every day i get a little madder about the ‘dream job’ narrative… all i want is to have a job that benefits society somewhat, doesn’t abuse me, and lets me live a happy life outside of my job lol. jobs should not be (and arguably can’t be) cosmic destinies and identities
When folks say “Protect Lil Nas X” I want you to understand that this is coming from a deep place in queer culture. One of the prime directives of the queer community is to protect young and recently out queer folks. It comes from a place of understanding that coming out is inherently a traumatic process. Being young and queer in a community where queerness is not accepted is inherently traumatic.
It does not matter if the young queer person is annoying or cringe or wearing rainbows from head to toe and transforming themselves into a walking stereotype. That’s part of the process of reclaiming identity for a LOT of people. Sometimes shoving it in people’s faces is the only way you can get over the instinct to cower and conform. It doesn’t matter if they made some off-color jokes while they work through internalized queerphobia. It doesn’t even matter if you like the young queer person much as a person.
You protect them. Because someone protected you. Or because no one was around to protect you, and you know how much that sucked. You see a young person in a gay bar that looks a little lost or nervous, guess what? That’s your child now. Go help them fix their lip gloss and tell them their body glitter is cute and teach them how to tell if someone is giving them the eye from across the room. You see them getting hassled? Take out those earrings, you’re giving someone a smackdown tonight.
The queer community has been so turned against itself in recent years, we’re forgetting our fucking roots. We’re not here to bitch out queer kids for making mistakes while they figure out who the fuck they are. We’re here to throw bricks at cops.
