*If you're 12 or under, it's not legal for anyone to collect your e-mail address. You can subscribe to this blog in a reader and follow me on twitter to get much of the same information, just not put together in tidy packages. But heck, if you're 11 or 12, you already know that life isn't always tidy. Thanks!
Hopefully we'll have good news for the arc of justice -- and our country, and our world -- with a Biden/Harris win and a Democratic-controlled Senate in a few days.
Joe Biden's election night speech, "We feel good about where we are.... We believe we're on track to win this election.... We're going to have to be patient.... And it ain't over until every vote is counted, every ballot is counted."
Deep breaths til then.
The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you, Lee
So much going on... Click here or the video above to watch the October 2020 edition of the Lee Wind video newsletter.
Transcript:
Hi Community, I'm Lee Wind. It's October 2020, and I've been thinking a lot about poetry. So, I'm going to do an acrostic today, that's going to be the structure of this enewsletter.
I was going to do HUBRIS, but it didn't have a "T" in it for Trump.
And then, I was going to do TRUMP, but then that was too much about Trump.
And anyway, I settled on this one. So, we'll spell it out together. The first letter of our acrostic is "V", for VOTE. [laughs]
I don't know about you, but I watched the first debate - well, I watched part of the first debate, for me, it was too much like watching a schoolyard bully incident, where the adult in charge, the moderator, had no power, and didn't stop the bully.
“Joe Biden is a stutterer. Like many others, he has overcome the disability by understanding it and exercising extraordinary perseverance and discipline. If you know and love a stutterer and you watched the presidential debate last night, within minutes it became obvious what was going on. Abusive tone of voice, rapid fire interruptions, zigzagging change of topic, personal insult and humiliation, and family pain are all tripwires that scramble a stutterer's ability to speak. There was nothing unplanned or spontaneous in the President's strategy. The bastards did not prep him to attack Joe. They prepped him to attack Joe's disability hoping that by triggering his stuttering they might deceive an audience unfamiliar with the disability into thinking that Joe was stupid, weak, uncertain, confused, or lost to dementia.”
I thought that was a really good analysis of what the heck was going on. Because it was horrible to witness. But there was a purpose to it, and it was sort of nasty. So, VOTE.
Actually, I just sort of gave it away, the acrostic, but let's keep going.
O! [It slips on the wall] Let's try it again!
O! [laughs] It's not all about politics. I have to say that something exciting is happening in October. On October 15, School Library Journal is doing a Day of Dialog, and I'm going to be on a panel!
It's called "Remaking History in Fiction and Nonfiction."
The moderator will be Mahnaz Dar, Reference and Professional Reading Editor at School Library Journal and Library Journal.
And my panelists, my fellow panelists are really going to be amazing:
Kyandreia Jones, Randi Pink, Michael O. Tunnel, and my friend Paula Yoo.
So that's really exciting! I'm going to be on a panel, I'll be talking about my book coming out from Lerner, NO WAY, THEY WERE GAY?, And I'm really excited to be part of that, and to reach all those librarians, and have a great conversation about how history has been sanitized for the protection of the people in power, and has sort of disenfranchised so many people - women, disabled people, people of color, and LGBTQ people. So I'm really excited to be part of that.
The next letter in our acrostic is "T"!
Back to politics. So, Trump makes it all about Trump, but I want us to take a moment and just acknowledge that Joe Biden is, in fact, a pretty stand up guy. And in fact, in his evolution towards embracing Queer people and Queer rights, he actually came out publicly in favor of Gay marriage before President Obama did it, and in fact kind of pressured President Obama to do, which was a very cool moment, back in 2012.
So, shout out to Joe. Also, Kamala Harris - amazing, can we talk?
So it's not just voting against Trump, it's really voting for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and really acknowledging that if we can get the shift of power to happen in the Senate so it isn't controlled by Republicans, we may be able to, as Obama always quoted Reverend Martin Luther King, [Jr.] saying, bend the arc of history towards justice. 'Cause it's been bending the wrong way, and we need to get it back.
And then, "E" is the final letter of our Acrostic.
And it's because I'm Excited, because it was just announced that I sold a picture book to Arthur Levine of Levine Querido, and I'm really amazingly... It's like an endurance sport.
"E" could also be for Endurance sport. Because writing books for kids and teens, it takes a long time. First of all, to get good enough, and then to find the right home for the projects that you're doing. Wow. I've been writing picture book manuscripts for 16 years - more than 16 years, and finally sold one. It's my debut picture book. The illustrator's going to be the incredible Paul [O.] Zelinsky, I am just like pinching myself because Wow, it is so exciting!
It's called RED AND GREEN AND BLUE AND WHITE, and it's about two kids who are friends, one celebrates Chanukah, and the other celebrates Christmas, and something happens in their town, and how they band together to stand up, for each other and for themselves, and against hate and for love. It's inspired by a true story, and I can't wait for you to see it. I'm very excited.
So, there you go. Sort of like a Sesame Street episode. Today's - this month's - video newsletter is brought to you by the acrostic VOTE. I hope you do.
Take care, stay safe, and until next month, hopefully we'll have good news in November.
'Bye, take care. The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you.
So the current occupant of the White House held a political rally for his reelection. In Tulsa (injury), originally scheduled for June 19, 2020, or Juneteenth (adding insult). They pushed it one day back, and were crowing about the biggest reservation requests... But the crowds didn't show.
So what happened to the giant crowds the President and his team predicted?
I like how Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put it:
"Actually you just got ROCKED by teens on TikTok who flooded the Trump campaign w/ fake ticket reservations & tricked you into believing a million people wanted your white supremacist open mic enough to pack an arena during COVID
Shout out to Zoomers. Y'all make me so proud." —Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
“So the bottom line is this: if we want to bring about real change, then the choice isn’t between protest and politics. We have to do both. We have to mobilize to raise awareness, and we have to organize and cast our ballots to make sure that we elect candidates who will act on reform.”
“And if you’re interested in taking concrete action, we’ve also created a dedicated site at the Obama Foundation to aggregate and direct you to useful resources and organizations who’ve been fighting the good fight at the local and national levels for years.”
and
“...watching the heightened activism of young people in recent weeks, of every race and every station, makes me hopeful. If, going forward, we can channel our justifiable anger into peaceful, sustained, and effective action, then this moment can be a real turning point in our nation’s long journey to live up to our highest ideals.”
Inspiring, hopeful, and reminding us that people in positions of power can both care and help direct our collective energy toward creating lasting change and impact: Oh, hey! That's called leadership.
Former Rep. Aaron Schock, Republican- Illinois, who
"During his tenure in Congress, the 37-year-old Schock voted against the repeal of "don’t ask, don’t tell" and voted in favor of adding a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. He received a zero rating from the Human Rights Campaign for his voting record."
The same Aaron Schock was caught kissing and groping another man on the dance floor at last month's Coachella music festival. It's been on twitter, and facebook, and has been picked up by a few news outlets, including the Washington Examiner article quoted above.
I'm glad people like James (whose facebook post, above, was picked up by the media) called Aaron out on this - if you've actively done harm to the LGBTQ community, you don't get to be 'secretly' queer.
“...the right to privacy does not include hypocrisy.”
While a news story, this doesn't feel new. Go back to 1979 and you have Michael Bussee and Gary Cooper, both leaders of the Christian "ex-gay" conversion group known as Exodus, who left the group to be in a gay relationship with each other. Yup, you read that right. Anti-gay leaders who fell in love with each other...
I think we've gotten to the point where politicians and people who protest too much about other people being queer might be presumed to be queer themselves—otherwise why would they care so much about who other people fall in love with?
Yet, at the same time, it's no great boon to the queer community to have to claim folks who have actively worked against our freedoms as one of our own.
Certainly a point of reference the next time someone's being a real homophobe.
The light in me recognizes and celebrates the light in you,
Lee
For the past 98 days on twitter, facebook, and instagram I've been counting down my motivations for voting in tomorrow's midterm elections here in the United States.
Tomorrow, Tuesday November 6, 2018, we vote.
Do your part. If you can vote, do so. If you can't, do what you can to encourage and empower others to vote.
And let's stop Trump and his Republican enablers from moving even one more step on their hateful, selfish, terrible agenda.
The light in me recognizes and celebrates the light in you, and in times of darkness like right now, that's when light matters even more!
Lee
While it was originally titled: “Seven Nice Things Liberals Can Say About Trump,” otherwise every word is mine, and I stand by each of them. Here's the full text of my letter, as printed in the Thursday July 19, 2018 edition of the Palisadian-Post:
Seven Things
Recently, a letter to the editor asked, why can’t liberals say anything nice about our current president? I’ll take that challenge.
1) It’s ironic, but Trump has made us have more empathy. For generations our culture has villainized entire other countries and everyone in them for the terrible actions of their leaders and government. (Think North Korea, Iraq, Russia…) Now, we understand that the people in those countries are probably just like us… good individual people with a callous, cruel, selfish government.
2) Trump has reminded us how vigilant we must be to not repeat the mistakes of Nazi Germany. At the Nuremberg trials, the question was asked, why did regular Germans participate in such inhumanity? The response was they were just following orders. And the world cried out, how could you not just refuse the order? This past month, when ICE agents followed orders to separate children from their parents, alarms should have gone off for all of us.
3) Trump does care about one immigrant. Among all the people who wanted to come to America and become a citizen of this country for a better life, there was one runway and swimsuit model Trump decided to help. Now she’s first lady.
4) Trump took the #MeToo movement to a whole new level. Our current president’s open disdain for women as anything other than objects for his personal physical interest turbo-charged the movement of people speaking up about the mistreatment and sexual harassment they have faced from men in positions of power.
5) Trump has shown us words are important. Calling real news “fake” to discredit any press that criticizes him is just one way our current president uses language to shield himself from being held accountable.
6) Trump has made us see how much more work we need to do as a society to treat others as equals. Our president’s not-so-subtle racism, emboldening the rise of bigotry across the country, reminds us how unfair things are, especially for people of color.
7) Trump is helping get out the vote. Trump’s policies, political maneuverings, and selfishness have energized me and millions of my fellow Americans. Energized those of us who envision an America of the future and not of the past. Energized those of us who want America to be a beacon of justice, equality, and opportunity. Energized those of us who can see beyond our own privilege to care about other human beings to show up on Tuesday November 6, 2018, and vote some sense back into this government.
There you have it. Seven nice things that you (no matter how liberal or conservative you are) and I can say about Trump. You’re welcome.
“Stonewall happened because drag queens and a minority group stood up to animosity, and I had to go back in the closet [while in the Air Force] because of that same hatred,” [Bruno] told IntoMore.com. “I know what that was like, and it translates to today’s campaign. I’m not going to bow down. I am who I am. Accept me or not.”
The headline angle on how Bruno likes wearing heels felt sensationalized (the old stereotype that all gay men want to dress like/be women), but maybe that's my internalized sense of things being homophobic (and some internalized homophobia, too.) — maybe there's a generational shift happening here, and it's just a shrug - oh, he wore high heels to a Veterans Day parade. (Which, as a Veteran, is a pretty nice way of protesting the military's old "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.)
Bottom line: the fact that Bruno was elected by his small Texas town is a moment of hope, and pride.
"Where's Papa going with that ax?" asked Fern as they sat for breakfast.
"To kill the runt of the litter." Mother answered. "Some pigs were born last night."
"Good." Said Fern. "No one different can amount to much, anyway. Can I have some more bacon?"
The End
With apologies to E.B. White, but really, what's going on in the USA politically is so contrary to the values we want our children to have, to the values our best children's books hold, to the best in each of us. If we don't speak up, if we allow this prejudice and fear and hatred of others to take root, it's not much of a stretch to think that children's books will soon echo that prejudice and fear and hatred of others. We cannot let that happen. The above is not the version of Charlotte's Web I want to see happen. I want Fern to have compassion, and empathy, and kindness. I want children (and heck, adults) to have those qualities, too. I want Wilbur to not just live, but thrive, and be valued. I want friendship between those who are different (like Wilbur and Charlotte) to not just be possible, but to matter. And I want this for our world, too. In times of darkness, light matters more than ever. The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee
Remember that final showdown moment in Disney's Aladdin, where Jafar uses his third and final wish to become the most powerful being he can imagine, a Genie? In achieving his goal, there was a twist that Jafar didn't see coming:
"Phenomenal cosmic powers, itty-bitty living space."
It's happened to you, too.
Not the living space. You'll get to roll into the White House, fly on Air Force One, and have all the bling and trappings of being the most powerful US politician of all. Just like a reality TV show.
Your twist is that now, you work for me.
I didn't vote for you.
But that's what being President means. You have to represent and care for the well-being of the more than 59 million of us who voted for Hillary Clinton, the millions who voted for Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, in addition to the more than 59 million who voted for you.
Now, you work for me, a Gay dad and grown-up child of immigrants who writes books for kids.
Now, you work for my nephew's daughter, an African American high school student with straight A's.
Now, you work for my disabled friend who's a huge Ally to the LGBTQ community.
Now, you work for every single American.
We will keep you accountable. We will require you to be measured. And thoughtful. And balanced as you take action.
Because now, as an elected public servant, you work for us.
And we've learned your reality TV show line:
"You're Fired."
And like every good boss, we won't be afraid to use it.
I'm really proud to be one of 1200 children's book authors and illustrators who are standing up and voting for Hillary Clinton and a congress that will work with her.
Here's a sampling of AIforC volunteers, explaining why we've all been working to spread the word:
Rebecca O'Connell #HillaryBecause... She wrote It Takes a Village twenty years ago, and it is still true.
Evelyn Coleman I am supporting AIC because I know these are folk who care about children as much as I do.
Mira Lopez I'm supporting Hillary and AIC because I know she's capable of making sure that I have the most opportunities to succeed in my future.
Gabrielle Raumberger I support the dedicated work of AIC. Their passion for creating critical mass of aligned Americans who want a world that has the best interest of our children’s future at its heart has drawn me to them. And that’s also why I'm voting for Hillary: her record for creating programs that benefit children’s well-being contributes to the greater good for all of us.
Helen Hemphill I’m voting for Hillary because she’s a listener and a learner who is grounded in facts.
Jaime Temairik I want a compassionate, intelligent, and diplomatic person as our next president, and that person is absolutely Hillary Clinton.
Maurie J. Manning I support the AIC campaign because our shared career focus puts us in a unique position to speak up with authority for what’s in the best interest of our children’s future — the calm, kind, perseverant and serious candidate for POTUS, Hillary Clinton.
Janni Lee Simner I'm the grandaughter of immigrants and the mother of an immigrant. I'm with Hillary Clinton because I'm for a country that embraces all of its families, and that makes room for those who seek refuge here as well.
Janet Wong #ImWithHer because she’s been working on behalf of children for 30+ years—and because I trust the wisdom of 1,200+ #AuthorsAndIllustrators4Clinton who are voting for Hillary, too.
Leonard Marcus I'm voting for Hilary because she knows what she's doing and because she cares about people.
Kris Vreeland I'm voting for Hillary because I believe she is the best candidate. She has supported women's rights, children's issues and human rights her entire career. Her heart is in the right place. She is also insightful and intelligent. She listens and knows how to work well with others to reach the necessary compromises without sacrificing the integrity of her goals to serve the American people.
Rebecca Gold I support the AIC campaign for Hillary because authors and illustrators who write for children, care for children. And what’s best for all children is to have a smart, dedicated and caring woman in the White House, not a bully.
Michelle Parker-Rock It's a privilege to be an AIC Board Member in support of Hillary, and I am voting for her because she is an advocate for children, women, the LGBTQ community, clean power, liberal judges, an end to racial profiling, higher minimum wages, and so much more.
Susan Raab I'm voting for Hillary because this is not a game or horse race to win -- it's simply about who we should hire to do the toughest, most complex, most critical to our lives, job we have.
Stephanie Olivieri I'm a first-generation American, and I'm supporting AIC because I'm voting for Hillary Clinton because she understands that this great country was built by immigrants and is opposed to building a wall.
April Wayland To me, Hillary Clinton is like a redwood tree—with rings of strength, of discipline, of know-how, and always a champion for children deep in her heartwood.
Bruce Balan One candidate has dedicated herself to public service, the other has dedicated himself to self-service. The choice is clear.
And here's mine:
Lee Wind I went from “anybody but rhymes-with-dump” to proudly voting for Hillary (and a congress that will work with her) because I’ve been paying attention: Hillary Clinton is brave and smart and I believe she truly cares about people besides herself and her family having rights and good lives. She’ll be a great President--if we’re brave and smart and caring enough to elect her.
If you're fortunate enough to be able to vote in this US election, please use your vote wisely! With hope,
Lee
Let's all do what we can to make sure that our next US President is Hillary Clinton. As Michelle Obama says so brilliantly (at 13:47 into her speech) ~
"Because lets be very clear. Strong men - strong men - men who are truly role models, don't need to put down women to make themselves feel powerful. People who are truly strong lift others up. People who are truly powerful bring others together. And that is what we need in our next President. We need someone who is a uniting force in this country. We need someone who will heal the wounds that divide us. Someone who truly cares about us and our children. Someone with strength and compassion to lead this country forward. And let me tell you, I'm here today because I believe with all of my heart that Hillary Clinton will be that President."
Thanks! The light in me recognizes and acknowledges the light in you,
Lee
See lots more resources at http://aiforc.org/ and by following Authors and Illustrators for Children on social media with the hashtag #AuthorsandIllustrators4Clinton
So in the USA, we've got this presidential election coming up.
It's a big deal. Are we going to go backwards (Donald Trump), or continue to move forwards to a more just future that includes a respect and appreciation for diversity - including people of color, women, muslims, immigrants, and LGBTQ people (Hillary Clinton.)
Okay, so now you know who I'm voting for.
There's an idea out there that authors and illustrators shouldn't be political - that it could hurt their careers, if they alienate any possible customer. That speaking up is dangerous. But that robs us of our rightful voices in an election that's about SO much we care about.
"In this election, and every election, it is about who will have the power to shape our children for the next four or eight years of their lives."
I'm joined by over 1,000 authors and illustrators of books for children and teens in speaking up on social media via Authors and Illustrators for Children. On Twitter. On Facebook. On Instagram. Here's a sample of what's being shared:
Don DeMesquita wrote new words to the song "One Day More!"from Les Mis to create this partisan parody, with a lot of kidding-on-the-square truth in it...
Check out the remarkable and funny One Term More video.
This is pretty cool news. Sources are reporting that on Sunday July 29, 2012, the Democratic Party platform drafting committee included language supporting gay marriage, opposing the "Defense of Marriage Act" and supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
This puts pressure on the Democratic party as a whole to accept these steps forward for equality on their final plank, which they'll be voting on in September in Charlotte, North Carolina.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi commented:
By including marriage equality in our platform, the committee has reaffirmed the fundamental American value of equal protection and civil rights for every American. After working to advance the cause of marriage equality for many years, it is a point of personal pride to see Democrats unite around the principle of respect and dignity for all families. ... Our platform will be based on the values of the American people and will keep moving our country forward to progress and prosperity for all.
We'll see what they do in September, but for now, it's a Great moment for equality.
Disclosure: As of July 5, 2020, if you click on a book here on this blog and it takes you to bookshop.org, there is an affiliate relationship in place where 10% of that book order will come back to me, Lee Wind. I hope that works for you. And if it doesn't, no worries. I hope you buy your books somewhere that feels good to you. Thanks!
What if you knew a secret from history that could change the world?
“Get Balanced with Dr. Marissa Pei” Talk Radio show - Lee booked as featured guest on September 25
October 2018 - Publish Date of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill: Oct 2, 2018
Lambda Literary Festival - panel on Crowdfunding Queer Lit and reading - online Oct 1. Register here.
Star Style Radio Show with Cynthia Brian - Lee featured guest on October 3 program. Listen here.
Pasadena Fall Art Night - YA panel on Oct 12 in Pasadena
West Hollywood Library Teen Read Week - 10:30am October 13
San Gabriel Valley Pride - Authors Tent presentation, 1:00 pm on Oct 13 in Pasadena
Launch Party at Highways - 7:00pm in Santa Monica
Models of Pride - present "Discover our LGBTQ History" and give out free copies of Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill from the Camp Brave Trails booth on Oct 20 in Los Angeles
November 2018
Book Baby Independent Authors Conference - lead networking session "How do you measure success?" in Philadelphia, PA
Presentation and Reading at Palm Springs Public Library on Queer as a Five-Dollar Bill on Nov 7
960.jpg)
