| In My Opinion – Laura Fralich |
The burning of a pride flag in New Gloucester recently is symbolic of the daily physical and emotional threats that our LGBTQ neighbors face. We as a community must do better to create a welcoming, safe, and inclusive environment for all our residents. Our town government and residents need to actively work to create the community that we say we stand for. The statements from our town government condemning the recent hate crimes are empty optics if they are not coupled with continued action and meaningful change.
That is why the recent statement by the New Gloucester Republican Committee is troubling in its lack of content. It condemns an act of violence against a group without actually mentioning the group by name. It puts more emphasis on the violence of property damage than the violence of a hate crime against an entire population of people. If they are going to condemn this act then they should also condemn the heinous comments made by DEI committee members comparing trans people to people who think they are animals. They should condemn their party’s platform that explicitly targets LGBTQ people, bans gender-affirming language, books, health care, and education.
It is the violence promoted by many people in power and hateful language, policies, and actions that fuel the vandalism they are “condemning.” Our LGBTQ youth are some of our most vulnerable – LGBTQ youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers, and nearly half have considered attempting in the past year. Their very existence is being attacked regionally and nationally through discriminatory policies, hate crimes, hateful rhetoric, and egregious misinformation. “Don’t say gay” laws are being passed in Florida; gender-affirming care is being banned across the country; transgender kids are being banned from sports; books featuring LGBTQ characters are banned from schools; LGBTQ people are nine times more likely to be targeted by hate crimes and the rate is even higher in Maine – the list goes on and on. All of these policies and actions contribute to an overall atmosphere of violence and exclusion for our LGBTQ community.
If our town and community are committed to condemning this act of vandalism, then I invite you to support education that recognizes and celebrates all genders and sexual orientations, support mental health and social-emotional learning in schools, support bills that fund gender-affirming health care, support policies that use gender-neutral language, and support federal law that forever ensures a right to marry who you love. Empty and hypocritical statements are offensive and hurtful if they are not coupled with action to create an inclusive and welcoming environment for all, especially our most marginalized. These are our friends, neighbors, kids, teachers, and business owners we are talking about. I would be shocked if every resident in town didn’t know someone in the LGBTQ community; it is their safety and well-being that are at stake. If you would like to start by hanging a pride flag at your house, I have many extras. Please let me know, I’d be glad to give you one but that is just one small first step.
— Laura Fralich
The Trevor Project provides 24/7 confidential crisis support and resources for LGBTQ youth at 1-866-488-7386 or online at https://www.thetrevorproject.org/get-help/ To learn more about The Trevor Project or to support its work, visit The Trevor Project at this link. – L.F.
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