As the world begins to open back up, we can now begin to pick up where we left off – unfinished funerals, unfinished conversations, decisions about where to live, who to have in our lives (or not), and what to do. I see this time like a typical summer in the upper Midwest of the United States: emerge going 150 mph and don’t look back for three months.
The current pandemic left many suspended in a liquid reality filled with unanticipated changes, heretofore unknown anxieties, and unaddressed fears just waiting to burst forth like cicadas after a 17-year hiatus changes. We emerge battle-scarred with losses of loved ones, past dreams, and current realities. One hard lesson is the realization that we might not have enough time left to do what we want to do or what we thought we could do in our brief human lifespan.
A line of Pride flags [Pixabay]
During this current astrological period of Mercury retrograde in Gemini, communication disruptions on all levels make this a good time to think about and plan for all the unfinished business of the past 15 months. In some parts of the world, pandemic life, with certain restrictions, remains. The tennis ball echoes on the courts of Roland Garros during night matches because Paris remains under a 9 p.m. curfew, leaving just the players, their support staff, and tennis officials to watch. Psychologically, watching most of the audience leave at a crucial moment during the third set of a men’s match or in the middle of a second set of a women’s match is just a reminder of how much unfinished business remains in just having participation in all events worldwide.
There remains unfinished business during this annual celebration of Pride: how many rights are not a ‘given’ for all in the LGBTQ+ community. For every bill signed that prevents the use of a panic defense as justification for murder of LGBTQ+, and especially trans individuals, there are even more pieces of legislation or proposals that deny trans individuals the right to just be. Adolescent awareness of gender is accepted, unless the individual is trans. Is this a fear, or just unfinished business as a legacy from a movement started over 50 years ago?
Transgender flag [Wikimedia Commons]
Trans youth have a higher rate of suicide, at a time when the push during the pandemic has been mental health, taking care of the self, and reaching out. We are all human – regardless of gender identity. and gender identity, binary or nonbinary status. The recent restoration of rights helps address these bias issues for trans individuals, but only in part.
While we acknowledge the journey for the LGBTQ+ community and HIV, unfinished business means not having a cure for HIV/AIDS. While total life expectancy has lengthened for those living with HIV/AIDS, a vaccine for prevention or a cure would be optimal for all.
Unfinished health business bleeds into unfinished financial needs. For the many who remain unemployed or underemployed, the need to have a job that pays a living wage with benefits that will cover the unexpected road bumps common on the road of the average human life remains a priority. We all need to ingest foods that are affordable, nutritious, and within a reasonable distance from our home.
Healthcare bias that extends to the computers and artificial intelligence that guides many systems remains unfinished business. Too often we use devices that use race or gender as a default, thereby showing bias against those who do not fit the programmed norm. Fat-shaming as a technique and weight bias in general are some of the last accepted prejudices among health care professionals to the detriment of the many who presume that healthcare is the realm of equality.
So long as we have problems in healthcare and finances, unfinished business remains in the housing market. Housing for many in the LGBTQ+ community continues to be problematic depending on where you live in the country. This affects the choice that many have. While the state of Minnesota granted protections as early as 1993 that make it safer to live , work, get health care, and simply to exist while LGBTQ+, this varies widely elsewhere. Relying upon the Biden administration to undo decades of discrimination is just a start.
Living in a pandemic mindset for the past 15 months provides enough space for many to re-think not just how to live life, but how to earn a living. For those fortunate enough to work remotely, this became an opportunity to move from over-priced housing to lower-priced, more appealing locations. No longer geographically restricted by how long it would take to drive or take local transport to work, many blossomed with a positive way.
While we come out of the pandemic with a new respect and appreciation for those who thrives, reality hit hard for the LGBTQ+ community. The pandemic provided devastation in many areas including job loss and delayed health care. Others found it the right time to move more quickly in relationships, and hoping for the best. LGBTQ+ students often needed to move back in with family who might not be aware of their sexual orientation or gender status. Awareness of this problem is the first step to dealing with not just the mental health crisis, but the effect on the LGBTQ+ community overall.
Flags, flowers, and other memorials left outside the Stonewall Inn in New York City during the 2016 Pride weekend, shortly after the Pulse nightclub shooting [Rhododendrites, Wikimedia Commons, CC 4.0]
Now that the pandemic has lessened in some places, those students can breathe; others can re-start after the harsh losses. All can work on cleaning up the financial and relationship unfinished business.
The three weeks of Mercury retrograde ask us the hard questions. When it is in Gemini, the hardest questions are not just how are we communicating with ourselves and each other, but why we are choosing to hold certain beliefs, and to follow various paths. We want to connect, and we are challenged to do so in a way that is meaningful for our time and ourselves.
This is a pause: how are we using it? What are we saying to ourselves and to each other? What are we not saying? In the coming out process, the hardest conversation often lies with the self. During this overlap of Mercury retrograde and Pride month, I view success in not just being able to come out, but to live fully as a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community.
Unfinished business hit each of us. Pre-pandemic, division by whose battle, whose revolution shaped worldview and outlooks. Post-pandemic, the challenge is to ask whether it has to be one’s own personal battle to be an acceptable fight.
The best celebration of Pride is moving forth to make this year a better one than the year before. True equality means not having to worry about where we can, where our children can safely go to school without rejection, where doctors will treat us without bias, where we can do work we love without fear, and where we can walk holding hands with our partners in complete safety. For trans members in our community, it means that age does not limit acceptance of who we are, and that treatment is not prevented by those who do not accept transgender rights in the first place. Each law passed or court ruling in favor of LGBTQ+ rights is a step forward towards addressing unfinished business. We are on our way, even as we have a way to go.
Happy Pride!
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