My name is Syd and I'm new to Daily Kos as a diarist but not new to Progressive politics or causes. I organized a successful rally against SB5 in Ohio about a year and a half ago. I'm proud and happy that very wrong headed idea of Governor Kasich failed.
I am also the fiancee of a transgender Vietnam veteran in East Central Ohio. From experience I can tell you that there is very few LGBT friendly communities here and VA Region 10 Administration does not teach or enforce diversity to their employees and the state of Ohio has a great population of bigots. Ohio is a very beautiful state but the people are not so much. I am not saying all of the state is bad because it is not but it would be nice to see some change in the smaller cities and rural areas. WE CANNOT CHANGE THE LGBT COMMUNITY BUT WE CAN CHANGE THE MINDS OF BIGOTS!
My fiancee and I have been together for a wonderful four years but those four years have been a huge eye opener for me. Looking back now I realize that I pick up on signs of harassment I may not have noticed before. Not because I was closed minded but because I never realized how hateful people can be to an LGBT person without even saying a word.