In such ugly times, the only true protest is beauty.
Phil Ochs
On Monday afternoon, I got back from a long weekend in the mountains with my family. It was picturesque and serene, and the time away was as necessary as it was appreciated. I needed a few days immersed in beauty and mindless fun to recharge my battery for returning to work and holiday preparations.
Even though I was insulated from the world in the North Georgia mountains, I still got the news surrounding yet another mass murder at the hands of an unhinged white man with a gun. My heart sank for yet another example of the senseless loss of precious lives in the name of hate. Then I saw something beautiful.
Richard Fierro, the man who took down the gunman at Club Q, is a decorated 15-year military vet who was at the club that night with his wife and daughter to watch a drag show that featured one of his daughter’s high school friends. Richard was forced to call on his military combat training at his first-ever drag show.
I am devastated by the hate, but in these ugly times it is more important than ever that we don’t give up on the beauty that sustains us. To those who participate in a religion and/or a political agenda that would look the other way when these atrocities happen, you are complicit. To the beautiful drag queens, step up! My femme bois, step up! LGBTQ+ allies, step up! There is no room for ambiguity anymore. You are beautiful. You are beautiful. You are beautiful.
Never forget that I love you, and that excludes no one.
Love,
