Readers outside New Orleans may not be aware that at the start of the recent New Orleans Pride Parade, a young man was arrested near the parade route for carrying a handgun and an assault rifle. The man’s intentions remain unclear but many on social media speculated he intended to shoot up the parade. Others insist that is not the case, citing he had the guns … [Read more...] about Guns and Toxic Masculinity
Commentary
Fuck Pride
Pride season has arrived yet again. Pride parades will roll all over the country throughout the month, and as its 50th Anniversary approaches, Stonewall memes will undoubtedly flood social media. That’s all good and well; however, not everyone in our community is feeling the pride. In fact, some folks are not proud of Pride at all—at least not what it has become. This … [Read more...] about Fuck Pride
From Russia with Oil
Donald Trump, Jr., after lying for months, recently admitted that last year he met with a Russian official who claimed to have information on Hillary Clinton that would aid his father’s presidential campaign. Trump Jr. enthusiastically jumped at the opportunity to obtain dirt on his father’s opponent. The fact that receiving aid from a foreign power, especially an avowed enemy … [Read more...] about From Russia with Oil
The Problem With Republicans
Trump has been in office almost a year now and in that short time, he has managed to confirm his critics’ worst fears. His greed and corruption, his racism and bigotry, his incompetence and ignorance, and his pride and ego are greater than even his harshest critics could have imagined. Many of his voters have seen through his demagoguery and abandoned him. Nevertheless, he … [Read more...] about The Problem With Republicans
Fighting Trump and the Alt-Right: Queer Lessons from the 90s
Fighting Trump and the Alt-Right: Queer Lessons from the 90s The Newcomb College Institute at Tulane University will host a panel discussion on Friday, March 2, entitled “Fighting Trump and the Alt-Right: Queer Lessons from the 90s.” Billed as “an intersectional, intergenerational activist conversation about resistance and building community with LGBTQ activists,” the event … [Read more...] about Fighting Trump and the Alt-Right: Queer Lessons from the 90s
Still No Arrest in Gay Bar Firebombing
Still No Arrest in Gay Bar Firebombing It has been four months since Circo, a popular gay bar in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was firebombed in what was apparently a vicious hate crime. No arrests have been made and the investigation appears to be at a standstill. On Saturday, October 28, 2017, a group of masked persons dressed in all black attacked the gay club by throwing … [Read more...] about Still No Arrest in Gay Bar Firebombing
Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Frost
Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Frost When candidate Trump first proposed building a wall along the Mexican border, the old English Professor in me immediately thought of Robert Frost’s poem, “Mending Wall.” Then the old political observer in me thought of Ronald Reagan’s famous line at the Berlin Wall: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Frost opens his poem with … [Read more...] about Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and Robert Frost
Republicans & Pedophilia
I have always been bamboozled by the fact that Southern voters consistently vote republican, against their own best interests. As a historian, I understand why the South turned red: white voters were pissed off when Democratic President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Johnson thought the Democrats had lost the South for a generation, but 53 years later, … [Read more...] about Republicans & Pedophilia
Change in Leadership at BreakOUT!
Seven years after founding BreakOUT!, Co-Director Wes Ware is stepping down. According to Ware, “As a white, queer, transgender Southerner, I set out in 2011 with the hope and intention of growing the organization and transitioning leadership after five years. I firmly believed as I continue to believe that our liberation is tied up together. That none of us will be free … [Read more...] about Change in Leadership at BreakOUT!
The Supreme Hypocrisy of the Republican Party
The Republican Party—that Grand Ole Party of patriotism and family values—has finally showed its true colors. Again. The GOP tax bill demonstrates clearly why the republican party has given up flag-waving and Bible-thumping in order to defend treason and pedophilia. The love of money (which is the root of all evil) has always been the Republican Party’s only core value. And … [Read more...] about The Supreme Hypocrisy of the Republican Party