Today was Pride Day in NYC, and for the first time in two years, the march was packed with participants... people were confident to step out during this weird, not-quite-fraught stage of the pandemic, and more cogently, people wanted to show defiance in the face of the Supreme Court's bad rulings. NYC Pride actually kicked off with Planned Parenthood, which released a statement:
"Pride was born of protest and will always be a space to fight injustice and discrimination. Join us as we advocate for bodily autonomy at this year's NYC Pride March."
I've long said that intersectionality is the key to fighting for human rights- any attempts to compartmentalize human rights issues can lead to balkanization, which makes divide-and-conquer easy. In particular, reactionaries have a talent for using fear and misunderstanding of marginalized groups as a Trojan horse to revive culture wars that people assumed they had already lost. This year, their campaign against transpersons was a pretty transparent attempt to roll back LGB rights as well.
Reactionary authoritarians have been pretty upfront about wanting to roll back many matters considered settled law. Not content with overturning Roe vs Wade, Clarence Thomas has stated that he would like to overturn Griswold vs Connecticut, which grants married couples the right to contraception, Lawrence vs Texas, which grants individuals the right to engage in certain sexual acts (sodomy), and Obergefell vs Hodges, which grants the right to same-sex marriage. Like the Terminator from the movie, he will not stop, ever, until the rights of non-fundamentalist Christian men are dead.
It's heartening to see that the organizers of Pride teamed up with pro-abortion rights activists. They know that any attack on bodily autonomy will negatively impact them. It's going to be a long summer of rage, at least it kicked off with a party.
Totally off topic, but today i went to go check on yellowdoggranny and see what she had to say.
ReplyDeleteShe titled her post
Cruising Down the Sewer on a Wrinkled Bag of Prunes...
Best thing i read today.
English as she is spoke.
Hope all is as well as can be fopr you and yours. While you're no more obliged to blog at all than anyone else, your writing is always entertaining and informative and much appreciated. (I'm sure I speak for more than myself there.)
ReplyDeleteIt's probably an unintended consequence of posting as regularly as you do, but when you go a couple days without a word, I worry a bit. ;-)
Looking forward to hearing from you soon (at least as soon as is convenient for you, anyway).
fopr? Where the heck is autocarrot when you need it? 😀
ReplyDeleteOh BBB I will treasure these words always. 💜
ReplyDeleteI second Pretzelogic. I came here intending to write something similar if I didn't see indication you'd been in, but Pretzelogic said it well.
ReplyDeleteHello fellow fans of the great B4,
ReplyDeleteIt's with a heavy heart that I inform this wonderful bloggerhood of the passing of my brother Mike, AKA the Big Bad Bald Bastard, at the all-too-young age of 53. He was my best friend in this world, and I will feel this tragic loss every day, until the time comes for me to join him.
Peace to all of you, and thank you for all you did to enrich this forum, which my brother so cherished.
John G.
I'm so sorry to hear this. B4's absence will be a loss for all of us, though as a sibling myself I can't even imagine the full extent of what you and the rest of his family must be going through. You will grieve however you must, but I sincerely hope you also remember to celebrate his life, and the ways he positively influenced so many more people in this world than he, or any of us, can ever truly know.
ReplyDeleteThe world is a poorer place today, yet better than it might have been but for his existence. My eternal thanks to him, and to you for being thoughtful enough to give us the tragic news.
My condolences. sigh
ReplyDeleteDamn!
ReplyDeleteOh no. I'm so sorry for his family and friends. May his memory be a blessing. His life certainly was to many of his readers.
ReplyDeleteB4 was a giant of the Internet. I will miss him terribly. John G, I am unutterably sorry for your loss. We are all richer for his having shared his wit and his knowledge.
ReplyDeleteI am so sad today. Your brother was my companion every morning for so long. He was kind to an old woman who loved spiders and told him about it. Every morning for a long time I will think of him.
ReplyDeleteI saw that the Big Bald Bastard died over on C&L. Such a shock and loss. His writings were always thoughtful and I appreciated his words. My condolences to his family.
ReplyDeleteOh no! My favorite blog, such a genuinely kind and intelligent person, I am overwhelmed. His ability to express thoughts on any topic was unparalleled. Its nice to know his first name at least.
ReplyDeleteJohn G- I am so sorry for your loss. BBBB was a frequent commenter a blog I read and that's how I found his blog. I've mostly been lurker here- but I wanted you to know that Mike is missed. B4 always offered insightful, intelligent and cogent commentary and his passing is met with sadness. I hope you find comfort in the kind thoughts from far away strangers also sharing your loss. Warmest regards, Becks in Atlanta
ReplyDeleteRIP Quad-B! Funny and smart and gone too soon.
ReplyDeleteJohn G., I am so shocked and sorry to hear of this news. I've read your brother since back when he and I were part of the small crew of commenters at the Rumproast blog, and was happy to find his own blog. I loved his slice of life postings about Ginger and his job, science lectures, his work with the kids in martial arts, pretty much everything; such a generous person.
ReplyDeleteMay you find comfort in how many loved him though they'd never met in person. His memory is a blessing to us all.
I'm so sorry to hear that. Thanks for letting us know.
ReplyDeleteI'm gutted. Dear John and family, deepest condolences.
ReplyDeleteTen Grain over at Mockpaperscissors posted a tribute to him. Well worth a look...
ReplyDeleteHe was so wonderful. This is an awful and irreparable loss. I am sorrier than I can say.
ReplyDeleteAll of Wonkette.com is crying. Mike would show up every Tuesday and Friday for our WonkZoom for the last two years. He showed us his work and Ginger's cat butt. He was a dear friend and I'm going to miss the hell out of him. There is not many men I say I love you to, but he was one of them.
ReplyDeleteLater tonight we'll have a WonkZoom in celebration of Mike. Check over on wonkette.com in the comments for details. All invited.
I'm so sorry and so sad. What a lovely guy Mike was.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry..way too soon.
ReplyDeleteWe are all hurt by this. such a loss,
ReplyDeleteJust devastated. I always knew when I saw a comment by BBBB that it would be full of humanity, generosity, wit, and kindness.
ReplyDeletethis is sad news - his blog felt like a visit with a friend - may his memory be a blessing
ReplyDelete😢 BBBB will be sorely missed. My condolences to you and the rest of Mike’s family, John G.
ReplyDeleteI still miss him. Things continue to happen, i still want to hear what he would say.
ReplyDeleteNobody will come out and say what happened to my friend.
I guess i will have to survive with that.
I am left to think that he killed himself, or was murdered, or died of an overdose.
This doesn't matter to me. He was my friend and i miss him
I know that he would not like this post,
but now that he is gone he has lost his voice
I miss his voice
I also miss him a ton. Voices of wisdom and clarity are all too rare, and I would love to get the venerable Bastard's views on so many things going down in this mad world.
ReplyDeleteDear brother, I miss you terribly. You helped a lot of people, none more than me, to make sense of this madhouse of a world.
ReplyDeleteHey big bad bald bastard, you would have been proud of Lizzo playing that crystal flute. Supposedly it belonged to James Madison. I would trade every James Madison in the universe if you could still be here. Lizzo gave us a tune and she was beautiful and nice.
ReplyDeleteToday is another day that i am missing you
ReplyDeletewe are not supposed to do this
we are supposed to move on
But oh man, i wish you were here
you would not believe
the latest outrage
I guess you can stay with me for a while
it is not a good idea, but back when you were alive
we used to talk about things
I am talking to a ghost, but i miss the man.
Hi Richard, John here, brother of the incomparable BBBB. He's been gone for nearly a year now, but not a day goes by when I don't miss him. It is very gratifying to me that you still visit this sacred virtual space, when you need a refuge from the craziness of this world. Peace and good health to you!
ReplyDeleteRemembering Mike on his birthday. The Folks at Wonkette have been talking about him all day. Damn, I miss you, you beautiful bastard.
ReplyDeleteOne year gone...I can't stop thinking about you, brother Mike. If only you knew how much you are missed, and by how many.
ReplyDeleteStill missing you! I think by now you must be in the other place/non-place. I saw a particularly stupid piece of news, and I thought-
ReplyDeleteOh I must tell the Big Bad Bald Bastard! He would have something to say! Then I remembered. I guess grief really is a process.
Richard, I constantly have the same experience. So many things I would share with BBBB, and I am faced with the fact that I can no longer do that, and the grief sets in again. Miss the ol' Bastard! :) - JCo
ReplyDeleteWhat happened to the cat? She used to go visit him on his work shifts, I think they were friends.
ReplyDeleteHi Richard, indeed they were friends:
ReplyDeletehttps://hudsonvalley.org/article/celebrating-10-years-of-ginger-the-barn-cat/
I saw Ginger last summer, and she looked to be in peak form.
Stay well and keep commenting!
Best wishes,
John (BBBB Big Bro)
Dear friend, I came by here again. Yes I know! Don't do that! But I did it anyway because I am not going to leave you over there in dead land where nobody remembers you.
ReplyDeleteI have had such a hard time with your death. I know a lot of people who are not here anymore. There is not much we can do about that. You did us a dis-service by just killing yourself. You could at least strapped a bomb on your body and blow up Donald Trump.
If you are going to kill yourself, why not?
But no, here we are trying to explain why that would be the worst idea ever.
I came by again because the Mormons were bothering me
ReplyDeleteAnd I needed some backup and assistance
You weren't home
You aren't there anymore
But there was enough of you to scare them
They ran away
I'm pretty sure you won't get this message
But if you do
You should know that
The Big Bad Bald Bastard energy helped me.
Keep Mike's energy strong in our hearts. He's a force of nature.
ReplyDeleteHEY Big bad Bald bastard! We are preparing ourselves for Easter, which is a big deal, with the Christians. It is a good time to see how they express themselves. I have questions. You are gone, but I still use your thoughts to help me.
ReplyDelete