A COUPLE OF THOUGHTS ON THE ELECTION

Firstly, I'm beyond disgusted with my "fellow" Americans.

I'll go into the why's and wherefores a bit below -- all of which should be obvious -- but here's the thing.......

Most Americans are, by and large, very stupid people.  So electing Trump the first time around in 2016 was ALMOST understandable when you take into account American stupidity.  Understandable in the framework that most voters are low information and all they knew was the guy was a billionaire and that he was a big TV star.  

What could be so bad about that?  I mean, we elected Ronald Reagan and survived that amiright?

And its especially "understandable" when the previous eight years had featured a Black guy in the White House and then the Dems nominated a woman to replace him.  I mean, if you're the average dumbfuck voter in this country -- you know, a white guy or woman who really doesn't like Black folks (or, for that matter, smart women....or really....women in general) Trump is gonna seem OK.  Especially if you don't know shit about him other than The Apprentice.  Which was the case with a lot of those assholes who voted for him in 2016

And sure, he did some heinous shit on the campaign trail and said some awful stuff.  But that was just Trump being Trump.....right?  He was just stirring up shit and the idiot hordes really dug that shit.

You can almost....ALMOST give those dipshits who voted for him in 2016 a pass.  

But.......

Not in 2024! 

In 2024 they knew everything they had learned about him in 2016 AND they fucking knew he was a rapist -- and yet they voted for him.

They fucking knew he was a traitor -- and yet they voted for him.

They fucking knew he was a convicted felon -- and yet they voted for him.

They fucking knew he was a racist and a fascist -- and yet they voted for him.

They fucking knew he stole from a children's cancer charity -- and yet they voted for him.

They knew he botched the Covid response so badly that 1.5 million Americans died from it -- and yet they voted for him.

They knew ALL OF THIS and yet they thought, "Yeah! I'll have four more years of that please."

I hate those people with a heat that makes the sun look like a snowball.

But you know what I hate more?

I hate myself.

I hate myself and feel like a fool for spending years in the military uniform of the US defending a nation infested by the type of appallingly horrible people who were capable of doing what they did on Election Day in spite of knowing what they all knew.

Meet the new Germans -- same as the old Germans.

LIFE BEFORE THE INTERNET

by Damien

I remember it well, being (literally) carried into my first gay club by my best friends – Nicole and Phillip – in June of 1990. I was screaming. I did NOT want to go in. I was terrified that “being gay” was everything that I had been told was horrible.

Then I was in the club.

Everyone looked normal. Even the drag queens. And people were welcoming. They were engaging. They were friendly. There weren’t creepy. They weren’t trying to rape each other. They were just…. being. And that first night opened a door to a community that had my back. Always.

Now – I am not so sure. 

The internet is a phenomenal tool of knowledge and information. But it is also, sadly, a despicable cesspool of misinformation and hate. As a Jew I have experienced the hate first hand – both professionally and personally. I was reading a Facebook post by a friend recently that had the title “Gays were nice before the internet.” And I had to agree. I do not know how I would cope coming out now. There is a ferocity to the online gay community that I have not known before. When we had no choice but to gather together in person, we accepted the notion that we were all we had at that time. And so, we just made the most of it. Were there bitchy queens? Absolutely. But I knew that even They would be there if I truly needed them. If my safety was at risk, they would step up – in 6-inch heels.

But I see the discourse online. The hateful comments (mostly younger) gays send to each other now.

“You’re old and fat, no one wants you.”

“You’re a fossil. Go back to the park.”

“Don’t be creepy. You’re horrid and foul.”

“Why didn’t you die? How did AIDS miss you?”

These aren’t comments I have faced. But these ARE comments others I know have faced. On Facebook. NOT in dating apps. But in the usual course of online conversations. This is dreadful. We – the whole of our community – should be better than this. There were people when I came out that weren’t entirely kosher, and I knew that. Some had agendas – trying to get in the pretty blonde ballet dancers’ pants. But I knew that. And I was able to manage that. But to have people these days – and by people - I mean the under 40 set – tell you that they wished AIDS had got you? I have no response.

With so many people out there genuinely wishing us dead, how do the younger generations justify what they say? And this is not a “get off my lawn” post. This is a “how are you able to justify this hate against your own” post. I have no answers. I have no explanation or hypothesis. I just am unable to reconcile the hate WITHIN the male gay community. Or, maybe I should say, gay male non-community. Because it seems our common unity is no longer something that we treasure or feel comfort from.

I don’t know what to say. I do not have answers. And I am increasingly horrified by how we treat each other.

Damien.