It’s been too long since I’ve posted here! The last post was about my Domestic Violence project and the show at the Dover Art League. I just posted a new post on that site. I admired this survivor’s courage and grace. She’s been through the wringer in ways that would break most. It hasn’t been all nice and pretty like a Lifetime movie, but she’s kept going.

This last weekend I set up another show with Natasha down at CAMP Rehoboth in Rehoboth Beach Delaware. The show was in conjunction with the play “Stop Kiss“. I was so moved by the work they’re doing at CAMP Rehoboth that I joined them.  Yeah, the middle-aged (well if middle is half of 112!) straight white guy became a member of an LGBT advocacy group. They’re doing great work. They’re open, kind, inclusive and caring.

I didn’t really see the connection until now, but both actions are part of me saying “enough is enough”.  I started the Domestic Violence project when I had to do something after finding out how bad it is out there for women. There’s a legitimate fear in the LGBT community that things are going to backslide for their basic human rights. I was told this weekend at the show about some outright gay bashing that just disgusted me. I don’t get it.  I can’t stand by and do nothing in that arena either.  I doubt I’ll be marching around in a leather thong in a pride parade (no one wants to see me like that!) but, Hell yeah, I’ll stand up and say “no more” and “fix this”. 

I usually don’t talk about the things I’ve given too, or people I’ve helped. I think it’s unseemly to do so. I’ve supported individuals behind the scenes because doing it publicly makes it seem like I’m doing it for my benefit, not theirs. (hey everyone, look how awesome I am…) Usually, the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing… but in the Domestic Violence and LGBT arena, it’s important that old white guys, who might not have a dog in the fight, stand up for others.

I do have a dog in this fight though. I have friends and family in the LGBT community (no, some of my best friends aren’t gay… ) and I know way to many women (and men!) that have suffered from domestic violence. And as Martin Luther King Jr said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

The truth is, I’m a little concerned about advocating poorly, saying something grossly white male priveleged, or ineffectively, but, I can’t just do nothing.  I hope others will join me, work against Domestic Violence, and go join CAMP Rehoboth!