Welcome to June

It’s winter in the Southern Hemisphere! Yay.

Anyone who knows me, however remotely, knows how much I despise winter in any hemisphere. Auckland has a very different winter from what I’m used to—no frost, no snow—and yet I don’t like it any better.

Kind of like anti-gay prejudice and bigotry: I don’t like it, no matter how much nicer it is in one place than another. In fact, you can expect me to oppose it wherever I find it. Just as one can’t be a “little bit pregnant,” so, too, one cannot be a little bit equal. It really is that simple.

June is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month, something that had far more resonance for me in the Northern Hemisphere, I admit. Still, the month always gives me pause.

In June 2011, I decided to post “a gay a day”, that is, at least one post every day dealing with gay people one way or another. It was my salute to the heritage of the month.

This year, when I’m far less likely to actually be able to make the one post per day goal, I’m not even trying to post daily. Instead, I’m planning a series of posts exploring issues related to the fight for gay and lesbian equality as I see them. I’ve never addressed those topics on this blog before. One such post, coming up in the next few days, will be the longest post on this blog by far. Others will simply give my point of view on some hot topics related to gay and lesbian issues, or talk about my own activist past.

My overall point is that one person can make a difference or, at the very least, show that no one can be taken for granted. All change begins with people refusing to take the status quo any longer. That’s me. I hope it’s you. Maybe we can all learn something this month—and, yes, winter really is awful.