially when such an enormous crowd is expected. We avoid that place at every turn. But I heard Bob saying to me "Meet me on the corner of Hines and Tampa Bay Blvd" and like a little kid, ready to party, I answered OK (short for "oh, goody goody"). Then I called another woman Bob asked me to call. She was very busy with her teenagers but enthused anyway to also to go protest the Super Bowl. She said she would take pictures of the banner that Bob purchased to fly by airplane over the Super Bowl. The banner would say, "BUSH STOLE THE ELECTION" and give the website www.oralmajorityonline.com. I agreed to make protest signs with my computer .We were psyched! As I made the posters, I had time to think, "Why was I doing this?". As a psychotherapist who studied human behavior for more than twenty five years in the Community and in my private practice, I would often encourage my clients to express their anger and frustration rather than hold it all in and let it turn into some kind of physical symptom. I rarely get angry on a daily basis except when it relates to my beloved country and those who appear to discard the very people (Americans) who make it real. For the past eight years we witnessed the Clintons dodging criticisms, accusations, innuendoes, and investigations of a great variety. It was even depicted by Hillary as the "vast right wing conspiracy", and I happen to believe her. And now I believe it is time to turn a negative into a positive to reduce the internal feelings of anger and frustration that so many of us have endured for the past eight years. It is PAYBACK TIME! It's time to pay back those who turned down a Hillary's Health Care Plan, time to pay back those who voted against gays in the military, time to pay back those who spent millions on exposing our President's personal life, time to payback those who shut down the Government, time to payback those who spent millions of taxpayer dollars on Ken Star's investigations, time to payback the Media for presenting subliminal messages to get Bush elected at any cost, time to payback Jeb Bush, Katherine Harris, and Theresa Lepore for their total discarding of American Democratic process, and time to pay back all other atrocities, religious, racist, and corporate that have helped finance the BUSH Regime. OK that was why I gave up the comfort of my home and individual proclivities to go to the crowded vulgar display of personal self interest displayed on the streets of Tampa January 28th Super Bowl weekend. I also never saw people walking past tent after tent of Super Bowl memorabilia with beer bottles, cans and mixed drinks as they did in Tampa that day.
The corner was so big and there were so many people in cars and walking that I just couldn't see my fellow protestors anywhere. Determined to find them I took out one of my signs saying "Bush Stole the Election"and held it up. After all Carol didn't even know what I looked like, nor did I know how to recognize her. People in cars gave me the high sign and tried to get my attention, stating they agreed. Others offered the time worn cliché's, "get over it". I answered no one, since I was alone and never protested alone before. At one point, however a woman asked if she could have her picture taken with me and my sign and I agreed with some inward giggling. Time was moving, however and no Bob or Carol or other protestors in sight. I was getting nervous and then saw another religious protest group moving down the street toward the stadium. Could they be going to the Tampa designated area for protesting??? I followed for a long walk and finally after and hour and a half late, there was Bob with his Inauguration 2001 Crown, across the street. Boy, was I ever glad to see him, and he me ( so he said). Somehow, we lost Carol. Bob, like me had no other friends with him to protest Bush. There he was alone like me saying his favorite words, "NO MORE BUSHIT"! I joined him behind his table after taping my posters to the front of his table with bumper stickers and pins. He informed me the banner would be flying over the stadium at precisely 5:30. So we protested in unison, Jail To The Thief again and again with each of the hundreds of walkers and car passersby's. And we had a good response from people who agreed and claimed they were so glad to see us there. They were the ones who applauded our banner flying overhead. We had only one disgruntled Bush supporter who did try to tear down Bob's banners that were place in front of the table next to my posters. Most of the other Bushies were mild mannered, which surprised me since this was the day for all football fanatics to show their colors All they seemed to be Able to say to us was, "get over it". And we vowed -NO we will fight! We will encourage other Floridians to Fight and all Americans to stand up and protest rather that doing what Bush wants us to do. Two Protestors differed markedly from the thousands we witnessed last Saturday at the Inauguration, but nevertheless,we had a great impact. Half of the people were glad to see us there and the other half were warned that they could expect to see us on a more regular basis in the future and at equally large events and activities. Protesting is really good for what ails ya,and the country!
Suni Transgender Yearbook
If You are a Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Transgendered Adult, Join PFLAG Reno's National GLBT Years Book, an on-line gallery of the middle and high school year book pictures of GLBT adults. Help Show Today's GLBT Youth They Are Not Alone! (Become the person you always wanted to meet.) It's Free. It's Fun. It's Anonymous. It Matters. www.pflagreno.org/safeschools/yearsbook.html
Roger Donley |
President Bush (right) and nemesis Bob Kunst, head of Oral Majority 
A picture from the PFLAG-Reno GLBT Yearbook 
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