When things get scary, and the future seems bleak, I find myself drawn to pillars of strength, so you can just imagine how grateful I am for RuPaul's comments on the Orlando shooting. I don't know if you've ever made the brilliant decision to tune in to an episode of RuPaul's Drag Race, but if you have, you know that RuPaul is a beautiful contradiction, spanning the full spectrum from protective parent to ruthless critic to supportive friend, and everything in between. So when he elected to raise his voice about the senseless massacre at the Pulse Nightclub, I had no idea what he'd say, but I knew we were in good hands. I've had a lot of sensations ever since so many LGBTQ club-goers were murdered on Jun. 12, but the overriding one has been a sort of numbness and disbelief, which is super disconcerting. Like many people, I was terrified into a sort of paralysis, and felt like I was going through the motions of life, watching it through a pane of glass, almost.
What I needed was to be jolted back into feeling something, to be connected with the outrage that lives inside me, and that's what RuPaul's speech at the Trailblazer Honors on Jun. 23 — airing on Jun. 25 on Logo — helped me with. It may have been brief, but it was more powerful than I could have imagined, because it was living, breathing proof that there are powerful, intelligent, courageous people on the right side of this issue, and they're rallying to lead us to brighter days where no one needs to live in fear or hate. With a few well-chosen words introducing a moment of silence for the victims and their families, RuPaul restored my faith and my hope and, most importantly, my righteous anger and protective instinct, all of which we need to move forward: "As gay people we get to choose our families, and my chosen family includes millions of brave men and women across this country and around the world. Don't f**k with my family."
Yes. YES. Thank you. I can't even really express how important that was for me to see. It brought tears to my eyes right away, and gave me such a burst of love in my heart not just for RuPaul, but for the entire LGBTQ community. We can push through this together and band together and come through stronger, and if you ever find yourself forgetting that, look to RuPaul. He's the hero we need, and the one we should all work hard to deserve, and I'm so grateful for his strength in the terrifying moments when mine is flagging.
