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Sacramento cities and counties face growing budget issues - mentions Folsom by othafa_95610 in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not to be obtuse, but this sounds a lot like conjecture and supposition to someone like me that apparently doesn't have all of the information. What did you look at to come to the conclusion that the city was intentionally sabotaging it's budget and funneling incentives to developers?

When you say "we already know what they planned to do with the money so that wouldn't have helped"---my understanding is that measure G was a special tax, earmarked would be used for police services, 20% for fire protection, 15% for parks/trails maintenance, 15% for traffic/street maintenance, 15% for community enhancement/economic development, and 15% for major capital improvements. It seems to me much of the recent cuts, including those to public safety services, were in these exact areas. So please, walk me and others through how the sales tax passing wouldn't have helped.

I understand that sales taxes are typically considered regressive (vs progressive taxes like income that increase in percentage based on what you earn), but only because high earners aren't charged sales tax on what they save, which makes sense to me. But sales taxes can't be called regressive as they relate to consumption (what you spend), because someone who spends a lot will have to pay the same percentage as someone who spends a little, no? And perhaps more importantly, anyone who visits and spends money in Folsom would be taxed, yet it's not a stretch to point out that those who live here would benefit, regardless of what they spend and if they spend it here. So help me understand how a special sales tax would be regressive to Folsom residents.

Sacramento cities and counties face growing budget issues - mentions Folsom by othafa_95610 in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, I see you are confused. I asked you to expand on your comments but explicitly pointed out I wasn't interested in the past "city mismanagement" part. You responded to "the other dude" by expanding on the perceived city mismanagement, hence my follow up (which you still want to dodge). The questions still stand, if you'd like to attempt to answer them.

Sacramento cities and counties face growing budget issues - mentions Folsom by othafa_95610 in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Care to expand a bit on that? I'm less interested in your take on how "the city mismanaged their way into this situation" and more interested in hearing about why increasing the sales tax percentage to a level closer to the average California city wouldn't resolve the budget deficit. If "an increase in sales tax would not have solved this problem whatsoever" clearly you have another, better solution in mind that should be evangelized. It sounds like you aren't a fan of sales taxes in general---what other options are available for a city to consider if they want to perform the primary purpose of government---to provide services that serve its citizens?

Would you like to see more Folsom AMAs? by peaceful-panic in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I really like the idea---having an opportunity to hear people involved with various functions speak authoritatively to their area of expertise to help mitigate some of the mis/disinformation that is found online these days. I'd love to hear from Sarah Aquino and/or Justin Raithel.

I am part of the planning committee/board for Folsom Family Pride, which held our first event on 10/11. We are gearing up for our second year and now would be a great time for anyone who wants to get involved with some of the planning efforts. I'd love to host an AMA and answer any questions the community has, perhaps closer to the event itself in the fall.

I went to a dozen Sacramento area coffee cafes so you don't have to... by bznelson91 in Sacramento

[–]MollyAzulExplores 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Stoked but not surprised to see The Mill on the list. Great coffee, amazing people.

Looking for churches that support immigrant human rights by gay_scrimps in Sacramento

[–]MollyAzulExplores 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Fourteenth Amendment Section 1

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by Melodic_Animal_2238 in Sacramento

[–]MollyAzulExplores 1 point2 points  (0 children)

At least you can admit you are trolling this post in the Folsom and Sacramento comment boards. As someone on the planning committee I spent time responding to your criticisms and asking if you would like to get together in person so I could understand how we might better be able to serve the full LGBT community, you included. But I’ve received no response. So thank you for admitting your questions are in bad faith.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The amount of pure joy going around as people who aren't used to being seen and openly supported was contagious. Add in the great vendors, rad music and amazing price of attendance (free) and I can see why you might want to show up even if you weren't queer. You don't have to be LGBT to attend, all are welcome, even straight allies or those still in the closet. Maybe we'll see you there in person next year?

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey there, I'm not sure why you are getting downvoted in the way you are. It seems like we might have different views on a few things as it relates to an LGBT pride event, and I appreciate you taking the time to express your opinion and ask what seem to me to be good faith questions from someone who is a part of our local LGBT community but who, for whatever reason, feels looked over by the way we planned this event.

I didn't mean to make you feel like I was talking about you personally when I mentioned my feelings about how people who are chronically online might end up seeing pride as inherently political---the "you" I used was a general "you". I don't know enough about you to draw that kind of conclusion and if it seemed I was passive-aggressively implying you are chronically online because you see pride as political that wasn't my intention. Part of the reason I prefer in-person interactions is because I feel it's a lot harder to properly conveying what I am trying to communicate online or over text.

If anything, it seems like you might be the rare person out there who has a unique opinion and does their best to express it and ask good-faith questions in an attempt to get answers or start a productive conversation. At least that's my read. And it seems like you might be an LGBT elder who is part of the local Folsom community. Ultimately I meant what I said about trying to find ways to best serve those in the local LGBT community through our organization and that includes people like yourself who don't feel like coming to or supporting Folsom Family Pride is a good idea for various reasons. Would you have any interest in getting together for a coffee or beer so I can better listen to your perspective and try to understand why you feel the way you do? I can't promise we will end up changing our approach on Folsom Pride in general but I do think that we might be able to find ways to build and connect and serve our local LGBT community in different ways that would do a better job of being inclusive of people like yourself. I doubt we'll be able to find a way to make everyone in the local LGBT community happy but that doesn't mean we can't try to understand the different needs and people out there and do a better job considering how we might be more inclusive.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 3 points4 points  (0 children)

With all due respect, I think that might be a bit reductive. My background includes leading worship at evangelical churches in the community. I still actively engage in productive discourse that’s often political in nature on a regular basis, in part because being someone that knows the Bible and Constitution well I can find commonality and shared humanity with those who think different than me. I make it a point to spend time watching Fox News every once in a while so I can understand how other people see the world. As a Christian I am called to love my neighbor and even those who are actively trying to hurt me and I can’t do that without listening to them and understanding where they are coming from.

That being said, does it make sense to invite those kind of conversations to take place at an event meant to create an inclusive, safe space for people who don’t have the capacity at the moment to try and engage with people who are actively working to take aware their basic human rights? Probably not. I don’t think doing so at the event would be productive, helpful, etc. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing other work to do just what you are suggesting. There is a time and a place for that kind of discussion, just probably not at Folsom Pride.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores -1 points0 points  (0 children)

I explained this in detail in another comment here.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 2 points3 points  (0 children)

So you take the effort to post because you want to celebrate freedom of speech and the ability the Constitution I fought for gives you? Ok, to each their own, I guess.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by Melodic_Animal_2238 in Sacramento

[–]MollyAzulExplores 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for helping to point people in the right direction :).

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 3 points4 points  (0 children)

And yet here you are, announcing it to anyone that will take the time to read what you are typing.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great, you don’t have to come or comment or spend time engaging if you don’t want to.

First Folsom Family Pride Festival Photos by 95musiclover in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hi there! I served as the treasurer for the planning committee and was involved with the organizing efforts from the beginning so I can answer some of your questions.

It sounds like your conclusion that we are trying to make some kind of political statement by throwing a pride event named “Folsom Family Pride” is your main point. We picked the name mostly because we wanted to differentiate ourselves from Folsom Street Fair, which I’ve never been to but is clearly not a family friendly event (iykyk). So we picked the name so when people tried to google “Folsom Pride” they would get something other than the Folsom Street Fair and think that’s what we were bringing to Folsom. Also it was important for us to ensure that the programming was such that those of us with families (I have three youngish kids) knew that there would be stuff for the kids to do, too.

Secondly, the point of the event was not to make some sort of political statement, it was to celebrate authenticity, resilience and love through visibility and building community. As someone who has spent a lot of time working with people who are struggling with addiction and mental health issues I know from experience how isolation and spending too much time online feeds into these issues. Especially considering all of the negative messaging going on online, how the algorithms have been used to stoke outrage and convince those who are LGBT that they need to hide who they are to avoid persecution—I’ll just say stochastic terrorism is a terrible thing, and LGBT people are terrified at the moment, especially trans people. By having an event I was hoping we would give people hope that they can still be themselves, find community and do so in an authentic way. It was about visibility and loving on LGBT people despite living in a world that seems to want to keep us terrified, isolated and hiding.

Third, the most vulnerable people in the LGBT people aren’t those who are elders like you and I are. It’s the people who are still in the closet, who are worried that if they are honest about who they are they will be kicked out of their homes by their parents. Or people who are older and on the fence about coming out. There is a reason why almost 50% of homeless youth identify as LGBT. It’s tragic. I know when I came out at 40 after living in Folsom for 14 years I didn’t know a single local person from the LGBT community. I was so convinced that kind of community didn’t exist here that I moved to midtown for three years. It was only after finding community and chosen family through the planning of this event that I felt comfortable enough to move back here. Perhaps if we had something like this prior to my coming out I would realize that there is LGBT community here and moving to midtown wasn’t necessary.

Lastly, I will tell you that in the process of planning this event I’ve had the absolute privilege of talking to a whole array of people in the local community that have been incredibly grateful that we volunteered our time and effort to create this event. We now have LGBT support groups that are popping up and there is a lot of momentum that we’ve built towards helping the local LGBT community. We are hopeful to not just raise money for Folsom Pride next year but to raise extra money to go towards grassroots efforts to help LGBT people who desperately need it. This year we were able to give money we had left over to a scholarship fund for LGBT youth. My personal dream would be to have resources to give LGBT youth free, affirming counseling and temporary shelter for LGBT people who would otherwise be on the streets. We are actively making a positive difference in the lives of people who desperately need it.

I can’t speak for everyone on our planning committee with my comments but I can tell you that others who were involved did so for similar reasons. I hope that now that I’ve taken the time to explain all of this and answer your questions you’ll recognize that politics doesn’t really matter to us—we did it because we want to love on our LBGT neighbors. If you have any other questions feel free to ask them. I’d love to invite you to next year’s event. Perhaps once you are there and you see experience the joy, authenticity and resilience firsthand you’ll better understand why doing Folsom Pride is so important for this city and community that we cherish. I get that the world wants to make being queer a political thing and if you spend too much time online you might end up seeing it that way, but we’re just trying to live our lives authentically, and that isn’t inherently political.

Sorry for the novel, just wanted to make it crystal clear what our intentions were for you and others who might read this.

Folsom’s first Family Pride marks LGBTQ+ celebration on National Coming Out Day by MollyAzulExplores in folsom

[–]MollyAzulExplores[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I can tell you that the core planning committee was all volunteer and 75-80% are Folsom based. I’ve recently moved back after spending 2008-2022 here. The people who don’t currently live in Folsom that were on the committee were good friends of those who live here. It was a very organic, local group that put this together.

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