David Reddish

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How Russia’s war on Ukraine is a war on LGBTQ people

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As the world continues to watch the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine with horror, one question continues to plague the minds of queer activists in the West: what about the LGBTQ people?

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has a long record of oppression of the queer community from public humiliation and imprisonment to encouraging mob violence. Filmmaker David France documented Putin’s anti-gay campaign in his film Welcome to Chechnya [now streaming on HBO Max] which detailed queer oppression in the titular Russia-allied republic.

Will Ukraine face the same fate? We sat down with France to discuss the situation for LGBTQ people living in Russia and Ukraine, the state of the underground resistance, and how Vladimir Putin has declared all-out war on queer people. France also reveals how the same forces of oppression have infected the United States, and how preserving democracy may hold the only hope for LGBTQ people in the future.

Are you in contact with the Rainbow Railroad (an underground resistance that smuggles queer people out of Eastern Europe) in Ukraine?

I did just speak with David Isteev [from Welcome to Chechnya] who is doing rescues in the Caucasus. He wanted to talk about what was happening to queers in Russia because of the invasion.

So what’s the situation there?

They are despairing. I’ve never heard the kind of grimness from the folks I know that we’re hearing now. The entire leadership of the LGBTQ movement in Russia is now outside Russia.

They’ve all had to flee?

Correct. Not just because of the invasion, but there was also a crackdown in the months leading up. [The Putin government] has made it impossible for queer leaders to do their work, and they’ve strangled their source of funding. Now the borders are closed, so it’s not possible to move money into the country. It’s not possible to access the money they have in the country. And the people outside the country trying to help are delivering money to the border in cash.

Refugees fleeing Kiev. Via Shutterstock

I’m sure that carries a whole other set of risks.

Yes. And if they bring money in US dollars, is it possible to change it into rubles? And if it is rubles, it’s worth almost nothing.

So is the solution to escape?

Well, here’s another problem. It’s not possible to enter most countries without proving vaccination status, and with an approved vaccine. Almost nobody has approved Sputnik 5, the Russian vaccine, because they’ve never produced reputable data. So if you have Sputnik 5, you’re not getting into Europe.

Putin’s persecution of LGBTQ people is nothing new. Is this personal for him?

It is a strategy that works. 10 or 15 years ago, he discovered the more he spoke against queer folks, the more he generated a divide that turned people against people, instead of against the government.

Putin said he wants to install a new government in Ukraine. How safe is it to believe he would install a leader similar to the one he appointed in Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov?

Well, Putin has been using an anti-queer plank in Ukraine for the past decade alleging that if Ukraine joins NATO, they will have to recognize marriage equality. And in some corners, it has worked. It worked with the Russian Orthodox Church—in the past week, they’ve come out in favor of the invasion and against “the gay agenda.”

So what you’re actually saying—Putin’s fighting an international war on LGBTQ people?

Absolutely true. He’s saying modernity and liberalism equal queerness. He’s pulling the Iron Curtain closed again to resist the queer movement. It’s that central.

The Western media implies that the invasion of Ukraine is unpopular in Russia…

Well, from what I understand from my Russian friends is just the opposite. The people they talk to, family, for example, don’t believe [the invasion] is happening.

Pro-Ukrainian independence/LGBTQ protest. Via Shutterstock.

They don’t believe the war is real?

Correct. They have no access to Western or social media. The Kremlin made it a crime to report on Ukraine. People don’t have any reason to believe there is a war unless they have children coming back in body bags.

That’s a total page out of the Stalinist playbook.

That’s why it’s an Iron Curtain—you can’t communicate. And so many young Russians have great experiences traveling across Europe. They’re very integrated into world culture. And those are the people protesting in little pockets here and there. But between 10-15,000 have been arrested. People are just disappearing for saying there’s a war.

So let me ask you then: there seems to be this link between autocracy and autocratic-type leaders and homophobia or anti-queer sentiment. Why?

People want to know what’s causing their problems. It just turns out that it works if you say queers are to blame. Since Putin started his return to power on the backs of the queer community, other leaders take note. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is doing that in Hungary. It’s happening in Poland. It’s a successful campaign in Belarus. And Trump discovered you could do it here.

Indeed.

It’s a huge shock. For those of us that saw 50 years of LGBTQ civic engagement and thought it was a permanent victory are having to reckon with it getting rolled back. Look what just happened in the Virginia Governor’s race.

Or Florida. Or Texas. Or Georgia.

Mmhmm. And what’s happening to queers in Ukraine—many queer Russians had fled there. The LGBTQ community had a stronghold there, and now that’s at risk. Putin’s state department issued a “kill list” for invading forces to round up and kill political leadership in the country as well as LGBTQ leaders. They gave the hit list to an elite force out of Chechnya. And men can’t get out of Ukraine. They’re terrified.

What’s happening now has people scared. Will Putin go for broke? Will he level Kiev? Will flatten Odessa? Will he drop a nuclear bomb?

Russian bombing in Kiev. Via Shutterstock.

Well, if he drops a nuclear bomb, we all have a lot more to worry about.

Yes. And that’s why everyone is praising the Ukrainian resistance, but talking about [Putin’s] “off ramp.” He may feel like he has no choice but to throw everything at it. And if the West gives him Ukraine, what does that mean [for the rest of Eastern Europe]?

Is there anything we can do in the West?

We need to start talking about how queer panic is being weaponized as the chief articulation of Putin’s dissent for his own military actions. Continue to support the Rainbow Railroad. They’re not solving problems, but they are creating a pipeline for flight. That saves lives. And look to LGA Europe and LGA Asia. They’re doing important work too.

So then, how much of the future of LGBTQ equality is tied to democracy?

It is plain that where democracy is strong, our movement has been successful. There’s a 100% correlation. But crushing democracy in Ukraine will only harm queers there along with everybody else. Putin and his oligarchs have sucked trillions out of the economy and done nothing for the Russian people.

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Dr. Phil Shows his Anti-LGBT Stripes Once Again

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Dr. Phil is in the hot seat following an episode of his talk show featuring conservative blogger and podcaster/anti-trans activist Matt Walsh.

The episode aired on January 19 and featured Walsh, a self-described “fascist,” debating a non-binary couple. Over the course of the conversation, the couple, identified as “Ethan” and “Addison”, argued with Walsh about what constitutes a woman as he accused them of “appropriating womanhood.”

“This is one of the problems with left-wing gender ideology,” Walsh ranted. “No one who espouses it can even tell you what these words mean. What is a woman?”

Later in the exchange, words got especially heated when Addison asked Walsh, “I’m trying to understand. You definition of a woman is someone who is female, is what you said, right?”

“Correct,” Walsh answered. “A biological female.”

“So what happens when you have maybe someone who is female, a cisgender woman, as you just explained, that doesn’t have the ability to reproduce? Maybe she doesn’t have those organs–”

“I have answered the question,” Walsh snapped. “You sit up here and said ‘trans women are women.’ You tell me. What is a woman?”

Related: Dr. Oz’s Senate campaign is an even bigger trainwreck than we were expecting

Addison replied, “Womanhood is something that, as Ethan explained, I cannot define because I, myself…”

“But you use the word!” Walsh interrupted. “What did you mean when you said ‘trans women are women’ when you don’t know what that means?”

“I do not define what a woman is because I do not identify as a woman,” Addison explained. “Womanhood is an umbrella term that describes people who identify as a woman. Each person has their own relationship with their gender identity.”

At that point, the audience burst into applause.

Related: Dr. Oz won’t stop bitching about cancel culture and everyone on Twitter is like “Girl, byeeeee!”

Of course, to anyone who knows him, it should come as no surprise that Walsh came ready to spew transphobic vitriol. He has a long history of transphobia, having authored the children’s book Johnny the Walrus, which compares being transgender to pretending to be a walrus.

He also has a history of homophobia, having called Pride month a “celebration of vanity” and denounced adoption by same-sex couples. He has also defended the vigilante actions of Kyle Rittenhouse, opposes abortion, and claims that doing yoga is anti-Christian, among other things.

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Hundreds of visitors to these popular nightclubs will have to face quarantine

A COVID-19 outbreak in Australia has left the queer community reeling as more than 700 patrons of two Melbourne nightclubs have been forced into quarantine.

The Star-Observer reports that health officials in the nation have ordered partygoers of Peel Hotel and Sircuit Bar–two popular LGBTQ nightlife hotspots–into mandatory quarantine. A fellow clubgoer tested positive for the Omicron variant of COVID earlier this week, and confessed to visiting both Peel and Sircuit Bar on Monday (December 10).

“Anyone who attended the Sircuit Bar from 9pm to midnight and the Peel Hotel from 11.30pm to 3am on Friday 10 December needs to quarantine and get tested. The period of quarantine begins from their time of exposure at the venues,” the Victorian Department of Health said in a statement.

“Other patrons who entered Sircuit on 10 December between 6pm and 9pm are being contacted by the Department of Health and asked to self-identify if they were present beyond 9pm. They are also strongly advised to get a standard PCR test and isolate until they get a negative result,” the DoH added.

The Department of Health further stated that vaccinated patrons are only required to quarantine for seven days, as opposed to the standard 14 days for unvaccinated visitors. Anyone who attended should receive a negative PCR test at the end of their quarantine periods before returning to public life.

The Department of Health also stated that neither business has violated any kind of statute or COVID-19 guideline. Still, for Tom McFeely, owner of the Peel hotel, the negative publicity–and mandatory quarantine–present an unneeded headache.

“I can’t understand why my staff and my customers have to go into isolation when every single one of us is double vaxxed,” McFeely told Star Observer. “We were supposed to be living with this thing. There’s nothing anyone could do apart from being double vaxxed. I thought that was the be all and end all and everyone gets to go back and we should be fine. Now there is fear. Does this mean we are going to shut down every time there is a case? They might not use the terminology shut down or closed, but if you don’t have any staff or security, you cannot open.”

McFeely added that the Peel Hotel will reopen this Friday, regardless of the number of staff in quarantine.

The news of the nightclub quarantines in Australia comes amid concerns over the Omicron variant of COVID-19, and if existing vaccines offer adequate protection against it. In the United States, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci has recommended vaccines and booster shots as optimal protection against the variant.

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The never ending Dave Chappelle Netflix scandal just took another sad turn

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The fallout from Dave Chappelle’s transphobic Netflix special continues…

Terra Field, the transgender Netflix employee that helped organize a company-wide walkout protest last month, just announced she’s resigning from the company. Field joins fellow organizer B. Pagels-Minor in saying they will also withdraw an unfair labor practice charge they filed earlier this month.

Both Pagels-Minor and Field had alleged that Netflix retaliated against them following the walkout, which was organized to protest against the streaming giant carrying the comedian’s stand-up special The Closer, which many felt was bigoted against LGBTQ people.

“My clients have resolved their differences with Netflix and will be voluntarily withdrawing their NLRB charge,” Laurie Burgess, a lawyer representing Pagels-Minor and Field said in a statement, according to Yahoo News.

A spokesperson for Netflix also echoed the resolution, writing that all parties “have resolved our differences in a way that acknowledges the erosion of trust on both sides and, we hope, enables everyone to move on.”

Neither Netflix nor the former employees would discuss if the three parties have reached a settlement.

Netflix fired Pagels-Minor in October following the walkout, claiming that Pagels-Minor had also leaked confidential information within the company–a charge Pagels-Minor denied. Netflix also suspended Field after she attended a high-level meeting to which she was not invited; the company subsequently reinstated her to her job.

Now, Field is leaving Netflix voluntarily.

“This isn’t how I thought things would end, but I’m relieved to have closure,” Field wrote in her letter of resignation. “Shortly after B. was fired for something I did not and do not believe they did, I made a decision: sink or swim, I was going to walk side by side with B. as they had for so many of us while they led the [Netflix transgender employee resource group.]”

The Closer comedy special has attracted ardent criticism and defenders over Dave Chappelle’s remarks about the LGBTQ community.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos defended the special–which includes Chappelle making crude remarks about transgender anatomy and accusing the queer community of constantly attacking African-Americans–before admitting that he “screwed up.” Other celebrities, including Andrew Yang, Caitlyn Jenner, and Jon Stewart, have also voice support for Chappelle.

As for Chappelle, he’s back on the road making anti-LGBTQ jokes again, despite saying he would retire them from his repertoire. At a Monday night screening for his new documentary project, the self-proclaimed “uncancelled comedian” once again let his transphobia and homophobia fly.

In addition to a running gag about pronouns, he used the word “f*g,” joked about claiming to identify as a woman to get a better prison placement, and waved off his previous promise to stop making jokes about LGBTQ people, saying that rule only counts when cameras are rolling.

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School makes 12-year-old take off Pride shirt, then her classmates did something amazing

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There’s been a rainbow-colored rumpus at a Catholic school in northeast Baltimore over the weekend.

The Baltimore Brew reports that a 12-year-old student at St. Francis of Assisi School wore a rainbow Pride shirt on dress-down Friday last week. The girl, who was not named in the report at the request of her mom, thought little of it, having worn the top before.

She and her classmates attended a church service at the school during the day. The service was led by Father John J. “Jack” Lombardi.

According to witnesses, the paper says that at Father Lombardi’s direction, the school principal told the homeroom teacher to speak to the girl. The youngster was pulled over at the end of the service and told to remove the shirt in front of everyone.

A photo of the ‘Pride 365’ shirt she was wearing was included in Baltimore Brew’s story. It looks exactly like this one [top] sold by Target. The girl wore it over a long-sleeve top.

“I think it was really awful what happened. The way they asked her to take it off was really embarrassing,” said a 7th grader, Liam Hines, to the newspaper.

Related: Gay graduate from racist Catholic school says he’s “not surprised” by Native American elder video

After the service, the girl was summoned to the principal’s office and told she’d violated the school’s dress code.

“She said it was because it was a Catholic school,” the student said. “I thought it was a poor excuse.”

On Sunday, to show support for the student, several of her classmates and other members of the congregation turned up to Father Lombardi’s church service wearing rainbow facemasks.

Baltimore Brew attended with photographer J.M Giordano to capture the dignified show of solidarity. Some congregants carried rainbow bags and others wore rainbow T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan, “I am a child of God.”

One of the church’s own officiants, Lauren Voos, also wore a Pride mask. Voos led part of the call-and-response section of the mass and pointedly slipped in a reference to the incident.

“For marginalized populations and gender identities. . .” she said, and the congregation answered extra loudly: “Lord, hear our prayer.”

Afterward, Lombardi declined to comment on the matter, telling the Brew’s reporter as he left the church, “I’m going to remain peaceful today.”

Instead, yesterday, the Archdiocese of Baltimore issued a statement.

Christian Kendzierski, executive director of communications for the Archdiocese, said: “The attire contained imagery and language with a message that could be determined to oppose teachings of the Catholic Church. St. Francis of Assisi is a Catholic parish. and school that upholds the tenets and teachings of the Catholic faith.”

Kendzierski disputed that the shirt removal was at the priest’s request, saying, “It was the school administration that initiated the request.”

The mother of the student concerned says she’s made a complaint to the Archdiocese’s superintendent of Catholic Schools and awaits a response.

Kendzierski says the church believes in treating people with respect and is “working on plans to bring together the community to discuss this in an open, honest and listening way.”

Related: “SWAT” team raids the Baltimore Eagle

Yesterday, a leading voice within the Catholic church weighed in on the matter. Father James Martin is a New York Times best-selling author, and one of the leading advocates for LGBTQ acceptance within the Catholic church. In 2017, In 2017, Pope Francis appointed Martin as a consultant to the Vatican’s press office.

On his Facebook page, Martin said, “As I see it, wearing a Pride shirt is not against any church teaching. Pride shirts and rainbow images are one way for members of a group that has been harassed, persecuted and marginalized (and that is still the target of physical violence) to see themselves as beloved children of God.”

He added, “Church authorities also have to be particularly attentive to the real-life effects of such stigmatizing words and gestures … not only on the mental health of LGBTQ youth, but also on their families and friends, as well as the community.”

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Gay Trump insurrectionist complains he can’t get a date. Go figure.

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Meet Brandon Straka, a 44-year-old New York-based hairstylist and Trump lover that just plead guilty to a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge for his role in the January 6 Capitol Insurrection. In addition to begging his “followers” for money, Straka complains that he can’t seem to get a date.

Gee, we wonder why.

Straka first waded into politics in 2018 by launching the #WalkAway campaign, an online push to convince queer Americans to not support Democratic politicians. Straka claimed that Democrats have never been friends to the LGBTQ community, despite Barack Obama and Joe Biden being the first sitting US President and Vice President to endorse marriage equality. Straka also ignores that the Republican party continues to show open hostility toward queer Americans.

Earlier this month, Straka entered his guilty plea with a federal court. He will face sentencing in December. LGBTQ Nation reports that just two days later, he emailed his #WalkAway mailing list asking them to send him money for his legal bills.

“Start posting positive things that you believe about me,” he wrote. “Push back against the one sided hate attacks that are happening right now. I still have nothing to say about my case, other than this- as it’s being widely (and likely INTENTIONALLY) misreported: I did NOT enter the Capitol building… Almost every story I’ve read so far says or implies that I went inside. I did NOT. The amount of hatred being leveled at me this week is unlike anything I’ve experienced the past 4 years. I feel like I’m being attacked by an army.”

“Tell your husbands, boyfriends, sons, and fathers to sign up for my emails,” he then added. “I only get about 1 out of 100 emails from men. lol. I love my women followers, but also want to hear from the guys that we’re all going to get through this in one piece.”

Once again: gee, we wonder why.

Straka goes on to claim that he’s been banned from most online vending platforms, including PayPal Venmo, and Stripe. He further says he has set up an account with a “conservative” processing company.

During the January 6 Insurrection, Straka live-tweeted from the riots, writing “Patriots at the Capitol – HOLD. THE. LINE!!!!” Later that same day, he added “So congress moves forward, Patriots storm the Capitol- now everybody is virtual signaling their embarrassment that this happened.”

Two days later, Straka deleted his social media accounts. Facebook also deleted his #WalkAway page, saying it violated the company’s ban on obscene or violent content. Later in January, the FBI arrested Straka after several videos of him surfaced at the Captiol shouting “We’re going in!” and “Go! Go!” Another video also apparently shows him encouraging an attack on a police officer, with Straka encouraging other insurrectionists to steal the officer’s riot shield.

In addition to his role in the Capitol insurrection and the #WalkAway campaign, Straka also became a viral story in 2020 when American Airlines banned him following his refusal to wear a mask on a flight.

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Ruby Rose reveals shocking working conditions, toxic behavior on ‘Batwoman’ set

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Actress Ruby Rose has publicly slammed producers of the series Batwoman, alleging reckless endangerment of cast and crew and vindictive behavior. She also alleges that contrary to official statements, she was fired from the show.

Rose took to Instagram Stories to share her words, much to the shock of fans. “Enough is Enough. I will come for you so what happened to me never happens to another person again,” Rose wrote, tagging Batwoman showrunner Caroline Dries, executive producers Greg Berlanti and Sarah Schechter and The CW. “And so I can finally take back my life and the truth. Shame on you.”

Rose then goes on to accuse Warner Bros. TV Chairman Peter Roth of sexually harassing women on set, and of hiring a private investigator to have Rose tailed. “There’s already an army waiting for you,” Rose writes.

The actress then shares video images of injuries she suffered from a stunt on the show gone wrong, which nearly left her paralyzed. In a more shocking twist, Rose now alleges that she also suffered a fractured rib, a broken neck and that doctors had also diagnosed her with a tumor. She further claims that Roth forced her to return to work just 10 days after major surgery, “or the whole crew and cast would be fired and I’d let everyone down because [then WB Television Group head] Peter Roth said he wouldn’t recast and I just lost the studio millions (by getting injured on his set).”

Rose then goes on to claim that Warner Bros. pressured her to make the announcement she was leaving the show and also forced her to cancel a planned appearance at Comic-Con. Executives told her to “cover your scar, we don’t want to see that scar,” referring to her surgical scars resulting from her on-set injuries.

In sum, Rose declares “To my dear, dear fans still asking if I will return to that awful show, I wouldn’t return for any amount of money nor if a gun were to my head … NOR DID I QUIT. I DID NOT QUIT, they ruined Kate Kane and they destroyed Batwoman, not me. I followed orders, and if I wanted to stay I was going to have to sign my rights away. Any threats, any bullying tactics or blackmail would not make me stand down.”

In the same statement, she also claims to have witnessed a crew member get 3rd-degree burns on set, a PA get paralyzed, two stunt doubles suffer serious injury, and that she also received a previously unreported cut that almost left her blind. Rose also claims that showrunner Caroline Dries refused to shut down the show due to COVID-19 despite other CW shows already shutting down, and that Dries seldom visited the set during filming. The government of Canada eventually ordered the show to shut down production.

Rose also doesn’t hold back against former castmate Dougray Scott, whom she labels “unprofessional,” claims “abused women,” and in one disturbing incident injured a stuntwoman. Rose also claims Scott regularly was late to set, left without warning, and verbally abused the crew and his castmates.

Ruby Rose departed Batwoman between its first and second seasons amid reports of on set tensions and her extreme injuries. The show recast the role with actress Javica Leslie as a new Batwoman, Ryan Wilder, and recast the part of Kate Kane with actress Wallis Day. Day’s casting raised suspicions as to the bad blood between Rose and the producers of the show, as her character had undergone “extensive plastic surgery” to appear unrecognizable. The move essentially signaled that Rose would never be allowed back on the program.

Rose’s allegations also follow another superhero-related scandal at Warner Bros. earlier this year, with cast members of the film Justice League accusing replacement director Joss Whedon of harassment and racism on the set of the film, and further alleging that upper level executives for the studio tried to cover Whedon’s behavior up.

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Man arrested for beating couple, police dog in apparent hate crime

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Police in Palo Alto, California have arrested a man in connection with a brutal attack on a woman and a gay man as well as a police dog in a crime apparently motivated by hate.

Alexander Joseph Furrier, 26, faces charges of felony battery, felony hate crime, felony assault on a police dog, and resisting arrest, reports CBS News. 

According to law enforcement, Furrier attended a house party with a female friend on Saturday night (October 9). The woman later left the party with two gay men, prompting Furrier to follow them while shouting homophobic slurs. The two men eventually parted company with the woman, which Furrier continued to pursue. When one of the men returned, the encounter turned violent.

The male victim confronted Furrier over his harassment, prompting Furrier to punch him several times while yelling homophobic epithets. The women then tried to intervene, at which point Furrier grabbed her and threw her to the ground.

The male victim–described as being in his 60s–lost consciousness and suffered cuts and bruises in the attack. The woman did not sustain serious injuries.

When police arrived on the scene, Furrier fled on foot, eventually hiding in a stairwell. Officers first tried to negotiate for Furrier to turn himself in before releasing a police dog on him. Furrier kicked and beat the animal, as well as choked it with his bare hands. The dog bit Furrier on the leg, finally getting him to relent. The dog later saw a veterinarian for a cut above its eyes and an injured paw, while Furrier’s male victim received treatment at a nearby hospital.

At the time of this writing, authorities are holding Furrier at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas without bail.

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A teen was beaten for carrying the pride flag at school

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A 17-year-old student continues to recover following a brutal beating by a classmate. The reason for the attack: The bully saw his victim carrying the pride flag.

The incident happened at Southwestern High School in the southern community of Piasa, Illinois. School administrators had promoted a “red, white, and blue,” day encouraging students to bring their favorite flags to school. The Jacksonville Journal-Courier reports that when a classmate noticed the student’s pride flag, he asked him to throw it away. When the student refused, his classmate attacked him, punching him in the head.

At the time of this writing, the extent of the victim’s injuries remains unclear.

Police later detained the assailant and charged him with excessive battery. He remains at a juvenile detention center and could face hate crime charges in the future.

Related: Transgender high school wrestler slams anti-trans sports bills, shares story of survival

Fellow students at Southwestern High, meanwhile, have sided with the bully.

“You wear a gay Pride flag to school and you don’t expect people to do anything? You go to Southern (sic) High, where we support the Confederate flag and you wonder why you get beat up?” one student posted to social media.

“It’s disrespectful to wear a pride flag on patriotic day, it’s not queer day,” another posted.

The victim’s brother also released screenshots of a terse conversation he had with a fellow student. When he asked what happened that got a student arrested, the “friend” showed little sympathy.

“Some gay kid brought a gay pride flag in and some kid beat the [expletive] out of him,” the classmate said, punctuating his statement with laughing emojis.

When the victim’s brother objected, the classmate showed no sympathy.

“Well don’t send him in a country ass school wearin’ some gay (expletive) if you don’t want his ass beat.”

2021 has seen a number of attacks on LGBTQ students and the pride flag in high schools across the United States. In Florida, a group of students carrying makeshift Confederate flags attacked a group of students promoting the school’s queer-straight alliance. In May, a 14-year-old student endured an attack from classmates for carrying the pride flag to school. In April, video of students defacing the pride flag at a Colorado high school went viral.

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It’s official: Superman is queer

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DC Comics has celebrated National Coming Out Day by confirming a long-rumored development: Superman has officially come out as bisexual.

To be clear: this is not the well-known Clark Kent/Kal-El Superman; rather, his son, Jon Kent. GayTimesreports that DC has confirmed the character will officially come out in the pages of Superman: Son of Kal-El on October 9.

“I’ve always said everyone needs heroes and everyone deserves to see themselves in their heroes and I’m very grateful DC and Warner Bros. share this idea,” Tom Taylor, writer of the book, said in a statement. “Superman’s symbol has always stood for hope, for truth and for justice. Today, that symbol represents something more. Today, more people can see themselves in the most powerful superhero in comics.”

DC has also confirmed that in the comics, Jon Kent will fall for his close friend, reporter Jay Nakamura. As Jon faces exhaustion from saving the world from constant threats, the emotional bond between he and Jay will deepen.

Jon Kent joins the ranks of popular, queer DC heroes and villains, including Batwoman, The Question, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn. Earlier this year, former Robin Tim Drake (of Batman & Robin fame) also came out as queer.

Now, what do we have to do to get a movie about this Superman?

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