Tag Archives: rights

The Time to Act is Now

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Callen Harty

On Wednesday, an electronic traffic sign in Orlando, Florida was tampered with and the electronic message was changed to read “Kill All Gays.” This is America today. This is what Florida Governor (and soon-to-be Presidential candidate) Ron DeSantis and other … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged African American community, agenda, allies, America, anti-LGBT laws, city councils, civil rights, closet, Congress, conservative, county governments, death, equal rights, fascist, fight, Florida, gays, haters, immigrants, laws, liberty, minority communities, Orlando, power, Pride events, progress, radical right-wingers, rights, Ron DeSantis, school boards, statehouses, Supreme Court, Tampa, violence, woen | Leave a comment

The New Wild West

Posted on May 8, 2023 by Callen Harty

Wow, Texas. Such progress. A bill just passed out of committee in Texas because two of seven Republicans either have a conscience or decided that right after another mass shooting in their state they didn’t want to risk losing votes … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged assault style weapons, dystopian landscape, firearms, fredom, Governor Abbott, gun control, happiness, hunting rifles, Legislature, Liberty University, life cycles, mass shooting, NRA, pistol, protection, protective order, Republicans, right to bear arms, rights, Second Amendment, Senate, Texas, thoughts and prayers, veto, votes | Leave a comment

Trans Position

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Callen Harty

Every day, every single day, a different right-wing politician introduces yet another bill in yet another state (or federally) that will in some way take away the rights or dignity of transgender people and make life harder for a group … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abusers, allyship, authentic, Christ, Christian, Dignity, drag, drag queens, electorate, empathy, legislation, love, minorities, peace, politician, pride, rhetoric, right-wing, rights, sons, trans, transgender, tyranny | Leave a comment

Club Q

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Callen Harty

(edited to reflect new information; 11/21/22) Once again, my people have been attacked. Several members of the queer community were shot and killed at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado late Saturday night. On Sunday’s Transgender Day of Remembrance, news … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Billy Jack Gaither, Christians, closet, Club Q, Colorado, Colorado Springs, common sense gun laws, Constitution, Dignity, equality, fear, gay, Harvey Milk, hate, hatred, leaders, LGBT, Matthew Shepard, out, politicians, Pulse Nightclub, queer, rights, safe spaces, transgender, United States, violence | Leave a comment

Mid-terms

Posted on November 7, 2022 by Callen Harty

It’s the night before the 2022 mid-term elections and I am nervous. And, to be honest, frightened. There are countless races with so many election deniers, QAnon adherents who really believe that Democrats and Hollywood stars are all part of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 5th Avnue, abortion, ads, agenda, baby killers, ballots, Bible, candidates, checks and balances, Christian nationists, conservatives, Constitution, Democrats, dog whistles, Donald Trump, duty, Dwight Eisenhower, election, election deniers, equal, extremist, gay, government, Hollywood, homosexuality, hypocrisy, Jim Crow, John McCain, liberals, Mandela Barnes, mid-term, New York, norms, party, persons of color, politicians, power, primaries, QAnon, queer, racism, radical, right to marriage, rights, Roe v Wade, theocratic state, totalitarian, truth, vote, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Open Letter to Justice Rebecca Bradley

Posted on May 5, 2020 by Callen Harty

Justice Bradley, No, the stay-at-home order currently in effect is not like Japanese internment camps and there is no chance that it will be. Being asked to stay at home to protect yourself and other people is not the same … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged activist conservative judges, Adolph Hitler, basic science, cabinet secretary, conservatives, Constitution, Covid-19, death sentences, enemy combatant, freedom, governor, health secretary, Heart Mountain Camp, heritage, history, Idi Amin, ignorance, Japanese internment camps, Joseph Stalin, judges, Justice Rebecca Bradley, justices, laws, legislators, pandemic, partisan hacks, Pol Pot, prison, privilege, representative government, Republican, rights, State Supreme Court, stay-at-home order, Tiananmen Square, tyranny, Wisconsin | 30 Comments

9/11 and the Enduring Sorrow

Posted on September 10, 2019 by Callen Harty

(Note: This was originally posted on 9/11/12. The post has been slightly updated with some current information) Nine. One. One. On an autumn morning so vivid it seems like yesterday and so foggy it seems a lifetime ago our nation … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged "eye for an eye", 9/11, Afghanistan, America, anti-government, apathy, biological weapons, Bush administration, citizens, civilians, compassion, compromise, court of law, Dancing with the Stars, Democrat, enemies, fear, freedoms, goodwill, government, hijacked jets, homeland security, Iraq, justice, land of the free, liberty, memorials, Muslim-American citizens, oil, Osama bin Laden, Patriot Act, peace, peaceful resolution, Pennsylvania, Pentagon, politicians, power, President, racial profiling, reality television, Republican, rights, Saddam Hussein, Saudi Arabia, soldiers, sorrow, surveillance, terrorism, tooth for a tooth, trial, twin towers, understanding, victims, violence, war, war hysteria, warrantless wiretaps, warrants, world community, World Trade Center | Leave a comment

Pride (and Prejudice)

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Callen Harty

So far, this year’s Pride Month has been a bizarre microcosm of living life as a queer person in the United States, and our experience is a microcosm of minority communities in general. This month, the queer community has … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged abortion, African-American, allies, America, Black lives matter, black trans women, bombing, Capitol, Dallas, death, Detroit, Dignity, discrimination, Donald Trump, equal rights, Equal Rights Amendment, equality, gender, Governor Tony Evers, hate groups, hatred, homophobes, human being, immigrants, Israeli, Jew, LGBT community, life, love, marginalized communities, mass shooting, minority communities, mosque, Muslim, Nazis, politcal gains, politcal losses, prejudice, pride, pride month, privileged class, progress, queer, race, racist, rainbow flag, religion, right to vote, right-wingers, rights, same-sex couples, status quo, struggle, suicidal, trans, United States, Wisconsin, women | Leave a comment

The Boys at the Top

Posted on December 2, 2018 by Callen Harty

When we were kids in small-town Wisconsin there were always some of the popular kids who could get away with all sorts of things. They were athletes or their parents were rich or held important positions in the town, so … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged absolute power, African-American, ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, Assembly, athletes, Attorney General, Badger, boilerplate laws, bullies, campaigns, Capitol, Christian, citizens, competition, conscience, conservative, county clerks, Democrat, divide and conquer strategy, election, government, Governor-elect, governorship, Green Bay Packers, hard work, heart, history, immature boys, karma, laws, leadership, legislators, Lieutenant Governor, life lessons, lobbying group, mid-term election, moral, newspaper editorials, power, Presidential primary, protesters, protests, public hearings, recount, Republican, rich, right-wing, rights, rules of the game, Scott Walker, Senate, sportsmanship, State Senate, State Treasurer, Supreme Court Justice, Tammy Baldwin, Tony Evers, union workers, veto power, Vince Lombardi, vote, winning, Wisconsin | 2 Comments

Am I Next?

Posted on September 19, 2018 by Callen Harty

This morning at work there was the sudden sound of a piercing siren that went by the building where I work in Middleton, Wisconsin. I didn’t think too much of it as the fire department is across the street from … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged active shooter, arms, balance, common sense gun laws, crying, Facebook, fear, fire department, gunman, guns, liberty, life, mass shooting, Middleton Wisconsin, Monona Wisconsin, national news, Parkland High School, Pennsylvania, police, pursuit of happiness, rights, Sandy Hook, Second Amendment, sheriff, shock, shooting situation, shootings, siren, victims, WTS Paradigm | Leave a comment

Paths to Healing Keynote Speech

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Callen Harty

At this year’s Paths to Healing conference on male survivors of child sex assault I was the keynote speaker. This is the text of the speech I delivered today. Good morning. I’d like to start by thanking Chris Taylor, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #MeToo, 9/11, A Single Bluebird, adult survivor, African-American, alcoholism, allies, altar boy, American Family Insurance, angels, anger issues, articles, arts, becoming, black man, blog, books, brotherhood, Canopy Center, casual sex, child sex abuse, child sex assault, childhoiod, Chris Taylor, class, collective spirit, color, come out, compassion, control, courage, creed, Dane County Rape Crisis Center, DEnim Day, depression, disabled, domestic abuse, drug abuse, emotions, empathy, Empty Playground, equality, essays, faith, Family Sexual Abuse Treatment, forgive, forgiveness, Friends of the State Street Family, gay man, gender, gender identity, harassment, Harvey Milk, hatred, healing, heart attack, Henry David Thoreau, Hmong, Ho-Chunk Nation, honest, hope, horror, human, human connection, human spirit, humanity, inner child, innocence, Invisible Boy, Irish-Catholic, Jesus, Journalism, journey, joy, justice, keynote speech, Latino, LGBT, Madison, male survivor, masculinity, memoir, meningitis, minority, monologues, mumps, Native American, neighbors, orientation, OutReach, Paradise, Paths to Healing, peace, perpetrator, person of color, personhood, plays, playwriting, poetry, positive energy, post traumatic stress disorder, power, promiscuity, prostitution, Proud Theater, queer, race, recovering alcoholic, reocvery, rights, scarlet fever, secrets, self-abuse, self-care, self-hatred, sex, sexual abuse, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, sexuality, shame, siblings, silence, social drinking, Solidarity with Child Abuse Victims/Survivors, sorrow, spirituality, State Capitol, straight, suffering, suicidal ideation, teach, therapy, threats, trans, trigger warning, truth, underserved communities, UNIDOS Against Domestic Violence, universal truths, Utopia, UW-EauClaire, victims, violence, Voices of Courage, Waylon Pahona, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, writer | Leave a comment

Bolton Refuge House Fall Gala Speech

Posted on November 4, 2017 by Callen Harty

I was invited by Bolton Refuge House to be their keynote speaker at their annual Fall Gala. Bolton is the oldest domestic violence shelter in the state and is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. They also provide services for sexual … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged #MeToo, 9/11, A Single Bluebird, adult survivor, advocacy, alcoholism, allies, angels, anger issues, arts, assassinations, blog, Bolton Refuge House, Brian, Buffalo County, child sex abuse, childhood, coming out, compassion, control, cops and robbers, courage, cowboys and Indians, death, DEnim Day, domestic violence, domestic violence shelter, drug abuse, Eau Claire, Eau Claire County, education, emotions, Empty Playground, equality, Facebook, Fall Gala, fear, forgiveness, gay, gender, Harvey Milk, healing, heart attack, Henry David Thoreau, hope, human connection, human spirit, humanity, inner child, Invisible Boy, Irish-Catholic, Jackson County, Jesus, Journalism, justice, life, love, Madison, male survivor, masculinity, meaning, molested, monologue, opening night, Paradise, Pat Stein, peace, perpetrator, personhood, playwriting, poetry, positive energy, power, promiscuity, prostitution, Proud Theater, PTSD, queer, recovering alcoholic, recovery, rights, safety, self-abuse, self-care, self-hatred, sex, sexual assault, Sexual Assault Awareness Month, sexuality, shame, shelter, short stories, silence, southwestern Wisconsin, speech, spirituality, State Capitol, suicidal ideation, support groups, survivors, Tanya Potter, therapy, threats, trigger warning, truth, Utopia, UW-Eau Claire, victim, violence, Voices of Courage, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, writer | Leave a comment