Haven No More

One of my long-standing beliefs is nearby Iowa City is a safe haven for LGBTIQA+ people. It is a place where people can live without undue fear and be who they are. It was, anyway. I recently heard the LGBTIQA+ community is breaking up. Folks are moving out of state to escape the regressive policies of our Republican state government. Governor Kim Reynolds has been the lynch pin in persecuting LGBTIQA+ folks and her supporters cheer her on. If what I heard is accurate, this is a sad legacy. We need a haven for the vulnerable until broad acceptance of diversity is forthcoming. By the fact of Iowa City being the county seat the haven it has been exists, yet seems under pressure.

I have been insulated from this because I don’t live or do much in the county seat. My LGBTIQA+ friends are long-standing and rooted. They are friends, not members of some group. When we get together we discuss important stuff like which schools are best, which clinics provide good health care, and politics, of course. This is what normal people do.

Changing perspectives of our lives in contemporary society is part of living. As Iowans abandon the countryside in favor of living in large metropolitan areas, there will be diversity in cities. That it is concentrated is more the problem. Like every other time in the state’s history diversity can cause isolation, alienation, and conflict. People literally get run out of small towns and cities because they are different. Unless one was born and grew up in Iowa, there is no reason to stay. My issue as a native Iowan is I don’t know where I would go if I left.

All of this makes life more difficult for an aging American. It would be great to invite LGBTIQA+ family members to move here and find a home closer to ours so we can spend more time together. They could be their authentic selves, including being part of our family. That remains possible in a more liberal county like ours, yet the freedom needed to perpetuate this culture is being eroded.

We’ll see where this ends. What I now understand is I must be more attentive to diversity in the county seat as well as where I live. If I am not, there will be safe havens no more.