April Feature
Corona and the LGBTQ Community
Welcome to the April issue of Diversity Rules Magazine. Spring has arrived, but unfortunately, it is not that happy contented season we are all accustomed to, due to the invisible intruder that is threatening our spring serenity. The Corona Virus has upended our consciousness and has temporarily changed our world. We can only hope this scourge leaves us soon, and a vaccine, as well as an effective treatment, emerge as soon as possible.
This month’s issue’s feature addresses the virus, and more specifically, how it is impacting the LGBTQ+ community. While perusing the internet, I found an interesting article, an open letter as the authors call it, released by the National LGBT Cancer Network and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA), signed by over 100 organizations about the added risk of COVID-19 on LGBTQ citizens. The main premise of the letter was to highlight the fact that LGBTQ+ citizens could be more particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of the virus, namely for three reasons, as highlighted in the feature article here.
We must learn from our past history relating to the outbreak of HIV/AIDS and the ensuing pandemic that took from us many lives … friends, family, neighbors, and millions of others we did not know. The main lesson we have to keep in mind, and as stated in the letter, is that we “do not allow any population to be disproportionately impacted or further stigmatized by a virus.”
It is important that we learn from our history, and embrace those lessons in dealing with the outbreak of the Coronavirus. We shall defeat this invisible intruder.
We will get through this troubling time. We Americans are a hardy lot, and ave always got through such periods of conflict and distress. There will be a vaccine and an effective treatment soon enough, as our medical community has been working day and night on such solutions.
We also have an election coming up in November and one which provides an opportunity to rid ourselves of the menace called Trump. In addition to his being the worst President we have had in the modern era, It is his early inaction and ambivalence toward the spread of this virus that prevented the development of a coordinated and effective approach to battle and contains its spread.
His incessant cries that the virus was a Democratic hoax and his ensuing reluctance to prepare for the arrival of COVID-19 in the United States has caused it to spread unnecessarily. He has abdicated his duty as President to ensure the health and safety of all Americans since he was made aware of the impending pandemic in late November/early December. He chose to do nothing. He did not gear up testing capability or begin to prepare the country for what would become a living nightmare — a modern-day Andromeda Strain scenario. He has accused others and cast blame on the current situation on others, and has ignored the advice of medical professionals because his focus has solely been on the economy and his re-election. For this primary reason, he certainly does not deserve re-election.
No one knows what the future will bring at this point. Businesses have closed, events have been canceled, and our lives have been upended by social distancing requirements. We all have hope that all this will end in short order, but we must also prepare for the long haul.
Stay well. Stay safe. Look out for your family, friends, and neighbors.
Click HERE to read the April feature article.
