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No Borders for Compassion: Confronting the Administration’s Assault on Immigrant Dignity
Editor’s Note: While the previous piece focused on coping with the broader political violence of our times—attacks on LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedom, social programs, and economic security—we left out one critical issue: the treatment of immigrants. Not out of disregard, but because the scale and severity of the injustice demanded its own spotlight. The harm inflicted on immigrants, both documented and undocumented, by the current administration is too vast, too vile, and too emblematic of a moral collapse to be reduced to a bullet point. There is no moral high ground, no defensible policy, no civilized excuse for what is happening to immigrants in America right now. Whether they crossed…
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When Every Headline Feels Like a Gut Punch: Coping in a Country That Keeps Swinging
There are days when it feels like we’re living inside the punchline of a cruel joke—except no one’s laughing, and the hits keep coming. If you’re queer, if you’re trans, if you’re a woman, if you’re neurodivergent, if you’re just trying to live with some dignity in America right now, you know exactly what I mean. It’s not just one issue. It’s a full-scale siege on human rights, bodily autonomy, and basic survival. Let’s start with the obvious: transgender Americans are under attack. Not figuratively—literally. Across the country, conservative lawmakers are rushing to outdo one another in a twisted contest of cruelty. They’ve criminalized gender-affirming care, erased trans identities from…
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I’m an Autistic Man — and I’m Tired of Being a Political Talking Point
Every few years, as election cycles heat up, I find myself holding my breath. Not because I’m excited about civic engagement or national debate — but because I know that at some point, someone will stand behind a podium, gesture dramatically, and use autism as a political weapon. Sometimes we’re framed as a “tragedy.” Sometimes we’re a “burden on the system.”Other times we’re carelessly thrown into conspiracy theories — treated as proof that modern medicine or modern parenting has somehow gone wrong. No matter how it’s framed, the underlying message is the same: autism is something terrible.And by extension, people like me — people who live with autism every day…
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Four Years Sober: Let Go So That You May Grow
Four years into sobriety doesn’t feel drastically different from three—there’s no lightning bolt of realization, no cinematic turning point. But what does begin to settle in is a quiet and persistent gratitude for continued, sustained sobriety. The number isn’t everything, but it does represent consistency, commitment, and healing. This past year has been all about letting go to make space for growth. Life has a remarkable way of guiding people exactly where they’re meant to be—when they’re willing to stop gripping the wheel with white-knuckled control. Holding onto negativity, whether it’s through toxic relationships, old resentments, or fear-based thinking, only serves to weigh down the spirit. This was the first…
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Neo-Nazis in Columbus: History Repeated, Hate Exposed
On Saturday, November 16, I was having lunch with a friend at Bakersfield Tacos & Tequila in the Short North when I witnessed a scene that felt ripped from history’s darkest chapters. A group of neo-Nazis marched down North High Street, their faces masked, carrying swastika flags, and shouting hateful rhetoric. Shocked by the audacity of such a display of hatred, I instinctively began recording. The video I shared sparked immediate controversy. Some accused me of fabricating the footage with AI or reposting old content to sow division. Others mocked me outright. The hate displayed online has been vile, but it pales compared to the hatred that fueled this march…
