Hack This Site

Jun 2 2021: Celebrating Pride

At HackThisSite, we have always tried to be a safe, welcoming place for people from every walk of life. This year we would like you to join us in celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride Month for the month of June. Pride is a reminder that while a lot of progress has been made over the past few decades, the fight is far from over and your help is needed.

You may wonder why people are flying those rainbow flags every year shouting that they are proud. Why do they feel the need to announce it, and why does there need to be a whole month for it? In the perfect world, this would not be necessary.

On June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in Manhattan, New York, a riot happened. This riot would be the tipping point, starting the path for equality. This was the start of the Stonewall Riots, a violent stand against the police criminalizing LGBTQ+ identities. Pride is a celebration, yes; but it is also a protest against the struggles people face while living in a homophobic society. It’s a celebration of people's identities, in a world that discourages people from doing so. Pride is resistance.

Prior to the Stonewall Riots, being gay or queer was seen as a sickness. Something to be corrected. Sometimes it was even criminalized. This line of thinking unfortunately continued for quite some time, and even has remnants today. In the 1950s, not long before the Stonewall Riots, Robert Galbraith Heath was experimenting on deep brain stimulation in a hope to “cure” homosexuality. This process later become known as Conversion Therapy and has yet to be outlawed in many parts of the world.

At a time when more and more people are finding the courage to come out and be proud of who they truly are, it is disheartening to see that people all over the world are being pushed out against their will and ostracized, and sometimes killed, for being themselves.

This year, there have been over 250 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced in state legislatures across the United States, and this trend is increasing across the world, too. Most of the laws target transgender people, specifically young people in sports. Doctors are finding it a real possibility that providing life-affirming care may be criminalized. These proposed laws are cruel, unnecessary, and blatant discrimination. Unfortunately, some have passed, and in some nations not being straight is a criminal offense, even punishable by death. At such a crucial point in the fight for equality, we cannot let up. In the U.S. alone, more than half the states allow the use of the "Gay Panic" defense. This is unacceptable. Just when the LGBTQ+ community was finally beginning to gain small steps forward in civil rights, those may soon be gone.

The time to fight back is now, more than ever. There are hundreds of LGBTQ+ rights organizations around the world that you can join and find out what you can do to make sure LGBTQ+ persons get the equal and equitable rights they justly deserve. In the U.S., GLAAD is one of many such organizations. The American Psychological Association provides a great guide for finding your Senators and Congresspersons and tips for how to communicate with them. Your help is needed, please act now.

Pride is not just for people to stand up and let their presence be known. Pride is a reminder of what people who are not LGBTQ+ can do to be an ally, to be supportive and provide a safe place. Pride is a reminder that the fight is not over.

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Sep 8 2020: GO VOTE!

"Vote as if your life depends on it - because it does!"

Those are the famous words of the late and venerable Justin Dart Jr., co-founder of the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and 'Godfather of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)'. He said this long ago to underscore the importance of electing politicians, at all levels, that will be an ally to those less fortunate. Especially those whose lives literally depend on the outcome of an election.

All of our lives hinge on the result of this election in November. The current administration and those that side with it seek to inflict as much pain, suffering, and even death on people they disagree with. That is not hyperbole, that is literally their political ideology. From destroying decades of work building civil rights for Black people and LGBTQ+, to empowering and encouraging Nazis and white nationalists, to countless impeachable acts of outright fascism -- and lately the criminal and malicious negligence with the COVID-19 pandemic -- it is indisputable that we absolutely cannot allow these monsters to stay in power any longer, at any level of government. To allow them to stay in power is to invite fascism, suffering, and death at unimaginable levels, both domestically and abroad.

There are previously unthinkable efforts taking place every day to undermine this election. This may very indeed well be the last chance we ever have to elect politicians that do not seek to harm a huge portion of the population for simply existing. If you do not vote this time, and for the right people, you might never have a real chance to again. Listed below are some resources to ensure your ballot gets counted.

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Vote as if your life depends on it - because this time, it really does.

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Jun 4 2020: Black Lives Matter

The unjustifiable murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many more have inspired uprisings not just in the United States but across the globe. The world is grieving, and we grieve with them. But the world is also angry, and rightfully so. For far too long, innocent people, especially minorities and persons of color, have been slaughtered by police with utter impunity, and now police are committing outright acts of terrorism against people protesting this injustice, against the press reporting on their heinous actions, and against innocent bystanders and even children that are not participating in any protests. Furthermore, state and federal officials up to and including the White House are using this as an excuse to implement the most egregiously fascist authoritarianism in the US.

This must end now. We must demand justice and accountability and we cannot stop until all police officers, their unions, and police departments are held to the highest possible standards and are mercilessly and unconditionally punished to the highest degree allowed by law when they brutalize the citizens they are sworn to protect, and when they shield the countless violent officers among their ranks. We must put an absolute end to the ongoing fascism, the empowerment of white supremacists, and the encouragement of violence all coming from our government. Anything less is entirely unacceptable.

Black Lives Matter. It's not just a movement, it's an indisputable truth. However, because of the racism that has been a cornerstone of the US since its inception (and still is to this day), Black Lives Matter remains controversial. The only thing that will destroy that cornerstone once and for all is education, acceptance, humility, equity (not just equality), and actively tearing down all institutions that reinforce this toxic and deadly culture. Now is the time not only to educate yourself and others, but to actively fight back against racism and its supporting institutions until they are permanently eradicated. Here is how you can do that:

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