For the kids out there that are worried about what the future holds, especially the LGBTQI+ kids, our brothers and sisters that came before us didn't fight for nothing. Trust me: we will only move forward, but you need to put your fear aside and find the strength to believe that.
Interpretation
The quote encourages LGBTQI+ youth to be hopeful, reminding them of the struggles faced by those before them and emphasizing the importance of belief and strength.
Michelle Visage's quote speaks directly to LGBTQI+ youth who may feel anxious about their future. It acknowledges the struggles and sacrifices made by those in the past, reassuring young people that they are not alone and that there is strength in belief and community. It emphasizes the need to overcome fear and embrace hope, as the journey toward acceptance and progress continues with their courage and resilience.
In practice
This quote could be used during a motivational speech at a pride event.
To see queer people keeping each other down makes me so sad because I've been around for a long time - I've seen the people who came before us fight for what we have right now, and they did not fight like that for us to go backwards.
Racism and sexism, misogyny and homophobia, they're so visible. They're out in the open. When they're visible, it's a lot easier to deal with them.
My patriotism and my conscience required me to support it and to engage in the debate over whether and how to fight it.
what you hear in my voice is fury, not suffering. Anger, not moral authority
But in some ways I think it's braver to do it like this. And, to an extent, you know what? The worst that can happen is that everyone says, 'Well, that was dreadful, she should have stuck to writing for kids' and I can take that. So, yeah, I'll put it out there, and if everyone says, 'Well, that's shockingly bad – back to wizards with you', then obviously I won't be throwing a party. But I will live. I will live.
To struggle when hope is banished! To live when life's salt is gone! To dwell in a dream that's vanished- To endure, and go calmly on!
That's why I stand here tonight. Because for two hundred and thirty two years, at each moment when that promise was in jeopardy, ordinary men and women - students and soldiers, farmers and teachers, nurses and janitors - found the courage to keep it alive.
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