#ThisIsAmerica: Queer erasure and politicians
It’s Pride month, y’all and small town American folks are taking issue with the community. The politicians of the small town of Lovettsville, Virginia participated in their fair share of queer erasure this week as the council members denied a motion to introduce a proclamation celebrating Pride on their agenda for their meeting of June.
Councilmember Renee Edmonston introduced the motion that Pride should be acknowledged on May 26 and the idea was met with complete silence by the rest of the council members. The motion was therefore, subsequently removed from the agenda completely. No Pride acknowledgement for this small Virginia town.
Last year, after Pride flags were slashed and vandalized, the same council member tried to introduce the same motion. It failed then too. The queer erasure is real, folks.
Planning commissioner Kris Consaul told WUSA9. “That proclamation would have taken them five minutes to read, they decided that it wasn’t worth doing and the signal they send is that we are not worth listening to.”
Despite the fact that the motion to acknowledge the LGBTQ community fell on deaf ears at the council meeting, several council members issued comments at the end of the meeting, expressing their disappointment that the council feels “that the LGBTQ+ community isn’t even worth talking about.”
We suggest using your voice at your political platform, fam. Just saying…
The council members, however, may not reflect the attitudes of the townsfolk that they represent. After the meeting, locals spoke out in favor of the LGBTQ community.
Resident Cheryl Frye said, “Research constantly finds that LGBTQ+ young people report lower rates of attempting suicide when they have access to affirming spaces… Why isn’t our town one of them? Having at least one accepting adult can reduce the risk of suicide attempts among our young people by 40 per cent.”
A transgender teen took their life in this community a couple of years ago.
According to the Trevor Project, LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual peers. Forty-five percent of LGBTQ youth considered suicide in the last year, according to the same source. Community representation and validation can help reduce those numbers drastically.
It’s 2022 y’all. Queer erasure be gone. Do better.
If you or someone you know needs help, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides free and confidential support for people in distress 24/7. It can be reached at 1-800-273-8255.
