Long Time, No Post...

It has been awhile, hasn't it?

At OOTR we've had a busy summer thus far and we are now busily preparing for the Billings Pride Parade!

The link for the official Pride website can be found in our links menu to the right. Also, you can contact us for more information about the OOTR "event" taking place during the weekend's festivities!

We'll be posting after the parade to give you all the highlights, but until then...

Stay strong! Stay proud! Stay you!

~The OOTR Crew

What is "Normal" anyway?

During our last OOTR meeting, we discussed what it means to be "normal" in the eyes of our society. We looked at a comic strip we found online which depicted a gay couple's morning routine. Then the group talked about how that comic would be seen as "normal" by some people if only the couple were male/female instead of male/male.

We shared our thoughts on what it means to be accepted as "normal" by society and whether or not that was even important to us. This proved to be an interesting topic, as it lead to further discussion about politics, religion, prejudice, and more. One thing seemed to be a common tread. We all (those in attendance) had felt unaccepted at one point or another due to our sexual orientation. What a sad commentary on our society's narrow mindedness.

On a much lighter note- We will be having our first "Fun Day" activity soon! Contact us for details.

And until we write again,

Stay strong! Stay proud! Stay you!
~The OOTR Crew

Growth and Encouragement

Our second OOTR meeting had nearly twice the attendees as the first one did! We've been getting a lot of positive feedback from those who have come and we're getting excited to hold our first "Fun Day" and to go with our new OOTR friends to the Billings Pride Parade in June!

During our last meeting we discussed what it means to be "who you are" and how the views of our community on homosexuality do (or do not) affect our ability to truly be ourselves.

We're stoked about how things are growing! Keep checking back for regular updates!

Stay strong! Stay proud! Stay you!
~The OOTR Crew

The Buzz Around Town

As most of you avid readers know, we regularly post now on Miles City dot COM . Recently we got some "bad press" in a discussion forum called "Fake Names" (which was not one of our start-up forums).

User "Chuck Schott" wrote:
I'm going to do this and take all the abuse that comes with it. How can you be out on the range and not use your real name?

User "Richard Bonine, Jr" added:
GREAT POINT!

But then a supporter by the name of "LG" had this to say:
Because being out in Miles City is about as safe as being out on Brokeback Mountain.

If I were gay, I wouldn't broadcast it to the planet. Who I sleep or cavort with is my business and only mine.

I know out on the range, and know that 'it' (as I won't define gender) has been subject to much malicious gossip in the past, and doesn't want any more negative attention. Especially not from people who are going to point fingers.

We, of course, had our two cents to add. This was our response:
Thank you “LG”!!!

Out on the Range is a group. (Therefore calling us “it” was appropriate, LG.) The reason we meet as a group is so that we can hang out, be ourselves, and meet other people in the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans-gender/transitional) community. At our meetings, we can feel comfortable enough to let our guards down without having to worry about being judged or discriminated against.

Yes, the hope would be that someday we could all be “OUT on the range” without anyone feeling there is a need for such a group. However, not everyone who attends our meetings is “out”- we like LG’s Brokeback Mountain reference! So until the time comes when we all do feel safe, we meet to remind ourselves that we are not alone… and we post on here for a couple of reasons.

>>It gets the word out to people who may want to attend our meetings so they can check out our website.

>>It lets the community know we are here without “OUTing” our attendees and allows the topic of GLBTs in Montana to be discussed in an open, nonthreatening setting. Without talking openly, we cannot hope to overcome things like ignorance, fear, and intolerance.

So keep talking about us, Chuck, even if it is negative. Because we have nothing bad to say about anyone, (except perhaps that, we dislike the three character traits listed above) and your narrow views serve as proof to us that we are needed in Miles City!

We'll see what reactions that gets! Click here to go to that forum and read the whole thing, including whatever gets written next.

Until our next post,

Stay strong! Stay proud! Stay you!
~The OOTR Crew

Pride Parade!

The Billings Pride Parade in coming up in June! Yay!!!!

We thought it would be fun if a group from Miles City went down together- or at least met up for a little hang out time while we're there.

So, in true Out on the Range fashion, we've created a survey! The survey answers will help us determine how much interest there is in the event and what (if anything) we may be able to do to help some of our OOTR attendees be able to go.

Please take a few minutes now to fill it out. You'll find the link to the right in our new "Links" section. Thanks!


Stay strong! Stay proud! Stay you!
~The Out on the Range Crew

A Lot of Talk

Well, we are no longer in the process of starting this thing up. It's official. We're a group! We had our first meeting and have had a lot of encouraging feedback about that and about our site.

During our first meeting we discussed the reason for a group like ours being formed here in Miles City.

We read a quote by Elenore Roosevelt in which she said,

"No one can make you feel inferior without your permission. Never give it."

That's easy to say, but harder to act upon when you feel all alone in a small town. Well, that's why we started Out on the Range. Because we're not alone. The group of people who came to our meeting had great fun talking about a lot of different things we have in common and different opportunities we may have to hang out together.

There's also been a lot of talk about our group on milescity.com! We started a forum topic in hopes of finding more people who might be interested in joining our group. You can click here to go to that forum.

We must rant for just a moment now... Some people on that forum have complained that we are too vague about who we are when we say we're a GLBT Community group. But much like only tennis enthusiasts might know what 30-Love means, if you don't know what GLBT stands for- the group probably isn't for you. And as for being "Out on the Range" when some of us are still "in the closet", give us a break! It's a play on words. And if you still don't understand, forget it. Just think of GLBT as a delicious Guacamole, Lettuce, Bacon, and Tomato... on Rye. YUM!


One final note: Our survey is down. We'll have another one up soon. Until then, if you want to contact us, our information is at the top of the page.


Stay strong! Stay proud! Stay you!
~The Out on the Range Crew

Quotable Quotes

Past quotes from our blog:

In Germany they came first for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me,
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
~Martin Niemoeller (1892-1984)

It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy.~Lucille Ball

You could move. ~Abigail Van Buren, "Dear Abby," in response to a reader who complained that a gay couple was moving in across the street and wanted to know what he could do to improve the quality of the neighborhood.

Lots of different thought, lots of different ideas, lots of different people, lots of different lives, but yet the one thing we have in common is that we all want friends that will just let us be ourselves and not be scared.
~Anonymous

The easiest thing in the world to be is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don't let them put you in that position.
~Leo Buscaglia

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey Fierstein

Promise me you’ll always remember:
You’re braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. ~Christopher Robin

Our First Meeting

We've been very encouraged by the responses we've received so far! And we're excited to announce that we've chosen a date for our first official meeting! We will be emailing anyone who filled out our survey regarding the details.

Hope to see y'all there!

Until then,
Stay strong! Stay proud! Stay you!
~The Out on the Range Crew

A New Hope

Don't be concerned by this blog entry's title. No, we're not turning this into a Star Wars website...

Today was a very exciting day for The OOTR Crew! It was only yesterday that we began passing out and hanging up fliers to promote this thing and already we've had four people (besides us) check out this site! And today we saw that tabs had been pulled from the fliers we hung up around town. Yay!!! This is very exciting news for us! Thanks for giving us hope. Together we'll have this thing rolling in no time!

~The Out on the Range Crew

Confused?

We've been deep in discussion here as we get ready to plan our first meeting. A few things have been brought up as issues of confusion and we thought we'd take some time tonight to clear up a few things.

1) This group (though it is called "OUT on the Range") is not just for those who are out of the closet. The meetings will be "closed" (so to speak). We will stress that everything said and shared in the group remains in the group. And the only reason we need your contact information on the survey is so we can let you know when meetings are. (Dates, times, and places will not be posted on this website) Which brings us to our next point....

2)And let us stress that we NEED your help in order to be able to get this thing started. We know from our resent conversations with folks that there are more of us here in M.C. than we thought! Wouldn't it be nice to have people to talk with who understand the struggles of being gay in "small town" Montana? Wouldn't it be inspiring to hear other people's coming out stories? Personally, we think it'll be nice just to get together with a group of people without worrying about being judged. Just think of the possibilities!!!

As always, feel free to contact us if you have any questions! Our email address is:
glbtmilescity@gmail.com

Until next time, Readers....

With respect from,

~The Out on the Range Crew