StoryCorps: “I got in the most trouble I think I ever had in my entire life.”
Derrick: When I was younger, I remember I was on the playground and I kissed a boy. It wasn’t like anything sexualized or anything like that, but I got in the most trouble I think I ever had in my entire life. I had no perception of what bisexuality was, but I guess that was when I would first say I explored it.
My parents were very religious and kind of did bring this heavy-handed Leviticus kind of message, but at the time they didn’t know I identified as anything. LGBTQ individuals were associated, especially men with AIDS, and pedophilia, and … it was a scary thing. That was probably the first time I ever was told the law of the land: This is bad; do not be this.
I had a friend that went to my religious institution, and we would get along and stuff like that, and it was like you guys can hug, you guys don’t fight, but don’t get too close now. There was this obviously when you crossed the line. I always found that weird because there was just this limitation given on your ability to show affection to your fellowman. The ironic thing is they sexualized actions that were not sexual in any nature. It could be as simple as we hugged. It was suddenly turned into this sick thing, and I was constantly reminded with examples from the Hebrew Bible about how God punishes the earth for this and this and this, which always struck me as funny because he never did the same thing for people that were gluttonous or cruel or wrathful.
Birmingham faith leaders lead community in vigil in response to ICE actions in Minnesota
Members of the Birmingham community bore the cold Friday evening in a two-hour vigil in honor of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration agents last weekend in Minnesota, and others who have died in incidents involving United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
‘Melania’ is Amazon’s airbrushed and astronomically pricey portrait of the First Lady
Amazon paid $40 million to acquire the documentary, and is spending $35 million more to promote it.
Photos: Thousands once again protest ICE in Minneapolis and across the U.S.
Demonstrators in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities participated in protests as part of a "national shutdown" to end immigration enforcement operations.
Judge rules Luigi Mangione should not face death penalty
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Catherine O’Hara played drunk better than anyone
O'Hara observed people closely; she found the tics, the mannerisms, the specific beats of drunkenness and used them to open us up to her characters' frailty, their vulnerability, their humanity.
Blue Origin pauses space tourism flights to focus on lunar lander
Blue Origin, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, says it's stopping human spaceflights for at least two years. The move will allow it to "shift resources" to the company's lunar landing capabilities.
