February 14, 2025 • 27 mins
This is the first episode of Beyond the Breath, a weekly supplement to Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen, and a more casual look at current events.
This episode delves into the pressing issues currently affecting the LGBTQ community, emphasizing the vital need for allies to speak out against injustices. We explore the poignant correlation between historical apathy and contemporary silence regarding marginalized voices, underscored by the powerful poem "First They Came" by Martin Niemoller. Through a series of real stories and discussions, we aim to illuminate the ongoing struggles faced by LGBTQ individuals, encouraging listeners to reflect on their roles as advocates for change. Furthermore, we address recent developments in legislation and highlight organizations actively working to support trans youth amidst a climate of increasing hostility. Ultimately, we endeavor to foster a spirit of engagement and hope, urging our audience to recognize their unique capacities to contribute positively to the discourse and actions surrounding these critical matters.
Takeaways:
- The podcast aims to create a more casual space for discussing significant social issues.
- Through real stories and conversations, we can better support LGBTQ individuals and allies.
- Listeners are encouraged to engage with stories that highlight LGBTQ experiences and activism.
- The episode emphasizes the importance of speaking out against injustices affecting marginalized communities.
- We must reflect on our own choices regarding engagement with those who exhibit willful ignorance.
- The podcast highlights various resources and organizations dedicated to supporting trans youth and LGBTQ rights.
Companies mentioned in this episode:
- Ologies (podcast)
- Campaign for Southern Equality
- GLSEN
- Human Rights Campaign
- Erin in the Morning Substack with Trans Girl Scouts info
- Pattie Gonia Ted Talk
Connect with Heather:
Join the Kind Space on Patreon
Give a copy of Heather's book, Parenting with Pride.
Join Heather's Substack and Mid Week Breath weekly newsletter
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:46):
Hi, welcome to beyond the Breath.
I'm so glad you're here.
This is going to be a more.
Casual version of Just Breathe.
It's something that I havefelt compelled to do given that there's
so much going on right now.
I absolutely plan oncontinuing Just Breathe, parenting
(01:10):
your LGBTQ teen.
But I thought this would be agood way to really look at.
Talk about all the things thatare going on in our country, in the
world, and not only how it isaffecting the LGBTQ people in our
life and being an ally andjust being caring human beings, but
(01:33):
talking about other thingsthat are going on and how we can
make a difference and how wecan speak up and who are doing good
things in the world and how wecan support that.
And so I thought doing thiswould be a great way just to do something
that's a little more casual,talking about real stories, having
(01:55):
real conversations.
I absolutely do plan on havingpeople on to interview, to discuss.
And I just thought that todayI would start out with a poem that
I know everybody has seenflying around all of the areas of
(02:16):
the Internet, all of you know,whether it's social media or online
or substack or medium orwhatever, your pick your poison.
But certainly, you know, thisstarted popping up last year.
Again, the poem, first theyCame by Martin Niemoller.
(02:37):
And I'm not sure if that's how.
You say it, but that's how I'mgoing to say it today.
If somebody has the correctpronunciation, please.
Feel free to let me know.
But I think it's a fascinating.
He has a fascinating story,and his version, of course, is from.
(02:59):
Right after.
World War II, I believe, andit goes like this.
First they came for thesocialists, but I did not speak out
because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists.
And I did not speak outbecause I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and.
(03:20):
I did not speak out because Iwas not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there.
Was no one left to speak for me.
And I've been thinking aboutthis a lot and thinking about how
it directly correlates to whatis going on now in our country.
Thinking about.
(03:41):
First they came for the.
Immigrant who spoke out.
Are you speaking out?
Am I speaking out?
Are we making enough noise?
Then they came for thetransgender people.
Our transgender friends and family.
Did we speak out enough?
Are we making enough noise?
(04:03):
Then they came for women.
Did we speak out enough?
Are we making enough noise?
Who else?
Who's next?
And I would just love to hearyour thoughts on how perhaps the
rest of this is going to go,and at what point we make enough
(04:23):
noise that the poem stops,that we do something.
So I really, really lookforward to hearing what you have
to say about this.
I continually think about itand think about people in my life
that I wish were sayingsomething that I wish would care,
(04:46):
that I wish would see thingsthe way that I see things.
And unfortunately, they do not.
So just curious if this isresonating with anyone.
So I think the way that thisis really the way I'd really like.
To do this starting today iskind of looking at what has happened
(05:10):
in the past week and what thebig stories are.
And of course, there are lotsof different media out there doing
this, but I'd really like tospotlight stories that are specific,
specifically LGBTQ stories andstories that, you know, whether it's
something that I've hearddirectly, something that I read somewhere,
(05:32):
something that I just feel isimportant to talk about, that is
where we're going to start,and then we.
Will go from there.
So my daughter shared apodcast with me today, and I have
heard she's.
She loves this podcast.
It's one that she listens to alot and I have listened to from time
(05:55):
to time.
It's called Ologies, and it'sa cool, cool podcast.
It's Alie Ward, who is the host.
And founder of this podcast,and she does all.
Every episode is on adifferent kind.
Of ology, like, you know,biology or sociology.
Anything that has an ology onthe end, she examines and talks about
(06:16):
and has cool guests on to talk about.
And the one that she sharedwith me today was on Agnotology,
which is Willful ignorance.
And I just thought the timingwas perfect to share this with me.
I definitely needed this today.
(06:36):
And to hear somebody do anactual study on this was fascinating.
And the guest that she had onwas a man named Dr.
Robert Proctor.
I just highly recommend thatyou hop on wherever you listen to
your.
Your podcast and take a listenand just take a listen to all of
hers, because she's phenomenal.
But this episode on WillfulIgnorance, I thought was fascinating
(07:01):
and really helpful tounderstand the psyche of a lot of
what's going on right now.
And I feel like oftentimesthings happen for a reason or things
follow each.
Other in order for a reason.
And I just so happened to getan email later today from somebody
(07:24):
that.
I won't go into too much detail.
Other than to say that it wassomebody who was being willfully
ignorant and somebody That Iknow well enough to know that they
are an intelligent human beingand they are well read.
And one of the things thatthey actually do is study humans
and create around that.
So this email that I received,I was very surprised by.
(07:50):
And I, you know, wrote thiswhole response because I was really
activated by it and just kindof making a point about their willful
ignorance.
And then I read it to Steveand he was like, you can't send that.
Which of course rule numberone is you don't send an email before
(08:13):
sitting on it for 24 hours.
Right.
And it wasn't mean.
It was just a, you know, a response.
And it was a very spirited response.
How about that?
Anyway, I was reminded in allof that that I have a choice.
And we all have the choicealways as to whether or not we engage,
(08:37):
whether or not I choose toengage with somebody who is being
willfully ignorant as opposedto someone who is interested in having
a meaningful conversation,someone who is curious, someone who
is confused or misinformed ornot informed or all of these other
(09:04):
things.
We have choices.
And so I just wanted to shareall of that because I'm sure most,
most of you have been throughsomething similar.
And, and I wanted to recommend a.
Really cool podcast that hasnothing to.
Do with politics or anythingthat I typically talk about on here.
(09:26):
So I recommend it as a podcastto just listen to and learn from,
which is always fun.
So moving on to kind of a.
Summary of the news of the week.
And this is really things thatI've just have jumped out at me this
week that I wanted to talkabout today.
(09:47):
And you know, as this podcast grows.
And changes over time, I'msure this.
Will grow and change as well.
But for this week, these arethe things that kind of jumped out
at me and that I, I feltimportant to highlight.
The first is actually from anemail that a friend of mine shared
(10:09):
with me from the Campaign forSouthern Equality.
And a couple of years ago,they actually started within the
Campaign for Southern Equality.
They started the Trans YouthEmergency Service, which helps families
of trans youth nationwide.
Who have been impacted byrestrictions on gender affirming
(10:31):
care.
I'm going to put the link for.
The Campaign for SouthernEquality in the.
Show notes so you can take alook, learn some more about them.
They have been doing greatthings for many, many years.
But I think especially rightnow, this Trans Youth Emergency Service
(10:52):
is something that if you havea trans child, if you know somebody
who does, if you know somebodywho is struggling, this is a really
great service to share with them.
The next thing that popped up on.
My radar was or is about twoorganizations that I often refer
(11:15):
to and who I have a great dealof respect for and you know, follow
their.
Research and their findingsand share as resources to other people.
And it's Gilson and HumanRights Campaign and they have both
or are both going throughlayoffs of a sizable percentage of
(11:39):
their staffs, each as a resultof loss of corporate donors due to
right wing attacks.
And I think, you know, we'regoing to see that across the board
on any, anybody who'sconsidered, quote, unquote, dei.
(12:00):
And you know, that's aconversation for, for another day,
certainly.
But I found this, I first wasreally dismayed when I saw it because
I thought, oh no, these aresuch good support agencies and not
for profits.
And they do offer, you know,hope and they offer just so many
(12:23):
different things.
You know, GLSEN is a, is veryspecific to education and of course
Human Rights Campaign isspecific to human rights more generally.
So what I found though inreading more closely is obviously
they did it to kind ofreorganize, but what I, what gave
(12:44):
me hope is that they are alsodoing this as a way to shift and
strengthen their strategies tomeet this specific moment.
And that is the piece that Ireally want to hone in on because
it's been something that I'vebeen sitting with a lot is how do
(13:08):
we need to shift our approach,how do we shift, how we help?
And so I just encourage you, Iwill also link this, I'll link all
of these things in the shownotes, so don't worry.
So if this is something that you're.
Interested in learning moreabout or just.
Curious about, you can readthe entire article about them and
(13:31):
go check out both of theirwebsites if you're not familiar with
them.
The next piece of news is justa good piece of news and I had to
share it because this is aboutthe Kansas governor and being another
Midwestern state and a statethat is typically thought of as pretty
(13:54):
darn red.
The Kansas governor this weekvetoed the.
Ban on gender affirming carefor trans youth.
And I just think that's goodnews and this is something to be
really, really delighted andhappy about.
So wanted to share that.
(14:15):
And then finally, somethingthat also just brought me great joy
to see.
As I had read an article about.
Drag queens right before I gotto this article.
The drag queen and climateactivist named.
Patty Gonia has become thefirst person.
(14:36):
To deliver a TED Talk in dragon the organization's main stage.
The talk was entitled why Joyis a Serious Way to Take Action.
It is refreshing, it isthought provoking and obviously it's
timely and I encourage you towatch it.
(14:58):
It's 10 minutes and it willjust, in addition to just being visually
delightful.
It'S a lovely message.
So go watch it.
Go go watch it.
So the next part of of thispodcast on Fridays, I think is going
(15:21):
to be talking about new courtcases that are filed.
And I one of the ways that youcan easily look this up and really
they track both bills that arein legislation as well as court cases
across courts and you can lookup different intersections of what
(15:45):
your interest is.
For the purpose of thisparticular podcast, I'm looking at
specifically LGBTQ bills andcourt cases, but I do like ACLU for
this information.
It's accurate, it's updatedall the time, it's factual, and you
(16:07):
can click through oneverything and actually follow it
and see what's going on.
So currently they are tracking340 anti LGBTQ bills in various stages
of legislature across theUnited States.
And most of these, I did notdo the math on the percentage, but
(16:31):
most of these are anti transbills, so definitely keep an eye
on those.
Again, you can go to their website.
And you can see, you can clickon your specific state and you can
look and see what is going onwithin your state's legislature as
(16:51):
far as bills and what thebills are and what they stand for
and, and if there are billswithin bills and all of that.
So if this is something thatyou're interest in, I highly recommend
that you go there.
They are also tracking 1523court cases across all levels of
the courts that are specificto LGBTQ issues.
(17:18):
And I just thought that was anextraordinary number because I know
that we're all feeling like,is anybody doing anything?
What's going on?
Are people, you know, arepeople making noise?
Are people doing something tostop this barrage of cruelty and
(17:42):
just nonsensical rubbishthat's coming out of this administration.
And so I think to seesomething like this, read about it,
read what's being done, readwhat people are doing on the ground
in these cities of all sizesis encouraging and it is hopeful
(18:07):
and people are fighting andpeople are doing the work and people
are looking at, and this iswhy I really wanted to talk about
this too, is people arelooking at and asking, what are my
particular talents?
What are my strengths?
(18:28):
It is times like this that really.
Make us when we're so stressed or.
Anxious or overwhelmed, it'shard to really hone in on, okay,
this is what I can do.
And so being able to pause fora moment and think, okay, what are
my talents?
What am I good at?
(18:48):
What can I do in my community?
If you're an attorney, arethere any organizations within your
community that could use your advice?
If you think about the thingsthat you do?
Well, if you're a writer, arethere any organizations that could
use your talent of writing,your talent of communicating, really.
(19:12):
Think about the things thatyou like to do.
And there is an organizationout there.
That could use your help, thatcould use your talent, and that is
how all of theseorganizations, from the grassroots
up, thrive and how they growand how they make a difference.
At the end, I'm going to gointo this a little bit more, so just
(19:35):
hang on to that thought for a second.
Before we get to that, I justwanted to mention one other article,
really good news that I thatjust came in today.
Thursday, February 13th afederal judge blocks.
Donald Trump's ban on genderaffirming care.
(19:57):
Nation wide A federal judgehas blocked.
President Donald Trump'sexecutive orders seeking to ban gender
affirming care for transgenderpeople under the age of 19.
Trump's order is now blocked nationwide.
In his Thursday ruling, U.S.
district Judge.
(20:17):
Brendan Herson, an appointee,President Joe Biden.
Declared that Trump issued hisban without legal authority, making
his orders an illegal andunconstitutional form of discrimination.
Trump's order seeks to banyouth and adults under the age of
(20:38):
19 from.
Accessing puberty blockers,hormone therapy and surgical procedures.
Several hospitals stoppedoffering gender affirming care in
response to Trump's order,effectively forcing trans patients
to detransition, a process which.
Can cause physical andpsychological pain.
(20:59):
Stopping care in the middle ofreceiving it, any care really casts
doubt on whether in fact thegoals are to protect the recipients
of the care, judge Hersonwrote in his ruling.
Ruling.
Additionally, Trump's orderdirected the heads of all government
agencies to stop funding toall medical institutions, including
(21:23):
medical schools and.
Hospitals that research, teachabout or provide gender affirming
care.
This would not only result inthe loss of hundreds of billions
of dollars that keep theseinstitutions operating, but would
also guarantee that pediatricmedical students nationwide do not
learn how to treat gender dysphoria.
(21:44):
For Judge Herson's ruling nowtemporarily prohibits federal agencies
from withholding orconditioning funding to these institutions.
And you can go ahead, I'll, I'll.
Put in the link and you can.
Go ahead and read the rest of.
This really good article byDaniel Villarreal.
(22:04):
And it's just, just really,really good good news and the final
piece of good news and good to do.
I want to end each of theseepisodes with something that you
can do that is good, somethingthat you know will make you feel
(22:25):
good.
That is a good deed or a goodthing to do in the world.
And I heard about this througha person I just started following
on Substack Aaron in the morning.
And I thought this was so wonderful.
And I'm gonna.
I'm gonna link.
They list all of thesedifferent kids.
(22:48):
Oh, my goodness.
But it is trans Girl Scout troops.
So Girl Scout troops thatsupport trans girls.
And you can order your GirlScout cookies from them, which I
might.
I don't know if you're like meor not, but I love a thin mint and
(23:08):
I look forward to this time ofyear every year.
And my youngest was actuallymad the other day because we didn't
order the kind that he likes.
So guess what?
I just went on here and placedmy order.
So there are, I think, likefive or six girls you can choose
from.
Oh, my goodness.
Actually, more than that, I'mflipping through.
(23:30):
So choose 1 or 2 or 3.
And buy your cookies from them.
You can order them online,they can be shipped to you.
You can get your Girl Scout fix.
For the year and you can do.
Something good and just, youknow, yay to the Girl Scouts of America
for.
Always being trans positiveand for supporting.
(23:50):
Trans girls and creating aloving and safe environment.
And I am just.
That just makes my heart happyand joyful.
So to round all of this up,when you are feeling overwhelmed
or anxious or it's just toomuch, I want you to think about your
(24:16):
talents.
Think about your what you'regood at.
Pick one podcast to listen to.
Not ten.
Pick one reliable independentnews source that you're going to
focus on for a little bit.
One organization where you candonate your.
Time or your money or your talents.
(24:38):
One action that you can do andfocus on those.
And I promise you that will bring.
You out of that state of overwhelm.
It'll help get you grounded.
It'll help you most of all,feel hopeful.
I'm really looking forward tobringing these episodes to you on
(25:01):
a weekly basis.
If you have any thoughts onwhat you would like for me to bring.
During these episodes orpieces of news.
That you find that are awesomeand amazing, you can email them to
me.
My email is in the show notes.
And I do always love to hearfrom people.
(25:23):
Until next week, take goodcare and stay safe.
Hi, welcome to beyond the Breath.
I'm so glad you're here.
This is going to be a more.
Casual version of Just Breathe.
It's something that I havefelt compelled to do given that there's
so much going on right now.
I absolutely plan oncontinuing Just Breathe, parenting
(01:10):
your LGBTQ teen.
But I thought this would be agood way to really look at.
Talk about all the things thatare going on in our country, in the
world, and not only how it isaffecting the LGBTQ people in our
life and being an ally andjust being caring human beings, but
(01:33):
talking about other thingsthat are going on and how we can
make a difference and how wecan speak up and who are doing good
things in the world and how wecan support that.
And so I thought doing thiswould be a great way just to do something
that's a little more casual,talking about real stories, having
(01:55):
real conversations.
I absolutely do plan on havingpeople on to interview, to discuss.
And I just thought that todayI would start out with a poem that
I know everybody has seenflying around all of the areas of
(02:16):
the Internet, all of you know,whether it's social media or online
or substack or medium orwhatever, your pick your poison.
But certainly, you know, thisstarted popping up last year.
Again, the poem, first theyCame by Martin Niemoller.
(02:37):
And I'm not sure if that's how.
You say it, but that's how I'mgoing to say it today.
If somebody has the correctpronunciation, please.
Feel free to let me know.
But I think it's a fascinating.
He has a fascinating story,and his version, of course, is from.
(02:59):
Right after.
World War II, I believe, andit goes like this.
First they came for thesocialists, but I did not speak out
because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists.
And I did not speak outbecause I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and.
(03:20):
I did not speak out because Iwas not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there.
Was no one left to speak for me.
And I've been thinking aboutthis a lot and thinking about how
it directly correlates to whatis going on now in our country.
Thinking about.
(03:41):
First they came for the.
Immigrant who spoke out.
Are you speaking out?
Am I speaking out?
Are we making enough noise?
Then they came for thetransgender people.
Our transgender friends and family.
Did we speak out enough?
Are we making enough noise?
(04:03):
Then they came for women.
Did we speak out enough?
Are we making enough noise?
Who else?
Who's next?
And I would just love to hearyour thoughts on how perhaps the
rest of this is going to go,and at what point we make enough
(04:23):
noise that the poem stops,that we do something.
So I really, really lookforward to hearing what you have
to say about this.
I continually think about itand think about people in my life
that I wish were sayingsomething that I wish would care,
(04:46):
that I wish would see thingsthe way that I see things.
And unfortunately, they do not.
So just curious if this isresonating with anyone.
So I think the way that thisis really the way I'd really like.
To do this starting today iskind of looking at what has happened
(05:10):
in the past week and what thebig stories are.
And of course, there are lotsof different media out there doing
this, but I'd really like tospotlight stories that are specific,
specifically LGBTQ stories andstories that, you know, whether it's
something that I've hearddirectly, something that I read somewhere,
(05:32):
something that I just feel isimportant to talk about, that is
where we're going to start,and then we.
Will go from there.
So my daughter shared apodcast with me today, and I have
heard she's.
She loves this podcast.
It's one that she listens to alot and I have listened to from time
(05:55):
to time.
It's called Ologies, and it'sa cool, cool podcast.
It's Alie Ward, who is the host.
And founder of this podcast,and she does all.
Every episode is on adifferent kind.
Of ology, like, you know,biology or sociology.
Anything that has an ology onthe end, she examines and talks about
(06:16):
and has cool guests on to talk about.
And the one that she sharedwith me today was on Agnotology,
which is Willful ignorance.
And I just thought the timingwas perfect to share this with me.
I definitely needed this today.
(06:36):
And to hear somebody do anactual study on this was fascinating.
And the guest that she had onwas a man named Dr.
Robert Proctor.
I just highly recommend thatyou hop on wherever you listen to
your.
Your podcast and take a listenand just take a listen to all of
hers, because she's phenomenal.
But this episode on WillfulIgnorance, I thought was fascinating
(07:01):
and really helpful tounderstand the psyche of a lot of
what's going on right now.
And I feel like oftentimesthings happen for a reason or things
follow each.
Other in order for a reason.
And I just so happened to getan email later today from somebody
(07:24):
that.
I won't go into too much detail.
Other than to say that it wassomebody who was being willfully
ignorant and somebody That Iknow well enough to know that they
are an intelligent human beingand they are well read.
And one of the things thatthey actually do is study humans
and create around that.
So this email that I received,I was very surprised by.
(07:50):
And I, you know, wrote thiswhole response because I was really
activated by it and just kindof making a point about their willful
ignorance.
And then I read it to Steveand he was like, you can't send that.
Which of course rule numberone is you don't send an email before
(08:13):
sitting on it for 24 hours.
Right.
And it wasn't mean.
It was just a, you know, a response.
And it was a very spirited response.
How about that?
Anyway, I was reminded in allof that that I have a choice.
And we all have the choicealways as to whether or not we engage,
(08:37):
whether or not I choose toengage with somebody who is being
willfully ignorant as opposedto someone who is interested in having
a meaningful conversation,someone who is curious, someone who
is confused or misinformed ornot informed or all of these other
(09:04):
things.
We have choices.
And so I just wanted to shareall of that because I'm sure most,
most of you have been throughsomething similar.
And, and I wanted to recommend a.
Really cool podcast that hasnothing to.
Do with politics or anythingthat I typically talk about on here.
(09:26):
So I recommend it as a podcastto just listen to and learn from,
which is always fun.
So moving on to kind of a.
Summary of the news of the week.
And this is really things thatI've just have jumped out at me this
week that I wanted to talkabout today.
(09:47):
And you know, as this podcast grows.
And changes over time, I'msure this.
Will grow and change as well.
But for this week, these arethe things that kind of jumped out
at me and that I, I feltimportant to highlight.
The first is actually from anemail that a friend of mine shared
(10:09):
with me from the Campaign forSouthern Equality.
And a couple of years ago,they actually started within the
Campaign for Southern Equality.
They started the Trans YouthEmergency Service, which helps families
of trans youth nationwide.
Who have been impacted byrestrictions on gender affirming
(10:31):
care.
I'm going to put the link for.
The Campaign for SouthernEquality in the.
Show notes so you can take alook, learn some more about them.
They have been doing greatthings for many, many years.
But I think especially rightnow, this Trans Youth Emergency Service
(10:52):
is something that if you havea trans child, if you know somebody
who does, if you know somebodywho is struggling, this is a really
great service to share with them.
The next thing that popped up on.
My radar was or is about twoorganizations that I often refer
(11:15):
to and who I have a great dealof respect for and you know, follow
their.
Research and their findingsand share as resources to other people.
And it's Gilson and HumanRights Campaign and they have both
or are both going throughlayoffs of a sizable percentage of
(11:39):
their staffs, each as a resultof loss of corporate donors due to
right wing attacks.
And I think, you know, we'regoing to see that across the board
on any, anybody who'sconsidered, quote, unquote, dei.
(12:00):
And you know, that's aconversation for, for another day,
certainly.
But I found this, I first wasreally dismayed when I saw it because
I thought, oh no, these aresuch good support agencies and not
for profits.
And they do offer, you know,hope and they offer just so many
(12:23):
different things.
You know, GLSEN is a, is veryspecific to education and of course
Human Rights Campaign isspecific to human rights more generally.
So what I found though inreading more closely is obviously
they did it to kind ofreorganize, but what I, what gave
(12:44):
me hope is that they are alsodoing this as a way to shift and
strengthen their strategies tomeet this specific moment.
And that is the piece that Ireally want to hone in on because
it's been something that I'vebeen sitting with a lot is how do
(13:08):
we need to shift our approach,how do we shift, how we help?
And so I just encourage you, Iwill also link this, I'll link all
of these things in the shownotes, so don't worry.
So if this is something that you're.
Interested in learning moreabout or just.
Curious about, you can readthe entire article about them and
(13:31):
go check out both of theirwebsites if you're not familiar with
them.
The next piece of news is justa good piece of news and I had to
share it because this is aboutthe Kansas governor and being another
Midwestern state and a statethat is typically thought of as pretty
(13:54):
darn red.
The Kansas governor this weekvetoed the.
Ban on gender affirming carefor trans youth.
And I just think that's goodnews and this is something to be
really, really delighted andhappy about.
So wanted to share that.
(14:15):
And then finally, somethingthat also just brought me great joy
to see.
As I had read an article about.
Drag queens right before I gotto this article.
The drag queen and climateactivist named.
Patty Gonia has become thefirst person.
(14:36):
To deliver a TED Talk in dragon the organization's main stage.
The talk was entitled why Joyis a Serious Way to Take Action.
It is refreshing, it isthought provoking and obviously it's
timely and I encourage you towatch it.
(14:58):
It's 10 minutes and it willjust, in addition to just being visually
delightful.
It'S a lovely message.
So go watch it.
Go go watch it.
So the next part of of thispodcast on Fridays, I think is going
(15:21):
to be talking about new courtcases that are filed.
And I one of the ways that youcan easily look this up and really
they track both bills that arein legislation as well as court cases
across courts and you can lookup different intersections of what
(15:45):
your interest is.
For the purpose of thisparticular podcast, I'm looking at
specifically LGBTQ bills andcourt cases, but I do like ACLU for
this information.
It's accurate, it's updatedall the time, it's factual, and you
(16:07):
can click through oneverything and actually follow it
and see what's going on.
So currently they are tracking340 anti LGBTQ bills in various stages
of legislature across theUnited States.
And most of these, I did notdo the math on the percentage, but
(16:31):
most of these are anti transbills, so definitely keep an eye
on those.
Again, you can go to their website.
And you can see, you can clickon your specific state and you can
look and see what is going onwithin your state's legislature as
(16:51):
far as bills and what thebills are and what they stand for
and, and if there are billswithin bills and all of that.
So if this is something thatyou're interest in, I highly recommend
that you go there.
They are also tracking 1523court cases across all levels of
the courts that are specificto LGBTQ issues.
(17:18):
And I just thought that was anextraordinary number because I know
that we're all feeling like,is anybody doing anything?
What's going on?
Are people, you know, arepeople making noise?
Are people doing something tostop this barrage of cruelty and
(17:42):
just nonsensical rubbishthat's coming out of this administration.
And so I think to seesomething like this, read about it,
read what's being done, readwhat people are doing on the ground
in these cities of all sizesis encouraging and it is hopeful
(18:07):
and people are fighting andpeople are doing the work and people
are looking at, and this iswhy I really wanted to talk about
this too, is people arelooking at and asking, what are my
particular talents?
What are my strengths?
(18:28):
It is times like this that really.
Make us when we're so stressed or.
Anxious or overwhelmed, it'shard to really hone in on, okay,
this is what I can do.
And so being able to pause fora moment and think, okay, what are
my talents?
What am I good at?
(18:48):
What can I do in my community?
If you're an attorney, arethere any organizations within your
community that could use your advice?
If you think about the thingsthat you do?
Well, if you're a writer, arethere any organizations that could
use your talent of writing,your talent of communicating, really.
(19:12):
Think about the things thatyou like to do.
And there is an organizationout there.
That could use your help, thatcould use your talent, and that is
how all of theseorganizations, from the grassroots
up, thrive and how they growand how they make a difference.
At the end, I'm going to gointo this a little bit more, so just
(19:35):
hang on to that thought for a second.
Before we get to that, I justwanted to mention one other article,
really good news that I thatjust came in today.
Thursday, February 13th afederal judge blocks.
Donald Trump's ban on genderaffirming care.
(19:57):
Nation wide A federal judgehas blocked.
President Donald Trump'sexecutive orders seeking to ban gender
affirming care for transgenderpeople under the age of 19.
Trump's order is now blocked nationwide.
In his Thursday ruling, U.S.
district Judge.
(20:17):
Brendan Herson, an appointee,President Joe Biden.
Declared that Trump issued hisban without legal authority, making
his orders an illegal andunconstitutional form of discrimination.
Trump's order seeks to banyouth and adults under the age of
(20:38):
19 from.
Accessing puberty blockers,hormone therapy and surgical procedures.
Several hospitals stoppedoffering gender affirming care in
response to Trump's order,effectively forcing trans patients
to detransition, a process which.
Can cause physical andpsychological pain.
(20:59):
Stopping care in the middle ofreceiving it, any care really casts
doubt on whether in fact thegoals are to protect the recipients
of the care, judge Hersonwrote in his ruling.
Ruling.
Additionally, Trump's orderdirected the heads of all government
agencies to stop funding toall medical institutions, including
(21:23):
medical schools and.
Hospitals that research, teachabout or provide gender affirming
care.
This would not only result inthe loss of hundreds of billions
of dollars that keep theseinstitutions operating, but would
also guarantee that pediatricmedical students nationwide do not
learn how to treat gender dysphoria.
(21:44):
For Judge Herson's ruling nowtemporarily prohibits federal agencies
from withholding orconditioning funding to these institutions.
And you can go ahead, I'll, I'll.
Put in the link and you can.
Go ahead and read the rest of.
This really good article byDaniel Villarreal.
(22:04):
And it's just, just really,really good good news and the final
piece of good news and good to do.
I want to end each of theseepisodes with something that you
can do that is good, somethingthat you know will make you feel
(22:25):
good.
That is a good deed or a goodthing to do in the world.
And I heard about this througha person I just started following
on Substack Aaron in the morning.
And I thought this was so wonderful.
And I'm gonna.
I'm gonna link.
They list all of thesedifferent kids.
(22:48):
Oh, my goodness.
But it is trans Girl Scout troops.
So Girl Scout troops thatsupport trans girls.
And you can order your GirlScout cookies from them, which I
might.
I don't know if you're like meor not, but I love a thin mint and
(23:08):
I look forward to this time ofyear every year.
And my youngest was actuallymad the other day because we didn't
order the kind that he likes.
So guess what?
I just went on here and placedmy order.
So there are, I think, likefive or six girls you can choose
from.
Oh, my goodness.
Actually, more than that, I'mflipping through.
(23:30):
So choose 1 or 2 or 3.
And buy your cookies from them.
You can order them online,they can be shipped to you.
You can get your Girl Scout fix.
For the year and you can do.
Something good and just, youknow, yay to the Girl Scouts of America
for.
Always being trans positiveand for supporting.
(23:50):
Trans girls and creating aloving and safe environment.
And I am just.
That just makes my heart happyand joyful.
So to round all of this up,when you are feeling overwhelmed
or anxious or it's just toomuch, I want you to think about your
(24:16):
talents.
Think about your what you'regood at.
Pick one podcast to listen to.
Not ten.
Pick one reliable independentnews source that you're going to
focus on for a little bit.
One organization where you candonate your.
Time or your money or your talents.
(24:38):
One action that you can do andfocus on those.
And I promise you that will bring.
You out of that state of overwhelm.
It'll help get you grounded.
It'll help you most of all,feel hopeful.
I'm really looking forward tobringing these episodes to you on
(25:01):
a weekly basis.
If you have any thoughts onwhat you would like for me to bring.
During these episodes orpieces of news.
That you find that are awesomeand amazing, you can email them to
me.
My email is in the show notes.
And I do always love to hearfrom people.
(25:23):
Until next week, take goodcare and stay safe.
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