“That’s so weird.” Rus gestured emphatically at Landon. “Here you are advocating the importance of thegaycommunity, how it’s just the L, the G, and the B, please hold the fucking T. Running your damn mouth about the importance of not lopping orientation with gender mental illness—because you’re the kind of dumbass who thinks they’ll draw the line at gender dysphoria being a mental illness and won’t push homosexuality right on into thestraitjacket even though they already have, another historical fact you don’t know about your own goddamn community—but the strangest part of all this is that you don’t know one of the most fundamental aspects of the gay community you pretend to advocate for.”
“If you’re going to run your mouth about Stonewall, lemme stop you there.” Landon held up a hand with a snap of his fingers. “It wasn’t as pivotal as the rewritten history would have folks believe. The gay movement actually started…”
Emma nodded in support like she’d coached Landon on his bullshit speech about gay rights like either of them knew a goddamn thing.
“I’m honestly not even sure how you think lesbians played a role in Stonewall, but whatever.” Landon shrugged.
“I didn’t say they did,” Rus continued. “You tied in Stonewall, dismissing a milestone that actually afforded you the right to flaunt your effeminate ass here without getting the shit beat out of you for existing.”
Landon gasped, true offense etched onto his face. “See, you are the bigot.”
“They always are,” Emma added, taking a bite of her salad. “They pretend to care about causes, but they’re just looking for ways to bully good people, belittle beliefs, and be homophobic to gays who don’t agree with them. It’s despicable.”
Rus buried his rage, content with continuing his lesson that Landon wouldn’t appreciate.
“Let’s focus on the L and why it comes first. Way back when the government prayed AIDs would wipe out the faggots of America, they had no one to rely on,” Rus said. “That’s right, your lovely conservatives were counting the days until every homo met a brutal, agonizing death. And they thanked Jesus for it.”
Rus made a mocking cross sign over his chest, then flipped off the ceiling to show Landon and Emma exactly what he thought of their phony deity.
“So, fun history lesson.” Rus turned his attention to Emma really quickly. “I know you don’t like that kind of stuff, especially since this lesson explains how queer women had an impact on history. Two evils, one stone.”
Emma scoffed, doing her best to poorly ignore Rus. It wasn’t much, but he knew he’d gotten a rise out of her, and that high would make up for the rough morning of class.
“During this epidemic, where gay men were suffering and dying and being smited by the US government under the guise of God, it was only the lesbians who truly stepped up. They rallied in a way only women can. They came together to donate blood, to offer comfort, to give peace, community, and love to their dying brothers.”
Rus let his words soak in, knowing Landon wouldn’t grasp the importance of this unity, wouldn’t give a damn about the L coming first. He was a conservative gay who hated trans people for makinghislife harder. The type of man who blamed trans people for the homophobia he faced, with no sense or care for where the bigotry stemmed. It wouldn’t surprise Rus if Landon were one of those stupid gays who bought into the petty bullshit of being rivals with lesbians, as if such a thing should ever exist in community.
“Sorry, hun. I don’t argue with debate bros,” Emma said with a spiteful lilt in her cheery voice. “I get that the basis of your knowledge is to pin people down in a verbal altercation where you can feel superior based on your silly little word play, but just because you can talk out of your ass doesn’t mean much of anything.”
Rus scoffed, sick and tired of morons treating knowledge like a dirty tactic because they remained willfully ignorant. “Other than facts, statistics, truths, literally anything, because—”
“All garbage at the end of the day.” Emma shrugged dismissively. “Facts are just well-rehearsed lies, stats are just mathematical propaganda, and the truth is in the eye of the beholder. Jesus knows the doubt in your lies, even if Satan helps you hide it from yourself.”
“Oh, fuck you.”
Emma nodded, conveying this phony sympathy. No, more like pity, which only further pissed Rus off. He clenched a fist under the table, pressing it hard to his bouncing knee. Her gaze held this satisfied dismissal that only further ate away at Rus.
“Anyway, we should be going,” Landon said, feeding off Emma’s attitude and adding to his own smugness.
Emma and Landon took their leave.
“Bitches,” Daysha muttered.
“Yup.”
“You know that whole rise above thing I push for most days?”
Rus nodded.
“You can totally sink to their level.” Daysha gestured in Emma’s direction. “I’ll join you.”
“If I knew I’d just get community service again, I’d seriously consider running them both over.”
Daysha snorted.
“But alas, I should probably do the mature thing and just hit them with words, even if sticks and stones would be so much more effective.” Rus sighed.
As much as he wanted to punch some sense into Emma and her gay prop, he knew it wouldn’t make any difference. Fuck. Had he actually learned something from those stupid court-mandated anger management sessions?
