Wick Thomas

Hey friends, I'm running for state rep in District 19. The seat is open this year and I believe we can win! Most of my posts in the coming months will be over at Wick Thomas for Missouri. I hope you'll give the page a follow and support me in the coming months. Let's make Missouri better, together!

We have a bunch of baby black swallowtail butterflies (on the now sacrificial fennel) this year!

Went to the Minnesota ren fest and ran into some Minneapolis cuties.

Many years ago I went to donate blood in my high school auditorium. That is the day I found out q***r people were banned from donating blood. Even though there was no scientific justification for it, I was turned away.

This week, decades later, the ridiculous ban on gay blood donation ended.

The goal today was 22 units of blood. We got 26 units! Ten people were first-time blood donors and there were so many people from the neighborhood! Thank you all for helping us celebrate the end of the ban on gay blood donation!

Celebrating the end of the gay blood ban and I still need 8 people to sign up!

Go to
https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=LGBTQKC
to schedule your appointment!

Give 8/1 thru 8/12 to win a private shark dive in NY and $10 gift card by email! For more information go to rcblood.org/movie

The Red Cross has received 50,000 less blood donations than needed over the last two months. Let's help them out!

This August, the Federal blood donation restriction on gay men will be lifted. Newly implemented regulations will ask the same series of questions regardless of gender identity or s*xual orientation.

The newly established guidelines from the FDA follow:

"This policy eliminates time-based deferrals and screening questions specific to men who have s*x with men (MSM) and women who have s*x with MSM. Under the final guidance issued today, all prospective blood donors will answer a series of individual, risk-based questions to determine eligibility. All prospective donors who report having a new s*xual partner, or more than one s*xual partner in the past three months, and a**l s*x in the past three months, would be deferred to reduce the likelihood of donations by individuals with new or recent HIV infection who may be in the window period for detection of HIV by nucleic acid testing.

Additionally, under these final recommendations, those taking medications to treat or prevent HIV infection (e.g., antiretroviral therapy (ART), pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)), will also be deferred. Though these antiretroviral drugs are safe, effective, and an important public health tool, the available data demonstrate that their use may delay detection of HIV by currently licensed screening tests for blood donations, which may potentially give false negative results. Although HIV is not transmitted s*xually by individuals with undetectable viral levels, this does not apply to transfusion transmission of HIV because a blood transfusion is administered intravenously, and a transfusion involves a large volume of blood compared to exposure with s*xual contact. As stated in the guidance, individuals should not stop taking their prescribed medications, including PrEP, or PEP, in order to donate blood.

This is the first book not directly related to my studies that I have read in over a year and it feels glorious.

Dill seed harvest! Over a half quart. Our pickle game is gonna improve this year.

Haha this just popped up in my memories. 8 years ago today i was body painted into the rainbow house across from Westboro Baptist church in Topeka by Natalie Fletcher, who won the reality competition Skin Wars, for an art book chronicling her trip around the country. That was a fun day. I still need to track down a copy of that book..

Yesterday's harvest was a cute one.

Pretty great greeting committee. 🖤

Last night I saw some ancient manuscripts, spells, and books of the dead, then said good bye (for now) to the Danube. It's been a lovely trip but I'm very excited to be back with my chicks, pups, love, and friends. See you soon KC.

Someone tell the homophobes back in the states that T Mobile is super gay here so they all need to change their phone plans. Also a good reminder that most the corporations/politicians who change their logos to rainbows in June are doing it for their benefit, not ours. They will cease to support us if it hurts their bottom line.

Had to search all of Eastern Europe but I finally found what I've really been looking for.

My middleschool art teacher would be ecstatic if she knew i was hanging out with the Kiss. Also learned that Prince Eugene, notable general and Baroque architecture enthusiast was known to "dress as a girl", kept company with the trans sibling of Louis XIV, was described as a "vulgar w***e" who "played the woman with young people" and whose exploits were so well know that the soldiers made a popular song about him and a lover while on a ship in turbulent seas: "Our lives are safe/ For we are sodomites/ Destined to perish only by fire/ We shall land."

Or as American textbooks would describe: Formidable military general and confirmed bachelor who never married.

Today I climbed this beast of a watchtower. Probably should have read the sign at the base of Stephansdom that said 343 steps before I started. Also fed a precariously nesting pigeon watching over her eggy babies.

Yesterday I got to do the main thing I 6 to Vienna for: Touring the Austrian National Library, one of the most beautiful libraries in the world.

So picked a good time to randomly be in vienna. In addition to the vegan festival next to my hotel, the kick off to pride was last night. It was like walking through a gay dream. Drag queens waltzing. Formal wear to glitter goths. Some of the best outfits I've ever seen in my life. Five stages throughout two floors of the beautiful city hall building.

I left Serbia this morning. I had a really lovely time in Belgrade and Novi Sad. I learned more about the Balkans in a week than I had previously in my entire life. I found the history, people and language beautiful and want to go back as soon as i can. In addition to all of the library visits I was able to have a really great conversation at the Belgrade pride center and am so impressed with the work of the lgbt community there. I got shocked in the same room that holds Nicola Tesla's ashes so I'm hoping that gives me super powers. Fan-girled pretty hard at his museum. I took myself on a night-time cemetery tour and wandered around the city as long as I could. I'm now safely in Vienna. There happens to be a vegan festival next to my hotel this weekend as big as any BBQ festival kc has ever put on. I'm now wandering around the museum quarter until my hotel room is ready. Rainbow flags are e everywhere throughout the city. It makes me think about when I worked at the Nelson-Atkins and we proposed lighting up the museum in rainbow lights. It didn't get far. Our institutions are so afraid of upsetting people and losing money that they are willing to lose us instead. So much to think about. I have a few more days in Austria before home and will be touring some of the most beautiful libraries in the world while here. Having a wonderful time but definitely missing my weird little family at home.

Studying library and archival processes in a place with so much history is fascinating.

On this day many years ago, I had the good fortune of meeting the love of my life. I never thought Karaoke would change my whole world, but Annie Cherry has a way of making magic happen. The last few years have been the best of my life and I can't imagine had we not met that night. Though I am on the other side of the world right now, my thoughts are with you in Kansas City.

I love you Clay.
(Look under the mail organizer, luv.)

Got here safely. Belgrade is lovely. Got in last night and wandered around where the Sava and Danube rivers meet. Was so jetlagged I slept about 12 hours today until the hotel staff woke me up to changeover the room ha.

Off to Serbia and will be missing a lot of my blooms. Be good, Missouri. Don't do anything crazy while I'm gone.

I did the thing! A long time coming but I finally finished my Masters of Library & Information Science. I still have to go on my excursion to Serbia this month to end out my program but I finally did it yall. It was a really personally hard semester and I'm really proud of this. It took a lot of really amazing librarians, professors, friends and family to get me here. I'm really grateful to those of you who have pushed me and believed in me. I love libraries with all my heart and I'm happy to finally get it in writing.

Today, Missouri essentially made it illegal to be transgender in our state. The legislature has also put forth bills which would classify gay bars as "s*xually oriented businesses," and make anyone performing in clothing deemed "drag" into felons.

This is me, y'all. If the rest of this legislation passes I could have to register as a s*x offender, stripped of my right to vote. Q***r people are fleeing our state in fear. I don't have the money to move right now, and furthermore I don't want to. I'm a life-long Missourian. I grew up in rural Cass County. I love my community. I love my garden and my chickens. I'm going to stay and fight.

I'm announcing right now: I'm running for state representative in 2024 and I'm going to win. They may make me a criminal, but I'm going to make them look me in the eyes while they do it.

I've been explicitly told it's not my turn to run for office. The Democratic winners are picked by the political campaign machine years in advance. But that's not democracy and we've run out of time. The way things are run isn't working. Now is the time to change things for the better.

I'm again making a commitment to not accept corporate donations, which means I will be outspent and outgunned. I don't owe anyone any political favors and don't intend to. This means I need a lot of grassroots community support. I will file this summer to start organizing the campaign. If you want to get involved please send me a message.

Right now, I'm in the final period of my graduate program. I'm going to finish my finals and let myself enjoy the accomplishment. I'm going to work on my garden. I'm going to enjoy a trip that's been a decade in the making. I'm going to keep volunteering for my community. I'm going to spend joyful time with my loved ones. I'm also going to give myself the time to process through the anger I feel at my home state.

Then, this summer, with your help, I'm going to start organizing. We are going to take the Missouri legislature back from its descent into Christian nationalism and fascism.

And then, in 2024, when we win the election, I promise I'm going to wear the most fabulous heels you've ever seen while they swear me into office.

To the trans kids who are most affected by this: Do not let these awful people steal your joy. We love you and we have your back. These legislators see your joy, your self-expression, and your self-acceptance. It terrifies them. You remind them how unhappy they are with themselves and how much of their own lives they've repressed. Rather than work through their own feelings of self-hatred, they are trying to make you disappear so they don't have to confront their own sadness. Don't disappear. Don't be afraid. Be louder. Express yourself how you choose. You are valid, you are worthy, and history will be on your side. And don't wait for the adults to do something. You are not the leaders of our future. You are the leaders of today. Social movements have always been led by the young. Allow yourself time to feel through these events, but never compromise who you are because others don't understand. Thank you for being such an inspiration to the world and to me personally. Thank you for being you.

In solidarity,
Wick

Photo credit: https://www.glbthistory.org/newsletter-blog-2020/06-feature