Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld

/ /

In our declining democracy, teaching LGBTQ+ topics in schools is more important than ever

,

The histories of people with same-sex attractions and those who differently express their gender are filled with incredible pain and enormous pride, of overwhelming repression and victorious rejoicing, of stifling invisibility and dazzling illumination. Throughout the ages, their sexuality and gender identity and expressions have been called many things:  from “sinful,” “sicknesses,” and “criminals,” to “orientations,” “identities,” and even “gifts from God.” Though same-sex behavior and gender non-normativity have probably always existed in human and most non-human species, the concept of “homosexuality,” “bisexuality,” and “transgender identities,” (in fact, sexual orientation, gender non-normativity in general, and the construction of an identity and […]

/ /

Don’t be fooled: The patriarchy is alive & fully functioning

“If my kids don’t get bullied for having daddy’s money & a hot mom then I failed at life,” Parker Lamosa wrote on Facebook on July 21. According to Parker Lamosa, “daddy” is the breadwinner, the one who earns the money – and lots of it — for the family. Standing by his side is the “hot mom” who does, well, supports the rich “daddy” by raising the “kids,” of course. My comment to Lamosa on July 22: “Superficial priorities. You have surrendered your integrity to the patriarchy.” Patriarchy: The privelege of over-valued cis-het male bodies “What is patriarchy? A […]

/ /

Waiting for a hero to save us from Trump & MAGA? Here’s where to look…

Bonny Tyler’s now-classic pop song, “Holding Out for a Hero,” expressed the oft-wished-for hope that someone will come into our lives to take away all our cares, to ease our loneliness, to cure all the world’s evils, and make us feel secure and completely safe. Tyler evokes the image of powerful gods and “streetwise” mortals, like the great Hercules and shining Knights of old “upon a fiery steed,” as well as other “larger than life” heroes to save her from her plight. But most times, no hero will meet our expectations. And for those we rise to hero status, ultimately, the […]

/ /

The far-right’s dehumanization of trans people is similar to the Nazi’s treatment of Jewish people

Throughout history, autocratic regimes, especially authoritarian or populist ones on the far left and the far right, have demonized what they have determined to represent their nations’ “internal enemies,” foes who, if left to thrive, would undermine the security and very existence of these societies. Regimes have done this to consolidate and expand its power, to divert attention away from misdeeds and failed economic and social policy initiatives, to justify repressive tactics, to stifle critical thinking, and to create a more pliant and obedient population. Though the processes of marginalizing and isolating these purported internal enemies vary by case and […]

/ /

Trump stole our Pride flag but he cannot steal our Pride!

President Donald Trump directed the National Park Service (NPS) to remove the Rainbow Pride Flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City on February 5, 2026. This came just one year after the NPS deleted all references to transgender and queer people from its website of the Stonewall National Monument through Trump’s executive order. The initialism that once read LGBTQ+ has been reduced to LGB, standing for lesbian, gay, and bisexual. Local and state elected officials, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D) and Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal (D), are planning to re-raise the Pride Flag in defiance of the […]

/ /

Trump is a textbook fascist. It will take all of us to bring down his regime.

Attention Shoppers: Avoid aisle 47 due to high risk of being hit by falling morality and tumbling democratic policies. Clean up required! November 9 each year is designated as “World Freedom Day.” It commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall on November 9, 1989. Unfortunately, the United States has never lived up to its billing as “the land of the free,” though it always has been and continues to be the “home of the brave.” This is especially true in this time of Donald Trump’s attempt to terminate our nation’s great experiment. It is great for chickens and turkeys to be given free range […]

/ /

It’s time to remember why we started the LGBTQ+ movement in the first place

I  opened an email announcement sent by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBTQ+ civil rights organization, with the subject line: these colors don’t run – Independence Day special. I felt as if I were struck by one of the lightning bolts that had been igniting the skies the past few days above my western Massachusetts town. Initially I thought perhaps an right-wing organization had ripped off the mailing lists of queer and trans community members to co-opt our movement by employing similar imagery and textual phraseology used by those who oppose us. Along with the ad for a rainbow-winged eagle shirt, […]

/ /

Bullies like Trump fall when good people act

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe.” -Holocaust survivor, social justice writer, and activist Elie Wiesel in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech on Dec. 10, 1986. Elie Wiesel’s words are as true today as they were the day he delivered them, […]

/ /

In the Trump administration, cruelty is the point

Since Donald Trump took over the White House for the second time, we, the people of the United States and across the globe, have suffered a virtual whiplash compared to the policy initiatives during Joe Biden’s first week in office and throughout his presidency. During his campaign, Trump threatened to be “a dictator on day one.” Well, if the dozens of executive orders he signed in his first few days in office are any indication, he is certainly following through on that promise. On oligarchy In his farewell speech to the nation before leaving office, President Biden warned of a […]

/ /

CALL TO ACTION: An activist’s guide to civil disobedience

Political changes often seem like a pendulum swinging back and forth in endless motion. In our current era, the pendulum is on a rightward trajectory in many “liberal democracies” like France, Germany, and of course, the United States. Many of us who believe in the democratic principles of social justice are shocked by the right-wing direction the United States has taken with the second election of Donald Trump. Many thought his first successful bid for the presidency was a mere fluke, but his recent victory shows the underlying roots of anti-liberalism, or more appropriately, the deeply embedded patriarchal Christian white […]

1 2 3