Stripping Colours From The Unicorn Spirit...

 Hi,

Well, moreof the idiocy is migrating North.

Here, where I live, in the year 2023, the powers that be have decided in their misguided, misinformed, narrow minds, that it would, somehow, be a good idea to force queer children to bare their souls to their parents with complete disregard of these childrens' home support situation. And, if the kids can't or don't want to do it, their parents will be informed no matter what. 

Without giving a single thought to the trauma, the discourse, and sometimes, straight out danger they might be putting these children in, the adults in charge of rules and laws, the supposedly educated grown-ups, simply refuse to accept the fact that queer kids deserve protection. And yes, sometimes, sadly, and mostly because of people who think like this, the ones they need protection from, are their parents. 

A lot of us have grown up in households where we felt we couldn't reveal all of who we are. For fear of being judged, punished, ridiculed, or worse. In my case, it was a small thing. Growing up, and to this day, I had and have, a passion for the performing arts. But, as you grow, getting told to sit down, be quiet,  and stop showing off, both in subtle and not-so-subtle ways often enough, you eventually take it to heart that there is something wrong with you that makes you love these things. I actually had to lie to my parents about directing the play for Drama in grade twelve until after school rehearsals became necessary. I did so, calculating that at that point they couldn't prevent me from continuing without losing face. 

I still have to work on ignoring those voices that want to squelch the joy I get from singing on stage, and writing things other people actually enjoy reading. 

It was a very small thing compared to what some of these precious kids have to go through. To force them to bare themselves before they are ready is simply abuse. 

The decision-makers say they are fighting for the parents. They say this like teachers and support staff are somehow conspiring against said parents. It's stupid. Shouldn't the decision-makers be fighting for the kids? Isn't that who they should be striving to protect? 

Ten-year-old children have the ability and maturity to recognize this as the cruel blunt object this is, why can't some adults?

The rule apparently reads that children, while attending school, from here on out shall be referred to by the name on their birth certificate only.

Soooooo, no nicknames then. Not for athletes, friends. Hell, my kids attended a school where most kids had nicknames. They were introduced by nicknames, known by nicknames. It was a thing. Does this mean if your name is David on your birth certificate, they can no longer call you Dave? Three of our grandkids are Jacob, Elaina, and Isabella. They are, and likely always will be Jake, Laney and Izzy. Will that be allowed?

I know a lot of you will think that this point is ridiculous, that I have somehow gone too far. The thing is, if you are creating ridiculous rules, you better think them through. Just like the book banning nuts not thinking it through and, in turn, because of their own rules, the Bible was banned for it is rife with violence, incest, and all kinds of sex-type things. 

Not every child goes home to love. Not every child goes home to acceptance. Sometimes children need to keep their most precious things about themselves hidden to keep themselves safe.

If you want to fix something, fix that, and not what is on the verge of not needing fixing at all. 

You want to fight for the parents? Make it so they don't need to take out a second mortgage to buy school supplies and clothes for their kids. Make sure they can afford to light and heat their home this winter without having to sacrifice groceries. And, speaking of groceries, maybe you should be fighting for living wages so we can reduce the need for food banks. Maybe you should be looking into how much it costs to keep a roof over their heads, to work toward actually solving our homeless issues instead of shuffling those who are struggling into a dark corner, because you can't deny what's in plain sight. 

There are a plethora of things that need to be fixed in our province, not the smallest of which is to reverse the gutting of our health system. But that's a discussion for another day.

Queer kids don't need fixing. The attitudes that want to force them into the spotlight just to turn around and tell them to sit down and shut up, do. 

I've tried to find the reasoning behind this new rule. Trying to figure out what actual purpose it's supposed to serve. When you follow it to the end, there isn't one, except it makes the queerphobic community feel like they still have control. That they can still suppress somebody. That the rule writers are trying to appease a swath of voters who feel like they are losing control. 

News flash. The young ones, like my grandbabies, and their counterparts are celebrating birthdays left and right, becoming the age of majority, daily, as we speak. Their voices are getting louder and more powerful, and soon they will be in charge. 

Personally, I can't wait. The harder you try to strip the colours of their unicorn spirits, the stronger and brighter they will become. They will have no choice if they want to survive, thrive, and live without fear in their deserved, rightful freedom, to be all of who they are. 

Parents, if your child is having to hide the fact that they are queer to such lengths that you actually, truly, have no clue, that says everything about what's wrong with you, what's lacking in you, not them. 

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May you, who make the rules, embrace some true understanding of what they will actually do.

May you gain some insight, what if that kid was yours, or what if it was you.

May you understand that you can't dictate what kids tell their parents, it's insidious, ridiculous and cruel.

May you stop to think how you are stoking the fire of homophobia, flaming the flames, adding fuel.

May you finally just get the fact that the queer community is here to stay, no matter how young you feed them the poison that somehow they are 'wrong.'

May you just let them be, let them explore, let them thrive, stop trying to strip them of their colours, just allow them to be strong. 

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