LGBTQ+ People Are Not Going Back
A Special Announcement
In 2016, I watched from prison as Colin Kaepernick knelt during the National Anthem before a preseason NFL game. When asked about his decision, Kaepernick spoke about the racial injustice and police brutality that kept him from fully supporting the flag. At the time, I wished that he was more articulate about his decision: he clearly did not expect that to be a flashpoint moment in American politics, and some of his explanations seemed clumsy, and not particularly geared towards solutions.
This was part of the motivation for right wing media and fans to declare a fatwa against the man. People responded to his protest quite savagely. It was unbecoming — of the fans, who actually clap during the National Anthem (which, I feel, is respecting the singer but disrespecting the anthem, to be honest), of the media (who derided yet another Black athlete for having opinions about the status quo), and even of our idiot President, Donald Trump, who eventually and predictably weighed in on a topic he knew very little about, as per his trademark.
What struck me immediately within the coverage of the NFL in the wake of his decision was the lack of support from the white players alongside Kaepernick. They did not back him loudly, as they should have, particularly vocal superstars like Tom Brady (who pushed back against prostitution jokes against Robert Kraft at his own comedy roast). They did not acknowledge that racial injustice was important to them, because it wasn’t. And they didn’t acknowledge police brutality because that was filed under “A Black Thing”, a silence cementing an obvious racial divide.
I stopped enjoying the NFL after that, as Kaepernick was deemed a pariah and, through collusion, was kicked out of the league. Everyone wants to focus on Kaepernick, as well as those athletes (almost exclusively Black) who supported him. But very little is said about the white superstars in the league at the time, the Bradys, the Matts Ryan and Stafford, and many more, on how they cowardly said, “No comment” as their Black peer found himself unemployed for opinions supported by statistics and insight. I was in prison. The NFL was supposed to be a “macho” league. Instead you had this suffocating cowardice. How can I, as a man, support that?
I thought of Kaepernick when I saw the chaos that enveloped transgender congresswoman Sarah McBride recently. In the wake of an election that served as a giant middle finger to marginalized people, pundits fretted that the Democrats had leaned too heavily on the freedoms and respect required by our social contract towards the LGBTQ+ community. Donald Trump successfully ran an election against “pronouns” and voters, largely white, men and women, fought hard against what was perceived as an LGBTQ+ agenda. Those pundits had studied the way the wind was blowing, and concluded that it was time for them, and us, to fold away our principles. To leave marginalized people alone and let them be crushed by the regressive new regime of the elderly boy king and his hopeless nihilist minions.
And so McBride, freshly elected, fielded pugilistic and frankly irrelevant attacks from congresswoman Nancy Mace, attacks cosigned by Mike Johnson [R] and a host of other Republicans. Mace pointed to her status as a rape survivor (and away from her support of a rapist for President) to claim she did not feel safe in the bathrooms with Ms. McBride. The Republicans went so far as to create a law that basically stipulates Ms. McBride would have to use a bathroom in the bushes, or in another building — it’s cheap hate, since Mace and McBride and everyone in Congress have their own personal bathrooms. It’s hate with no sacrifice. It’s petty, stupid and gutless. Checking a box to remind America of your ignorance.
The Democrats, punch-drunk after learning how much their constituents hate women, did nothing. They stood in silence. They didn’t support McBride, who herself attempted to take the high road to better differentiate herself from Mace. They didn’t fight this bathroom ban that was the result of a bunch of toddlers who had eaten too many crayons and saw hallucinations of rainbows holding butcher knives to their throats. And they didn’t point out that Mace and Johnson and their ilk were all hat and no cattle, just scumbag con artists who ride cultural waves instead of standing up for what they actually believed in, for what Americans actually want and need. Because Mace, suddenly so outspoken about womens’ issues, would understand she’s in less danger from sharing a (non-existent) bathroom with McBride than she is standing next to the rapist President-elect. And Johnson, this is a man who repeatedly reveals his own lack of dignity, which is how he got the job of Speaker of the House — he’s literally and proudly just a bullhorn for the loudest, stupidest people in the current shameless Republican Party.
Of course, banning Sarah McBride from invisible bathrooms just to let everyone know you’re an intolerable jerk is how this is going right now. We have years of this ahead of us. Republicans, powered entirely by pathetic grievance, turning the LGBTQ+ crowd into an enemy (as opposed to the wealthy, as opposed to Neo-Nazis, as opposed to white nationalists, as opposed to Russia, as opposed to… yikes, we have a lot of actual enemies). If they’re not fighting for Sarah McBride, their colleague, how can you expect them to fight for your transgender neighbor, your gay dentist, your bisexual coworker? Your family members?
From prison, I watched people roll over. I watched Americans listlessly surrender in the wake of the presidency of Donald Trump. I watched them fold in the way they’re folding right now, acting like having a rapist President governing entirely on inarticulate grievance against anyone who doesn’t pledge their undying love towards him is an acceptable “new norm.” And I’m sick of watching it. I didn’t get out of prison to see Americans act like prison gimps. I got out of prison to live in a free country, one where we uplift the weak and marginalized, where we help our neighbors. I am a straight man with light skin, but I’ve never led my life through the juvenile lens of self-interest, and I’m definitely not going to start now that a diaper-clad con-man, seemingly months from full-blown dementia, decides to turn this into a country of hate, fear and loathing. The LGBTQ+ community are my brothers and sisters, and they are yours too. It’s time to act like it.
I am posting this on the day Congress and the Senate are back in session. Now is when you have to remember — yes, this goonish President-elect is all over the news, the internet and television, but YOUR voice is the most important one.
Find your local Congresspeople and Senators, find their information, phone numbers, email addresses. And tell them
There should be no capitulation in regards to the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. No revising of hate crime statutes, no discussions on debating marriage equality, none of that. Not one change. Not one concession to the party of scumbags, liars and bootleggers who wouldn’t last a minute in the prisons I occupied.
If there is, then guess what? There goes your vote.
Yes, I know, that second point is terrifying. What are you gonna do, vote for a Republican who is in no way in touch with America but will cosign any gibberish coming out of Donald Trump’s diseased mouth? But ultimately, it’s not even entirely about the LGBTQ+ community. Maybe you don’t know anyone who is in the LGBTQ+ community, and to you, this isn’t an issue. But you really think the Republicans will stop there? If they can erode their freedoms, do you think your freedoms are safe?
I’m Puerto Rican. I’m an American. It makes sense I should feel comfortable in my own country. Except Donald Trump (who has repeatedly denigrated Puerto Rico) has openly had conversations about trading the island for Greenland as if it was a baseball card. He has also talked about ending birthright citizenship. So if Puerto Rico is no longer an American territory, and birthright citizenship ends, what does that make me? Me, a citizen, but also an ex-con? I am actually quite confident this chain of events will not occur, at least not in that order. But given how little support the Democrats have provided Sarah McBride, now that’s on the table! Never in my lifetime did I think... And yet, there it is.
So reach out. Tell them you won’t tolerate that cowardice. Make sure they know it’s a threat. Because if you DO vote for Democrats, but they fold on basic human rights, what’s the point in any vote, for anyone?
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As I mentioned previously, next week, I will be returning to our regular schedule, and we’ll be discussing five movies that deal with race. Hello to my new followers, and I hope you’ll all join me on this continued journey. We’ve got a lot of movies to discuss, and a lot of issues about prisons and incarceration to reveal and understand.
Your piece is searing and unapologetically clear-eyed. You draw a powerful connection between the failure of courage among NFL players during Kaepernick's protest and the current political climate surrounding LGBTQ+ rights. The throughline of complicity, cowardice, and systemic oppression is both chilling and galvanizing, underscoring the urgency of collective action.
Your ability to balance deeply personal reflections with sharp cultural critique makes this not just a call to action but a rallying cry. The parallels you draw between the treatment of marginalized communities and your own experiences as a Puerto Rican and former inmate add depth and perspective, illustrating that these struggles are interconnected and inseparable.
Thank you for writing with such intensity and conviction. It’s a reminder that allyship isn’t just about passive support but about active, unrelenting advocacy for justice. You’ve lit a fire that demands to be carried forward.
Oh wow, what a lovely article, and that 7th paragraph! I was both chuckling at "punch drunk" and also reveling in the truth as told as bluntly as it deserves. Way to go! Thanks for participating in today's effort and adding to the multitudes who are participating. :)