A Queer Pilgrim

"Good things come in threes" is an adage that comes from Medieval Europe, in which, well, good things, good messages, good news, important things, came in sets of threes. Biblically there were three Magi. Then there is also God in three persons, "blessed Trinity." Such is the case with December 1st and the following three milestones: First, it is World AIDS Day, in which we remember not only those who have died because of HIV/AIDS, but also because of those who continue to live who are HIV positive (HIV poz), as well as the scientific work that provides medicines to prevent further HIV infection, along with the possible cure and vaccine, some day, of being HIV poz at all. Being HIV poz is no longer the proverbial "death sentence" that it once was, and the new medications are proving helpful in stopping the spread of HIV. We celebrate the scientific advances that have been made. The world anxiously looks forward to more miracles with science and medicines i...

I may be out of my league with this post about country western music. The reason? I don't usually listen to such music. I prefer blue grass-country music, especially coming from 25 years in North Carolina, in which Carolina Chocolate Drops, Chatham County Line, and Steep Canyon Rangers would now and then show up at Cat's Cradle, a great music venue in Carrboro, NC. Country western music is known as some of the most soul-fun music, modern day ballads, often about unexpected love found, love realized, love nurtured, and love lost, but the memory lingers on.  Recently, there is an emerging gay presence in country western music, or I think I should say country and western music. Recently, Lil Nas X--who is Black and gay--has made inroads in country western music in his song, "Old Town Road," with imagery and references to country western themes and cowboy imagery, but bringing in some of his rap artistry. Along with Lil Nas, there is also country's T.J. Osbourn...

  Recently, a conservative columnist made this audacious comment, wondering what if gay men were treated like "pariahs" during the AIDS crisis the way COVID non-vaccinated people are (Newsweek, 11/18/21)? Yes, gay men were treated like pariahs during the AIDS crisis. No, COVID non-vaccinated people are not being treated like pariahs. They are rightly treated as a menace to society at large. COVID can be easily spread in the air by COVID infected people. In the 1980s, gay men who were HIV+ were never a menace to the common good. They were simply infected.   On a conservative channel, Newsmax, Prager asked this question:  "During the AIDS crisis, can you imagine if gay men and intravenous drug users, who were the vast majority of the people with AIDS, had they been pariahs the way the non-vaccinated are? But it would have been inconceivable. And it should have been inconceivable." In response,  " Twitter user David Lytle wrote, "A reminder that I'm from ...

My apologies. I'm a little late in highlighting "Banned Book Week," which was Sept. 26-Oct. 2, 2021, sponsored by the American Library Association. One was George by Alex Gino, that was banned because of its LGBTQIA+ content. Then there are the old favorites to be banned: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck;  To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee; The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison; and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. In the last few days, Beloved by Toni Morrison made a splash in the Virginia Governor's election, because the Republican candidate supported a person, who is probably going to vote for him, who wants to ban the book,  Beloved from libraries in the Virginia public school system.  Not to be left behind with repressive, hurtful, and suppressive acts towards minorities, including LGBTQIA+ people, Governor Abbott of Texas made sure that Texas is back on everyone's radar as being a state government that is largely anti-LGBTQIA...