Celebrating Our First Five Years with Gratitude and Renewed Purpose
Well that went by fast!
It’s hard to believe it’s been five years already since theOUTfront was launch on a cold snowy day in January. Ironically, we just got our first snowstorm today and tonight we’re gonna need union suits to keep warm. (Fortunately, they’re easy open at all the right access points.)
It’s a joy bringing you sexy fun, the latest entertainment, LGBT+ news, and celebrating our diverse Community. We also appreciate your attention to our stories of national, social, and racial importance. We know they are difficult at times but if we didn’t think they mattered to you too, you wouldn’t be reading theOUTfront. We are grateful every day for our readers, followers, and those of you who share our posts with others. Thank you!
When we look back at our “third anniversary” post in 2020, it’s startling to realize that we hadn’t even heard of the coronavirus, but in just a few weeks it would completely change our lives in ways we couldn’t begin to imagine.
Likewise when we look back to our beginning as a response to the election of the previous President, we would have expected “our work here to be done” now that Joe Biden is President and the Democrats control both houses of Congress. Yet things are arguably worse now than five years ago. The damage inflicted by the defeated former president to our democracy and turning the Republicans into a party of autocrats is catastrophic. How this plays out for the future of our country and our Community is uncertain.
It’s up to us, not just our elected officials, but every one of us to step up and step in like we did at Stonewall and we did during the AIDS crisis. It’s in the DNA of who we are as LGBT+ people and as a Community to stand up and fight back like our lives depend on it because we know they do.
Everyone needs to know they can make a difference. We shared this story two years ago and it’s worth sharing again.
Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.
One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.
He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”
The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish into the ocean.”
“I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?” asked the somewhat startled wise man.
To this, the young man replied, “The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”
Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, “But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can’t possibly make a difference!”
At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said,
“I made a difference for that one.”
Starfish Story By Loren Eiseley noted ecologist and poet
TheOUTfront was started to be a light in the darkness of what was to come. If everyone decided to “light a candle rather than curse the darkness,” together we could drive out the darkness and all those who perpetuate it.
We’ll continue trying to make a difference and be a light and hope you will too. Thank you again for a great five years!
Lawrence Pfeil, Jr.
Creator of theOUTfront & Crazy Ass Queen
