Tag Archives: LGBTQ

I am sick and tired of being demonized

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What is so wrong about this adorable book about one kind of American family?

I am just sick of it. And here we go again. The North Carolina Republican-dominated legislature has called in the superintendent of the Chapel Hill – Carrboro school district, Rodney Trice, to question him about LGBTQ-themed books in their school libraries. Link to article. Despite not being able to pass an annual state budget for an entire year (the Republicans in the State House and the State Senate cannot agree), they are wasting their time on this non-issue because of one parent’s complaint.

If this one parent does not want their kid to read LGBTQ+ themes books, they can simply direct their kid not to take one out.  Why should this one parent trample on the rights of all the inclusive parents who are fine with their children reading books that include LGBTQ-themed content?  Don’t those parents have rights too?


But worse than this being a waste of time instead of addressing the needs of our state, this continues to send the message that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are somehow bad or illegitimate human beings. What does it say to a teenager coming to grips with their sexuality that there are no books in the library about this subject? What does it say to a small kid with two moms or two dads that their family is so bad, that there are no books about kids with two moms or two dads in their library?

And North Carolina is not the only state bent on demeaning and demonizing queer people. Some states are passing laws forcing transgender people to change their driver’s licenses to gender markers that do not align with their gender identities or to use the bathroom that matches their gender assigned at birth instead of their current gender identity. Some state legislatures are asking the Supreme Court to invalidate and reverse the ruling on universal marriage rights for same-gender couples. And some state legislatures are trying to ban the flying of the Pride Flag.

Should this man really be forced to use the ladies room because his birth certificate has the gender marker F?

It’s a disgrace that one particular political party (OK – let’s call it out – Republicans) are hell-bent on finding some group to hate. Over the past decades their hate and demonization has cycled across Black people, immigrants, Muslims and LGBTQ+ people. The only way they think they can win elections and keep power is to pit groups of Americans against each other with divisive rhetoric and laws.

It’s time to put and end to this hate. When you vote, please consider … are you voting for all Americans to be treated equally and respectfully, or are you voting for hate and division?

Happy New Year! My top 7 blogs of 2023.

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I am continuing my New Year’s tradition of sharing my top seven blogs that received the most hits during the past year.

Six of my top seven most read blogs were published in earlier years.  I guess as more people read them, they come toward the top on google searches and get even more readers.  Only one of the top seven was actually written and published this year.

Six of the seven blogs relate to some aspect of diversity: LGBTQ+, Hispanic, Muslim, diversity in sports and diversity in job search.

Here are the seven most read of 2023,  starting with number 7 and working up to number one.

7) This year’s number 7 was the one blog on the list that was written and published this year – Seven “Trigger Words” Against the LGBTQ Community.  I share seven words or phrases that are highly insulting and demeaning to LGBTQ+ people. This may be important content to include in LGBTQ+ diversity training.

6) This year’s number 6 was also last year’s number 6 – “Three Wonderful Recent Examples of Diversity and Sports,” in which I provide short summaries with links about an NFL football player with one hand, an WNBA player who is a new mother with her wife, and a college track star who overcame a harsh abusive upbringing in Africa.

5) Returning from 2021’s “Top 7” is this blog initially published in 2018.  I received excellent assistance from local activist and Muslim woman Zainab Baloch, “Five Things To Never Say To a Muslim.”

4) Appearing for in the first time in my “Top 7” last year at number five, and now moving up one slot is “Active Listening Skills of Influential Leaders” published in March 2020.

The Hispanic population in the USA is one of the fastest growing segments

With the growing number of Hispanic people in the US, it makes sense that:

3) Written in collaboration with my part-time biligual consultant in staff, Elsa Maria Jimenez Salgado, “Five Things to Never Say to Hispanic People.”

2) And actually written as a guest blog piece by Elsa Maria Jimenez Salgado and 2021 and 2022’s number one blog, “Seven Misconceptions or Stereotypes of Hispanic People.”

1) And now number 1!!  Written in 2020 and appearing in my list for the first time last year as #2 is “Five Tips for Highlighting Your Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion in Your Resume: Here’s How.”    As diversity, equity and inclusion becomes increasingly important in the workplace, this blog can prove to be a valuable resource for job seekers.

I wish all of my faithful readers a happy and fulfilling 2024.  To stay in touch and to receive my monthly newsletter in which I summarize all blogs written in the previous month, please do subscribe to my newsletter. Or check out this page to connect to my LinkedIn or business Facebook page.