LGBTQ

  • We will eventually not be able to talk about sexual abuse online

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 2 minutes

    What’s objectionable? Who decides that? Does an abusive parent get to decide that no one should provide any information about abuse to their kid? Do ultra-religious parents get to decide that no one should see information about LGBTQ issues or mental health medication? Do non-religious parents get to decide that no one is allowed to read the Bible online due to violent passages? 

    It appears the answer to that, at least until a court steps in to strike down this law, is yes to all of that. As the EFF points out, this isn’t just a risk to the big tech platforms. Anyone with a blog, website, social media account, etc., is subject to a civil lawsuit based on a parent not agreeing with what they post. 

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    Reasons I Didn’t Tell Anyone I was Being Sexually Abused

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 6 minutes

    That’s why when people approach me with ideas for how to prevent childhood sexual abuse, the only two things I focus on are education and honesty. I didn’t even know I was being abused because I lacked any education, and I didn’t talk to anyone because there were no safe adults for me to talk to. 

    If you want to prevent abuse, do those things. Talk to kids about sex, abuse, rape, violence, and LGBTQ issues. Please give them the vocabulary to talk about what is happening to them, to define what is right and wrong, and a place to get their questions answered honestly, get good information on the topic, and have open conversations without judgment. 

    If you aren’t willing to provide that for kids, I guarantee you there is a predator out there who will be more than happy to fill in the spaces for the kids around you and teach them about sex. You’re not going to like what they teach them. 

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    Unpopular Opinion, The Kids Online Safety Act is Going to Harm More Kids than it Protects

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 3 minutes

    I get it. The people who write these laws live in a world where kids all have a loving family who cares about them and want only to protect them from the evil that exists “out there.” They will provide whatever help and information their kids need, and there’s no need for them to navigate the wildness of the internet.  But we make information available to kids online because that’s not their reality. They don’t have supportive parents, they get kicked out for being gay, they are being abused at home, they are dealing with mental health issues their parents refuse to acknowledge, and they are often alone in trying to get help.

    Those kids need an open internet.

  • On Martin Luther King Day

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 4 minutes

    When I think of the famous speeches of Dr. King, I am always reminded of this fact. We have always seen certain groups of people as less deserving of the rights we willingly claim for ourselves. Be it blacks, immigrants, prisoners, those with mental health struggles or disabilities, members of the LGBTQ community, or addicts, it is far too easy to look at them with judgment and disdain. Maybe even fear. They’re different than me. What happens to them is not my concern. They probably brought it on themselves anyway.

    Those are all too easy to say. The hard work is in looking at people who are different from us, who live different lives, make different choices, and recognize our common humanity. That’s what Dr. King was talking about. Not being blind to our differences but being aware that we are all human and deserve respect based on that. So when a black man is lynched, or a prisoner dies from a lack of medical care, or someone struggling dies from suicide without access to mental healthcare, or because their own family won’t accept them for who they are, we fail as a society. We fail to see human life as human life.

  • Anxiety and Depression as an Evolutionary Response to Adversity

    ByMike McBride Reading Time: 3 minutes

    We evolved to feel depression and anxiety in response to difficult experiences because it serves a purpose. We’ve also evolved to depend on each other as a community. One without the other is going to go poorly for us, and I fear that is precisely where we are now. The significant increases in rates of depression and anxiety, not to mention what seems like our complete inability to make a dent in the rates of suicide in the US, might just be because of this imbalance.

    Be good to each other and stay connected. It’s what we need most in times of adversity.