Have You Heard About The "New" Rainbow Flag?

You may have heard about the recent kerfuffle regarding the Pride folks in Philadelphia adding black and brown stripes to the Rainbow Flag in an effort to display inclusivity for black and brown LGBTs.

The new stripes opened a can of worms between those who appreciated the added inclusivity and those who think the flag was perfect as it is.

My thoughts?

Whatever gets your Pride on. I'm all about everyone being included. So, if you want to fly an 8 striped rainbow flag versus a six striped flag, have at it.

If you were to ask me which flag I prefer, I have to say the six striped version we've all come to love for 40+ years.

Why? Because as an artist I honor the flag that was designed with thought by LGBT activist Gilbert Baker. His flag was based on values, not race - Life, Healing, Sunlight, Nature, Serenity, Spirit.

Baker's flag was/is fundamentally inclusive of everyone already.

That said, over the years there have been other variations on the rainbow flag to represent certain groups within the LGBT tribe like the bear flag and the transgender flag.

Bear community flag

Transgender flag

At the end of the day, I say go with whatever flag gets your pride up. What matters to me is that everyone get out and proud and visible as your authentic, awesome selves.

Happy Pride, kids!

Watch out my buddy and radio host Joe Votruba share both sides of the (silly) argument.

New Jersey 101.5's Joe Votruba On The Orlando Nightclub Shooting

New Jersey 101.5's Joe Votruba talks to Jeff Deminski about how it felt reading the news about the deadly Orlando shooting as an openly gay man.

Votruba also penned an essay for the station's website, which reads in part:

It’s easier to be gay in America in 2016 than at any point in history. Slowly but surely, homophobia and bigotry against the LGBTQ community are being silenced by pride, love and support. That being said, it’s still not enough.

Sunday was a very difficult day. Before the death count in the Orlando massacre was final, it was being politicized from both sides of the aisle. This is how these tragedies get forgotten.

When it finally hit me that not only were 49 of my fellow Americans gunned down in an act of terror, but were also targeted for being members or allies of the LGBTQ community, all I could do for most of the day was sit and reflect in silence. I spent most of that windy day on my back deck thinking about how it it could have been Georgies or Paradise in Asbury Park, or the Stonewall Inn in New York City.

Word was going around about several vigils taking place at various gay bars in New Jersey that night, so I made my way down to Georgies in Asbury Park to pay my respects. There were so many tears and prayers, and it is truly an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.

New Jersey: Radio Producer Joe Votruba Comes Out On The Air

Great feel good story coming out of New Jersey concerning Joe Votruba, the afternoon show producer and writer for New Jersey 101.5, the largest FM talk radio station in America.

Last Friday, Joe came out live on air during the Deminski & Doyle Show, which he produces. The off the cuff announcement barely seemed to throw radio hosts Jeff Deminski and Bill Doyle off guard.

The moment happened as the host's were discussing the wisdom of being friends with your ex. During the segment, Joe said, “I can give you a story. This story has to come with an announcement first of all. I’m gay. But we’ll talk about that later.”

From the show’s website:

We spent the hour debating whether or not it’s ever okay to remain friends with an ex. Joe chimed in with a story of his own, but he buried the lead. Little did we know that this was going to be the moment when Joe V decided to announce to the audience that he’s gay. We are so happy for him that he did, though!

The über-cool thing is how calm the announcement came and went. His radio hosts, who knew he was gay although Joe had not gone "public" public with the news, completely rocked and rolled with the announcement and kept on chatting with the topic at hand.

Later, Joe expressed his thanks on Facebook to those who offered him support after coming out on the air.

“While a lot of my friends and relatives were already aware of that fact that I’m gay, Friday afternoon was the first time I ever talked about that aspect of my life on the air. Your kind words in response have been so incredible and you are all truly amazing. I just want to say THANK YOU for your outpouring of love, support and acceptance. Stay hungry and stay free!”

I really love how the rhythm of the show and the hosts didn't skip a beat when Joe shared his news. This was smooth, kids.

It really informs us on how far we've come.

Congratulations, Joe!