ActivismBlogiversary

Top Things I Wish Pittsburgh’s Best Local Blogger Got To Do

December 4, 2016 by
Best Local Blogger Pittsburgh

I’ve been savoring my surprise nab of the Best Local Blogger category in the Pittsburgh City Paper’s 2016 ‘Best of Pittsburgh’ awards. By savoring, I mean that I agonized over how much I hated the accompanying photo, missed the award party because of anxiety and have awkwardly inserted the factoid into as many conversations as possible simply because Ledcat dared me to do so. I said it at least 10 times when I was in a blogging panel. Yes, I did use the phrase, “I traffic in the currency of exposure.”

ActivismNaBloPoMo

I’m Cranky, Sad and Defiant. December, Here I Come.

December 3, 2016 by

There is no opening sentence that will accurately describe my emotional mindset right now. How about “my month has been a delightful Panoply of precursors to the next four years as well as most of what’s been happening forever that I never thought about?” I started out after the election feeling numb and cutting myself […]

Activism

Owner of Giant Eagle Local Store Comments on Blog Post

December 1, 2016 by
Review of Giant Eagle Curbside Express

A few minutes ago, Marie Bricker Furlong posted a comment in response to the Giant Eagle posts. I confirmed her email address and that Marie Bricker is the owner of the Cedar Avenue location. No one has reached out to me directly to discuss either from Giant Eagle corporate or from the local independently owned […]

ActivismIn MemoriamLGBTQ

23 Year Old Black Lesbian Stud is Murdered in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville Neighborhood UPDATED

December 1, 2016 by
Pittsburgh Stud Shanique Sanders

Her name was Shanique Sanders.

Pittsburgh Stud Shanique Sanders
Shanique Sanders via Facebook
She was 23 years old and a resident of Homestead. Wednesday afternoon, she became the latest fatality in the epidemic of violence when her body was found at 1:45 PM on McKinley Street in the Knoxville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. She had been shot at least one time when she was found and transported to UPMC Mercy where she later died.

Shanique used the name Loyalty Fashigg in social media and self-identified as a stud, according to local LGBT activist Amber Sloan who was a friend and mentor to Shanique. Amber told me that Shanique was born in Garfield, grew up in Homewood and was a graduate of Westinghouse High School.

Activism

Open Letter to Giant Eagle Regarding Northside Store

November 30, 2016 by
Review of Giant Eagle Curbside Express

(I am posting this letter to be transparent about my concerns around microaggressions, trolling and corporate influences. You can read my original post here. – Sue) To Whom It May Concern, My name is Sue Kerr and I am a Pittsburgh based blogger at pghlesbian.com. I wrote a blog post describing a positive interaction I had […]

Activism

Giant Eagle Cashier Elizabeth Reminded Me That At Least Sometimes It Can Be Okay

November 29, 2016 by

We’ve been crouched in fear for over three weeks and with good reason as the hate and ugliness are fully unleashed on us. I’ve been struggling to use my tools, to find meaning and to figure out how the heck I’m going to survive for four years like this. Elizabeth’s work ethic reminds me that there are a lot of good people here in Pittsburgh who will continue to be good people, come what may. There are people who live their values and walk the walk every single day, regardless of whether we are an older black man who forgot a pin number or a middle aged white lesbian who picked up the item without a price tag.

Elizabeth made me realize that, at least sometimes, it might be okay.

AMPLIFYBisexual

Tara, 29, Describes Life in the Shenango Valley as a Bisexual Woman #AMPLIFY

November 29, 2016 by
Mercer County Bisexual

“[After 9th grade concert] Once we got home, my tears had turned to anger. I ended up slamming every door I touched, kicked off my shoes so hard they hit the wall, and told my mom I hated her. She got in my face, and my dad stepped in. He sent my little brother to his room before I recalled what happened at the school. He sighed, but didn’t say anything. He was a man of few words. After a few minutes of me blubbering, trying to calm down, the three of us went to the kitchen table to talk.
I remember my dad sitting across from me and my mom sitting to my right at our tiny cramped kitchen table. I don’t remember the specifics of conversation, mostly because I blocked it out, but in a nutshell, they told me homosexuality was wrong and I was going to Hell if I continued liking girls. I fidgeted with a leftover napkin as I told them I loved Z. We were best friends. I said I was bisexual, not homosexual, hoping that might somehow make it better. It didn’t. I was still damned just the same.

In the weeks following my admission, my parents forced me to start counseling.”

Activism

#GIVINGTUESDAY at the AMPLIFY Project

November 29, 2016 by

Today is #GivingTuesday. We ask you to consider a donation to #AMPLIFY – we are trying to raise $600 to produce tee shirts. It is a modest goal to support a community project. We are about 15% there already! And this is our starting point – a pink crew neck shirt in sizes XS to […]

AMPLIFY

Is an #AMPLIFY Tee Shirt (fundraiser) a Useful Form of Resistance? #GivingTuesday

November 28, 2016 by

Here’s our appeal for #GivingTuesday. We need to raise $600. We’ve kicked around the idea of a tee shirt fundraiser in the past, but never came up with a concept beyond using our logo (designed by Kai Devenitch): The ongoing discussion of wearing safety pins combined with this creative anarchist button response got me thinking […]

Activism

Microaggressions on the Rise in Pittsburgh?

November 27, 2016 by

So I’m going to document the microagressions on this blog. I’m going to make sure you, dear readers, have a glimpse into how the world has shifted for a white, middle aged, middle class, gis gender lesbian on a day to day level. Because it is everywhere, it always has been and I’ve usually been able to acknowledge, but move on most of the time.

But there are too many Confederate flags waving over the trucks and homes of friends of my friends. There are too many Catholic-lite folks who deny the racial divides in Pittsburgh while swigging a craft brew at their favorite food truck. There are too few women in elected office and too many kids not part of the ‘412’ culture. Too many good intentions making things worse while demanding validation for trying. It is the participation trophy demands in social justice work that are draining our resources and preventing us from lifting up the actual contributions from people of color, queer and trans folks, bisexual folks, disabled people, etc. We have too many sacred cows and not enough kleenex for the white tears of indignation and outrage.