Corey Fogelmanis Instagram – I walked alongside my LGBTQ+ siblings for my first LA pride today. While not my first year identifying with this community (my letter is Q.), I have yet to do anything in the past to further elevate the freedoms and acceptance of queer people in America. And I suppose it was because I didn’t feel like there was anything else to be said. But today, I’m calling bullshit on myself. As I learn about the world, venturing past the rather stilted confines of the American public school system (which almost exclusively highlights the contributions of white men throughout history—whether true or not), I am realizing there is much that I don’t know. The history of transgender people of color in this country and their contributions to the lgbtq+ community was new to me. And that’s fucked. I’m also realizing that it’s not okay to stay in that unknowing when people are dying and when I have google on my phone. Ignorance is bliss only for the ones devoid of accountability for the ways others are impacted by their actions. I’m not trying to make an argument for or against the bliss of ignorance because that’s honestly huge and I have no idea whether it is or isn’t. But in this instance, the stakes being what they are, I can wholehearted say that I reject the idea that life is more enjoyable if only one stays in the dark.