That time a lesbian couple found a note from a neighborhood kid on the front door

[Behind the Aegis]

When Sal Stow went out to pick up packages off the front porch, she was surprised to find a note tucked under a rock on the front mat. But what she couldn’t have possibly known was how much her front porch has meant to the young person who wrote the note.

While the local county commissioners refused to fly the pride flag from court buildings, Stow, and her wife, Meghan Stabler, proudly fly two rainbow flags at their house. And the gesture didn’t go unnoticed by one of the kids who got on the school bus by their home.

“We live in a very conservative county in a conservative state,” Stabler told LGBTQ Nation. “To the right of me are Trump supporters. Across the street are conservative Christians.”

As a lesbian couple – one of whom is of trans history – Stow and Stabler have faced down storms together. They’ve both worked inside the movement for years and know the simple raw power of visibility.

more...

While it was from last year, given the situation, I thought something positive would be, well, positive!

[Celerity]

1. great story! thanks for some rare good news

[Behind the Aegis]

2. You are welcome.

With all the negativity, the hate, the bigotry, I found this story and it made me smile, then my contacts got stuck and made my eyes blurry.

Though there are some great stories out there, the GLBT community is getting hard in multiple directions, so this is a reminder when we live our truth, others take notice in a good way.

[a kennedy]

3. I don't know why I've been so weepy lately......

but again tears are welling up in my eyes.

[brer cat]

4. What a beautiful account.

They made a huge difference in a young person's life.

Thanks for posting it, BtA.

[marble falls]

5. In the end, we're all in it together. Some of us are slow on the uptake.

[CaptYossarian]

6. The town where I live has the same demographic.

Half of the kids that attended my oldest daughter's graduation party were LGBTQ, even though both my girls are straight.

That's when I found out my kids paid attention to me.

[JudyM]

8. Aw, that made me smile. Good parenting!

Thanks for your support, Capt!

[CaptYossarian]

11. My kids have ZERO prejudices.

Remember the phrase "...with liberty and justice for all"?

Whatever became of that concept? Now liberty means getting a haircut several months too soon. Justice is a joke with Barr overseeing it. It's like putting an deranged, horny knucklehead in charge of the Vice Squad.

[calimary]

7. Awwwwwwwww... nice.

NICE!

Solidarity against the storm.

[Ford_Prefect]

9. You never know sometimes just how much the right gesture makes all the difference to someone else.

[niyad]

10. Thank you so much for sharing this. What a lovely thing.

[Collimator]

12. Sometimes the tiniest glimmer of light can help.

Years ago, I saw a man hit the back of his kid's head from across the parking lot of a McDonald's. For some reason, my brain did a nano-second calculation and before I even realized it, I got out of my car, stood up and yelled, "Sir, you discipline your kid because he's done something wrong, not because you're annoyed."

He yelled back at me to mind my business, of course. But my instinct was to speak up. I am non-confrontational in the extreme and usually I feel children in public could use a little more parental control. Something in what I saw, though--perhaps it was the demeanor of the child--I knew that the man was being a bully, not a parent.

I grew up with angry, unpredictable people and I was always looking around me for "clues" as to whether or not the world was meant to be the way it was in my home. My hope is that the boy I saw that day was happy that someone saw him--and realized that he didn't deserve to be treated that way.

I know that little odd moments of light and kindness gave me hope to envision a life that wasn't as chaotic and violent as my childhood home.

Kudos to the women flying their Pride Flag. They didn't need to hit anyone over the head to say, "Hi! I'm fine with who and what I am. And how are you today?" Self-love and acceptance of others are powerful forces for good.

[Caliman73]

13. Great story!

The courage it takes to just be who you are can be contagious and that is a good thing.

We need to move beyond this limited and limiting thinking about who people are and who they love. I am a straight cis gender man and in no way is my life made any less by the fact that there are men who love men, women who love women, people whose anatomy is different from their gender identity, etc... In fact, the variety in which people live and love is an addition to the fabric of humanity.

[Marrah_Goodman]

14. I love this

[Tiger8]

15. Just shared this to my Facebook

Thank you to The wonderful child who took time out of their day to thank a neighbor.

We never know how powerful we are, but If we’re lucky, sometimes we get to see it. 😊

[yuiyoshida]

16. Pride flags are seen all over San Francisco...

Especially in the Castro district.

[Behind the Aegis]

22. Yup!

My husband and I were there last year around this time for my 50th (May 17th...still accepting gifts for 51st). It was empowering to walk around like 'normal' people and not fear getting beat, yelled at, or harassed.

[not_the_one]

27. It is the same way in Manhattan. The flags are not just in the Village.

They are all over Manhattan, in apartment windows AND businesses. But to be realistic, other than expressing acceptance and support, we are a Market To Be Mined.

Sometimes that will sway when nothing else will... I say we USE it in every fight possible.

[warmfeet]

17. Excellent! K & R

[NoRoadUntravelled]

18. Thanks for this. Positive news is appreciated.

I've been looking at news reports for the last hour. Your story is like breathing the freshened air that follows a cooling thunderstorm on a hot summer day. Does the soul good.

[trickyguy]

19. Wish I could see the rest of that incredible note, but I can fill in the blanks. Congrats

to Sal and Meghan for giving one child in their neighborhood something

to be proud of.

I'll bet he will remember those flags for the rest of his life.

Heartwarming, indeed.

[econron]

20. Click on the Link - the entire note is there

The whole letter makes one reflect on what is great about the world.

[Behind the Aegis]

21. The entire note is at the bottom of the article.

I couldn't figure out how to import the picture without uploading it to my computer then get another hosting site.

[JI7]

23. It's important that people not feel the need to hide who they are

[Demovictory9]

24. Love trumps hate

[Chitowncutie]

25. Thanks for sharing

As I cry into my coffee.

[not_the_one]

26. It is all about visibility.

It is literally self evident in the act, "coming out" and being seen. This couple was brave enough to put their safety on the line, and it helped a young person. That is what it takes.

All the advances we have made in the last decade have been due to people coming out to their family, their friends, their co-workers/associates, their neighbors. That takes courage. You never know what kind of reaction may occur.

It is, in essence, a tribal issue. Once someone KNOWS a lgbtq person, they are no longer the "other". Seeing and knowing an lgbtq person brings it home. These negative actions are now being taken against one of THEIR tribe. They may find that it is no longer an issue where they can continue to sit on the fence. We have gained an ally.

Lgbtq people have been hurt, both physically and emotionally, by being seen. But the positives for us as a whole, have been incalculable.

Legal discrimination is now (almost) of the past. The "exceptions" must be dealt with, but that is coming. We can now marry, nation wide. I honestly did not think we would see THAT in MY lifetime.

But everything we have achieved has been due to people who have a lot to lose, showing courage. This lesbian couple, thinking they were in enemy territory (and obviously were), now know that in spite of that, they helped someone. And better yet, it was a YOUNG someone, who will now take this couple's courage into their OWN life, and THAT will manifest itself in ways yet to be seen, for a lifetime.

As a rule, acts of kindness, understanding, and generosity tend to multiply exponentially. All we have to do is set them in motion. As this lesbian couple did.

[Politicub]

28. I love this.

[Danascot]

29. Here's the note