Tag Archives: Bozeman

Benefits Tonight For Montana HIV Agencies

by D Gregory Smith

Through a calendar snafu, there are two- count ’em, TWO- benefits for HIV organizations in  the State of Montana tonight.

I’ll be in Billings tonight, speaking at the Yellowstone AIDS Project’s evening called Simply Elegant: Thirty Years of Fighting and Thriving.
From their website:

On December 3rd, 2011, the Yellowstone AIDS Project will host the 16th Annual World AIDS Day Benefit to be held at the Big Horn Resort (1801 Majestic Lane,  Billings) at 6 pm. This year’s event is titled Simply Elegant: Thiry Years of Fighting & Thriving.

The evening will include tapas catered by Beyond Basil, a wine tasting, silent and live auction items, a moving speech by HIV positive Montanan, D Gregory Smith and Venture Theatre will be performing excerpts from the Broadway Musical, “Rent”.

If you are in the Billings area, please come and say “Hi”- I’d love to see you – and these folks do good work.

And in Bozeman, we have The Red Ribbon Ball, AIDS Outreach’s 1st annual classy soiree to benefit client services at AIDS Outreach:

Please support these very worthwhile causes….

 

World AIDS Day in Bozeman

by D Gregory Smith

World AIDS Day is December 1st, and we’ve planned an event to commemorate 30 years of HIV/AIDS- I hope to see you there.

Bozeman AIDS Outreach Benefit

by D Gregory Smith

For a great way to spend next weekend- and to support a great cause- Bozeman’s AIDS Outreach, check this out:

“Quit Flaunting Your Lifestyle” Goes National

by D Gregory Smith

Many of you have read my response to the homophobic letter to the editor in the Bozeman Chronicle a few weeks ago. I decided to post it to Bilerico and see where it goes.

Good news- my Bilerico article has been drawing some attention to Bozeman- I’ve received several inquiries about the dates of the Montana Pride Celebration from out of state people interested in coming to support LGBTQ rights in Montana.

Is that awesome, or what?

The article is here.

Bozeman Letter To The Editor: Gays, “Just live the lifestyle you’ve chosen and keep quiet.”

by D Gregory Smith

From yesterday’s Bozeman Daily Chronicle comes the following letter. I thought it would be online today, but apparently it is not. I’ve transcribed it for your convenience.

To the Montana Gay Pride group and Tom Marsh, director:

A few questions:

Why do you have to openly march on the streets of Bozeman? Not all people flaunt their lifestyles before the public. Can’t you quietly live your lives the way we do? Just live the lifestyle you’ve chosen and keep quiet. If everyone with grievances to air acted like your group, our news media would be very busy.

Why were you unhappy before you came out? Why does it please you that Bozeman officials condone your actions? Can’t you live among us and remain silent and happy?

Alice Cooper
Belgrade 

I don’t know where to begin. But I will say, Tom Marsh is a dear friend- and I don’t respond well when people personally attack my friends.
So, I’ve taken more than a day to formulate a few salient points in a letter:

Dear Alice,

You asked a lot of questions in your letter to the editor in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle on October 21st, 2011. I would like to address them

People do not choose their sexual orientation. They acknowledge it. It is not a mental or physical illness to identify as Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered or Intersex. Both the American Psychological Association and The American Medical Association agree with me- and they have for decades. Science is with me on this. Firmly.

We openly march, because we have to. Somewhere there is a child who doesn’t understand that people don’t choose their sexual orientation- and that child may grow up miserable, tortured and conflicted. And, according to statistics, will probably think about and attempt to take their lives as a result of that conflict and torture. I did. We march so that people will see that it is a part of the human condition to be LGBT. We are your neighbors, members of your family, in every occupation and human situation you can think of. We’re here, and it’s okay to be. And we march because there are still people who think it’s okay to hate us. We march so that maybe those people will realize that we are not monsters. We are human beings. And maybe there will be less children who think that God hates them, or that they’re less than other children simply because they are LGBT. If so, then one little annual parade is a small thing….

We would love to live our lives quietly- but there are laws (and lack thereof) and attitudes that prevent that. We don’t always feel safe. We aren’t always treated with dignity and respect. We don’t have equal protection under the law. Believe you me, I would love nothing more than to live my life quietly- and I will- when I am treated like every other person in this country and this state- because it’s hard to live a normal life when there are people just like me who are threatened with violence all over this country. It’s hard to live a happy life when you’re afraid.

If you want to know why we were unhappy before we came out, it’s pretty simple: because we were lying. Lying makes people unhappy. Stopping the lie is cause for celebration. And so we march and dance and celebrate being honest together.

And yes, it pleases us that Bozeman officials recognize the struggle to live a normal life in the face of being labelled a freak by a significant part of society. It pleases us to not be seen as freaks. Because we’re not. We’re just human beings who love and work and struggle just like you, Alice. Human beings of faith, spirit and purpose. Human beings with families and pets and houses and churches and favorite restaurants.

I also wonder if, in your letter, you substituted the word “Christian” or “Irish” or “Black” or “Woman” or “Immigrant”  for the word “Gay”, would you feel the same?

We do live among you. We do. And we’re not going to do it silently. That’s not how a democracy works. I live in The United States of America, and I have a right to free speech- as do you. Silence is not an option. Because you have written the above letter to a public newspaper, I’m sure you understand.

If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them as openly and honestly as I can.

Sincerely,

D Gregory Smith, stl, MA
Licensed Mental Health Counselor

Write your own Letter to the Editor of The Bozeman Daily chronicle here. 

Update: Online version of the letter (with a place to comment) here.

 

 

“You Are Loved”

by D Gregory Smith

I’ve written about the importance of Rural Pride Celebrations before- but if you want to see it firsthand, or if you ever wondered what the 2011 Montana Pride Celebration was like- well wonder no more.

Wet Paint Studios beautifully chronicled the event with this amazing piece of film:

From the Wet Paint Studios’ description:

“You Are Loved” is a documentary chronicling Montana Pride- celebrating the diversity of all walks of life.

The documentary explores what it means to be an LGBTQI in Montana, a rural state of not even a million people. The response from the community in Bozeman, MT was overwhelming, and without it, this documentary would not be possible. Enjoy the show!

Bozeman PFLAG

by D Gregory Smith

Last night I told my story to a lovely group of people at the Bozeman PFLAG meeting- and it occurred to me that maybe more people need to know about PFLAG and what they do.

From their website:

Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) is a national non-profit organization with over 200,000 members and supporters and over 350 affiliates in the United States. This vast grassroots network is cultivated, resourced and serviced by the PFLAG National Office, located in Washington, D.C., the national Board of Directors and 13 Regional Directors.

A great group of people invested in LGBT equality. And they’re special because they represent the best of our allies- our parents, neighbors, siblings and friends- as well as LGBT persons.

Equality will only happen when the majority of Americans- who are not gay- realize and accept the ordinary reality of LGBT persons and their human desires for a beautiful life.

Bozeman’s group is fantastic- and they could use any extra support and encouragement you might be willing to give. Thank you all for a great evening!

Go ahead and look them up. Their Facebook page is here.

MT Pride 2011 Photos

by D Gregory Smith

 Here are some beautiful images of Montana Pride taken by my friend (and copyrighted by) Bobbie Zenker. Used with permission.

Enjoy!

Me and Patricia Nell Warren

Pride Vigil (text)

by D Gregory Smith

I had some requests to put up the text for the Pride Vigil for Memory, Strength and Hope which we did on Saturday night at The Emerson. There will be more to come, but before I put Gregory and Patricia on the airplane, I’ll just post this here….

 

The darkness can be frightening.

We have sometimes been very afraid here in the State of Montana, because at times, it has been very, very dark.

We have lost good men and women and children to HIV/AIDS.

We have been bullied and teased and yes, driven from our very homes and schools and communities. We have been killed and we have killed ourselves. We have been legislated against and told by official political platforms that we are criminals.

We have been hurt here under this big, dark sky.

But there is light.

There are people whose bravery have driven away darkness. Whose voices refuse to give in to hopelessness or complacency or fear. You know those voices in your lives. You also are those voices. And when we use our voices to proclaim the goodness of our lives and the lives of our brothers, sisters, parents, children and friends- the light grows stronger.

The bravery is here.

Look around you now. Look at the strength that surrounds us.

Look at the light. Now share the light.

(candles lighted)

This light is in your hands. It belongs to you. It has always belonged to you.

Share it. And remember the lives that have lived with pain to bring us here- to this place of hope and triumph.

Now we take a moment to remember our loves, our losses, our reasons for hope.  (silence)

Today is a gorgeous day in Montana History, because the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Two-Spirited People and our Allies will not let this light die.

We will not be afraid.

We will stand up when we are told to lie down.
We will speak when anyone tries to shame us into silence.
We will remain when we are told to leave.
We will proclaim the truth.
Firmly and gently and clearly and proudly.
The truth that we are light.
And that light makes Montana more beautiful, not less.  More.

If you believe it, say Amen!
If you promise to live it, say Amen!
If you promise to not give up, say Amen!

I hear the dance music next door, and I’m reminded of the words of Joe Jervis:

They wish we were invisible.
We’re not.
Let’s Dance!

 

Montana Pride 2011

by D Gregory Smith

(Click here for info)

We’re gearing up! Patricia and Gregory Hinton arrive today from Cali, and I’ve been cleaning and putting away all the stuff we can’t hide in the garage- boy it takes a long time to unpack… Besides all the eventse’re also hosting a Barbecue fundraiser for the Pride Foundation on Sunday. Needless to say, I’ll be busier than a hooker on Dollar Day- so posts will be a bit light, but I promise a recap next week.

Anyway, the Montana Pride Schedule is available here, just click the picture. Please check for info regarding events, bios, etc. I am especially excited about Out West Montana’s event at the Bozeman Public Library on Saturday. Patricia’s a great story teller, and I’m sure it’ll be a great hit.

So have funIf you see me, say HI!