How far we’ve come

David Neiwert of Daily Kos also leads a team that analyzes domestic terrorist attacks. Today the team released data gathered for 2017-2019, starting from when the nasty guy took office. Attacks by far-right extremists are up significantly. They are also much more deadly. And these attacks are much more numerous than attacks by any other group, such as Islamists or far-left extremists.

Neiwert also points out that law enforcement priorities are in the wrong place, spending much more effort investigating Islamist groups than far-right groups.



I watched the movie Fiertés, or in English, Proud, a story about how the life of a gay man in France changed over the last 40 years. It was originally a miniseries, so is told in three chapters, each about 45 minutes long. I watched one chapter each evening, finishing tonight. Paying for the ability to view the film also gave a donation to the Detroit Film Theater.

The first chapter takes place in 1981. Victor is about to graduate from high school and working at his dad’s construction company. He is also beginning to understand he is gay, which doesn’t sit well with his father. At this time gay sex is illegal and the backdrop to this chapter is the election of François Mitterand. One of the early things he does is remove penalties for gay sex.

The second chapter is in 1999. Victor, now in his mid 30s, has been in a stable relationship since the end of chapter 1. His older partner, Serge, is living with AIDS. Victor now wants to be a father. He starts exploring adoption, and quickly learns that though gay men may legally adopt their applications are usually denied. So he pretends to not be gay. The social worker is suspicious because he never mentions his love life. His partner becomes wary of the idea because he doesn’t want to put a child through his early death.

Chapter three is set in 2013. Diego, the adopted son, is now about 15 and dealing with being a teenager and with getting picked on because he has two dads. Victor is nearing 50 and still has issues with his father. Serge is still around. He’s been taking AIDS medications for 30 years and getting tired of the side effects. In the background same-sex marriage is working its way through Parliament.

Overall I thought the story was enjoyable, but a bit on the bland side. Even so, it is good to be reminded how far we’ve come.