PAGE 4 | MontroseStar.com e | Wednesday November 11, 2020
HRH REPORT
Publisher / Executive
LAURA M VILLAGRAN Business Development Manager
RANDALL JOBE
Copy Editor
NANCY FORD Scene Writers
RAFA ESPINOSA
JIM AYRES JANICE ANDERSON
News Features
Distribution
Production
JOHNNY TRLICA
MIRIAM ORIHUELA ELIZABETH MEMBRILLO
TH E S TA R CO NTR I B UTI N G W R ITE R S JIM AYRES by day is an employee benefits and human resources writer. By night he turns his creativity toward the local food and restaurant scene. Do you know of a restaurant that needs a review? Info@montrosestar.com NANCY FORD has enjoyed a front row seat to the most remarkable and sparkly Cultural Revolution in the history of mankind. “What a world!” She reflects appropriately. After moving to Houston from Ohio in 1981, Ford became a highly visible player in Texas’ LGBT publishing circles as an editor and contributor to myriad other local and statewide LGBT magazines and newspapers. RANDALL JOBE has been a fixture in the Houston LGBT Community for several decades in marketing and promotions for top nightclubs, as an actor/director/writer for dozens of theatrical productions, and is also known for his whimsical art pieces. He is the author of the 12-part series “This Old Queen”, which summarized his many experiences living in the gay Mecca, Montrose. VIC GERAMI is journalist, media contributor and Editor & Publisher of The Blunt Post. Vic grew up in LA and has a BA in Theater Arts. He spent six years at Frontiers Magazine, followed by LA Weekly and Voice Media Group. His syndicated celebrity Q&A column, 10 Questions with Vic, is a LA Press Club’s National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Award finalist. Vic is a contributor for Montrose Star, DC Life Magazine, Out & About Nashville, Q Virginia, GNI MAG, QNotes, Windy City Times, WeHo Times, GoWeHo, Los Angeles Blade, Asbarez, California Courier, Desert Daily Guide, Armenian Weekly, GED, The Pride LA, IN Magazine and The Advocate Magazine. FOREST RIGGS is no stranger to the adventures of life, he bills himself as a “raconteur with a gypsy spirit.” A former educator, public speaker, hospital administrator, counselor and gay owner, he was instrumental in the formation of OutSmart Magazine in the early 1990s. He has written for several newspapers, magazines and other publications. Recently he completed a collection of short stories about his beloved Galveston and is working on a novel. He currently resides on the island where he can be found wasting bait and searching for the meaning of life. JOHNNY TRLICA has called the Houston area home all of his life. Four years ago he founded and still edits the Houston Rainbow Herald and has worked in the apartment leasing industry for the past two years. His passion is keeping the battle for LGBT rights at the forefront of today’s headlines and fighting complacency in the LGBT community.
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OMMENTARY: IT’S THE THRILL OF VICTORY,
the agony of defeat. And when the contest is over, we meet at midfield, shake hands and go to happy hour together. In sports, yes, but not in politics. Politics is a blood sport and to the victor go the spoils. Long before a winner was declared in the presidential election, some people were calling for peace. A popular meme read, “After the election… If you win, don’t gloat. If you lose, don’t despair. This has been hard on all of us. Treat others the President-elect Joseph Biden delivers acceptance speech, way you want to be treated. We all will need it.” November 7, 2020. While we appreciate the Golden Rule, it will take some time to come around to that line of thinking. Besides, the defeated president mocked reporters and Joe Biden for wearing should be the one leading on uniting the nation them. It was mostly Trump supporters refusing since he, more than anyone, divided it. to mask up at stores and restaurants, throwing For the past four years, we have been harassed hissy fits that would embarrass a three-year-old. with names like demoncrats, libtards, snowflakes, Trump mocked Michigan Governor Gretchen demorats, and others not as nice. Whitmer for trying to keep her constituents safe Trump used schoolyard names for his and bragged about how “his” FBI caught the rightopponents. Crooked Hillary, Crazy Bernie, Shifty wing militia that sought to attempt to kidnap her, Adam Schiff, Pocahontas Elizabeth Warren, put her on trial and execute her. And his cult-like Crazy Nancy Pelosi and, most recently, Sleepy followers chanted “lock her up.” Owning the libs. Joe Biden and questioning his mental capacities. It isn’t just the president who shows a lack of His tribe laughed uncontrollably at the taunts. character. The hypocrisy of the GOP was on full Trumpers spent the past four years display when the Senate confirmed a Trumptelling us, “Fuck your feelings.” The flags appointed Supreme Court judge a week before the and T-shirts were visible at every Trump election this year. In 2016, they refused to do the rally and readily available on Amazon. same for a Barack Obama nominee because “it Right-wingers embraced anything that would was an election year.” Republican voters re-elected “own the libs,” even if it were harmful to the country Senators Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham or themselves. They placed twisting the knife in despite their open hypocrisy. Take that, you libtards. liberal’ stomachs as a top priority. Trump delivered. President-elect Biden is encouraging all But now they want us to put the election behind Americans to unite. “With the campaign over, us and have a Kumbaya moment together? it’s time to put the anger and the harsh rhetoric When Trump won the presidency in 2016, he behind us and come together as a nation. It’s was anything but reconciliatory. Fully a month time for America to unite. And to heal. We after his election win, the president-elect went are the United States of America. And there’s on a victory tour. At every stop he used each nothing we can’t do, if we do it together.” opportunity to gloat about his come from behind We will eventually heed our new president’s victory and boasted about the emotional pain advice, but for now, we need a little time to he had inflicted on Democrats by winning. The gloat. After years of mocking, ridicule, taunts, crowds ate it up because he was owning the libs. and gloating, one doesn’t walk away from Throughout his presidency, Trump gloated an abusive relationship without scars. that just by occupying the White House, he was infuriating his critics. He’d say, “I’m here and they’re Epilogue not.” This year on the campaign trail, he’d stand in Writing this column has been especially difficult front of his admirers and wallow in recounting the as I have several family members and friends anguish of his opponents on election night 2016. The who supported Trump. They are some of the crowd was in a frenzy as he was still owning the libs. most kind and gentle people I know. They were While COVID-19 was spreading across the not the people riding around with “fuck your nation the president failed to take the pandemic feelings” flags and yelling, “lock her up” at rallies. seriously and admitted he “downplayed” it. But make no mistake, they supported His documented lies directly led to the deaths “a race baiting, xenophobic religious bigot,” of hundreds of thousands of Americans. (Lindsey Graham’s description), who was Republicans rose to their leader’s defense with leading us down the road to fascism. They statements like, “it’s not his fault,” and “it’s no can reconcile that with themselves. worse than the flu.” Anything less than complete Humans often are characterized by the company submission to their leader would be caving to the they keep. Are we to judge people by who they vote demoncrats, who were exaggerating the virus for as well? Perhaps this is a good time for all of us to make Trump look bad, according to them. to take time to reflect and examine our core values. Trump made the simple act of wearing a Does character still matter? Then maybe we can put mask a culture war. Those of us who chose to this national nightmare behind us and move on. e wear masks to protect others as well as ourselves The views expressed in this article are entirely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of MONTROSE STAR. Johnny Trlica is the administrator of the Houston became to subject of ridicule. Trump himself
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