Making the Small Things Count on International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia

So today is the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO). You’ve got lots of big rallies, like that one in Havana led by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuba’s President Raul Castro. And you’ve got big names, like UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé delivering this brief address. But you don’t need to march down a street, or upload to YouTube, or make a grand gesture to participate in IDAHO. You just need to have a conversation.

Today is the day to tell that co-worker the fag jokes aren’t funny. Today is the day to hold hands with your partner at your favorite restaurant. Today is the day to see whether your child goes to a school with a gay-straight alliance. Today is the day to call your senator on your lunch break. Today is the day to find out how to volunteer with an AIDS group.

And tomorrow will be today all over again.