Celebrating the healing and power of the LGBTQ Community
Happy June!
It’s warming up out there, and we nature lovers are coming out of hibernation. The critters in my woods are also coming alive, frolicking unabashedly—a-hem!—and providing lots of opportunity for my dog, Lily Pad, to eagerly stand guard and keep those pup-pesky squirrels at bay. The mosquitos and no-see-ums are waking up, too, and planning their attack the minute I step out my door. Oh well…such is summer.
June is also well-known for being Pride month, when the LGBTQ community comes out of hibernation for celebrations around much of the country. (Here in the South many cities wait for cooler fall temperatures.)
A bit of history: New York City and San Francisco are the LGBTQ civil rights grandfathers. It was a brave and fed-up drag queen at the Stonewall Inn, a Greenwich Village bar, who threw the first fateful punch on the night of Judy Garland’s death in June of 1969. Judy was an icon. Community grief was palpable.
And the police had organized yet another raid on gay bars in the city. Enough was enough. Police stormed in, batons swinging, and were met with an angry, grieving bunch of queens. Thus began the “Stonewall riots” and the modern gay rights movement.
Fast-forward a few years and San Francisco saw the election of Harvey Milk, a visionary civil and human rights leader who became one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. His commitment to authenticity gave never-before-experienced hope to LGBTQ people everywhere at a time when the community was still encountering widespread hostility and discrimination.
His career was cut short when he was assassinated a year after taking office by fellow Supervisor (and noted homophobe) Dan White, who also killed S.F. Mayor George Moscone that same day. White was acquitted of murder charges and given a mild sentence for manslaughter, in what became known as the “twinkie defense”—eating too much junk food that day.
As a healer myself, I’ve recently been thinking about another bit of gay history. In ancient tribal civilizations, gay men and lesbians were once considered healers, shamans and sages. A different civilization now, what has evolved since those ancient cultures is that this community knows full well what it’s like to be wounded on many levels, and to receive messages which foster a lack of self-esteem. The LGBTQ community understands the inherent wrongness of being treated as second-class.
In a clear and driven collective manifestation of the life-wish, queer folks are propelled by desires to improve what is unfair and daunting, and heal that which causes pain. Gay drums beat differently—more creatively?—out of necessity, and that, perhaps, has always been the saving grace.
The world has changed tremendously since 1969, and perhaps none more so than the gay world. To wit: Consider that Arianna Grande, who credits her career to gay friends and family, is posting 30 love letters to the “queer-identified” community all this month; Taylor Swift is opening her concerts with a “speech of love” to the community.
And thanks to a long history of struggle, and the Obama administration, we can look at marriage and the growing voice of the transgender community as examples of global positive change. And we mustn’t forget the undulating sea of pink hats, where gay/queer/bi/trans women held prominent seats at the table, a round-table of ideas mixed with the fortitude to get greater numbers of progressive-thinking women to run for politics than ever before in history.
Now of course, we are faced with a sociopathic administration intent on undoing our nation-wide progress. Two steps forward…
So here’s what queer history teaches us: We have tremendous power if we choose to use it. Literally and figuratively, we heal one another through community. For example, “New Age” spiritualities (which are actually ancient) and progressive theologies are on the rise as in many areas conservative, non-accepting religions scramble to keep their flock, and finding themselves falling on the wrong side of history with a loud Biblical thunk.
Despite obstacles, local through national, we have a God-given propensity for life. But we must look inward and remember: It is by removing the personal self-blame and the societal shame that allows us to move toward creative approaches for our well-being and progress, on all levels. Then, much like the healers before us, we can be mindful, conscious and engaged in whatever healing process—individually and collectively—we choose.
And how do we choose our healthiest options when seeking out pathways toward community wholeness and wellness? By awakening. By listening deeply to ourselves. By celebrating the free thinker in each of us. By embracing our uniqueness, our creativity, our power. Everything we needs awaits within.
Until next time: “The violets in the mountains have broken the rocks.” — Tennessee Williams
Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D., is a psychotherapist, author, minister, and educator in private practice in Chattanooga. Contact him at DrRPH.com, visit his wellness center at WellNestChattanooga.com