Last week was a really hard week to get through. Between book banning bills and the Don’t Say Gay stuff in Florida. Texas deciding that affirming care for transgender kids is child abuse. And a student bathroom bill in Alabama. It was rough. Oh, and HB 1557, the “Don’t Say Gay” bill that I’ve written…
Author: Erika Grumet, MSW
Sunday Summary: What a Depressing Week
Welcome to our Sunday Summary for the week of 2/20/2022-2/26/2022. It’s been a week of contrasts. Exciting in some ways, depressing in others. We saw a tremendous increase in visits to the website as people read Erika’s moving analysis of the damage that Florida’s pending “Don’t Say Gay” legislation would have on children and we…
“Don’t Say Gay” is Bad, Not Just for LGBTQ Kids
(Editors Note: On February 25, 2022, the Florida House of Representatives passed H.B. 1557, “Parental Rights in Education,” colloquially known as the “Don’t Say Gay,” bill. The addendum discussed here, which would have required schools to out LGBTQ kids, was struck from the bill before it was voted on. Meanwhile, The Florida Senate is expected…
Sunday Summary: Community
We’ve reached another Sunday, and so we bring you a Sunday Summary for the week of 14 February 2022-19 February 2022. It’s been an exciting week at 2 Rules of Writing for our community of writers. They’ve brought us heartfelt pieces about popular media this week, as well as some insightful ones about the writing…
Rebirth: The Day I Became a Writer
We often mark time in our lives with rituals and rites of passage. Moments of birth and rebirth. Baby showers, weddings, funerals. There were a couple of years in junior high school where many weekends were taken up with b’nai mitzvot for friends or family members, followed a few years later by sweet sixteens. We…
Sunday Summary: Waiting for the Flowers
Welcome to the Sunday Summary for the week of 7 February 2022-12 February 2022. We’ve reached the middle of February–that time of year when winter’s chill has worn us down but every day we look around, hoping to be surprised by the sudden appearance of the crocus to remind us that spring is within our…
The Nazis are Getting Worse
The Sound of Music was my introduction to Nazis. I can remember watching that scene as a small child, and feeling frightened. I can remember asking about what the flag meant and my mother explaining it. Even without seeing the clip I can recall how chilling the anger is in the scene. The only thing…
Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” Law: Outlawing Openness
Conversations we Can’t Avoid There are a lot of conversations we have to have about things that are uncomfortable or difficult to talk about. We try and avoid things like sex, politics or religion–we label them as “out of bounds” and find less controversial things to talk about with people, but there are always going…
Sunday Summary
It’s Sunday Summary time, for the week of 24 January 2022 to 29 January 2022. Sometimes the 2 Rules writers seem to converge around a theme, and some weeks they all go their separate ways. This week it’s been the latter, everyone in their own place, each bringing you their own story. That’s one of…
Celebrating Rejection
A Rejection Letter of My Very Own It seems there’s a theme going on right now at 2 Rules of Writing. Adam wrote about rejection letters last week. Erik Cheung also wrote about rejection letters last week. And now it’s my turn. Last week I got a rejection letter. I was expecting it, although strangely…