Lane's Career Change
Donation protected
For nearly all of my life, I’ve been an activist. It started small, with handwriting letters to elected officials about protecting animals. My mom started teaching me how to type at a young age on what seems now like an ancient typewriter. At eight years old, I volunteered for my first campaign. By my 12th birthday, I had my own, very modern :-) typewriter that was put to good use.
Since then, I have worked for a US Senator , a Governor , served as a Charleston County Democratic Party officer, twice elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention , volunteered for and raised money for more candidates than I can recall, most recently as a member of Hillary Clinton's national finance committee.
When I came out as gay, it was natural for me to dive head first into LGBT advocacy. I worked briefly at the Human Rights Campaign before being fired when it was revealed that I was the source behind an anonymous blog that led to the 2006 congressional page scandal that led to the resignation of Mark Foley.
That event changed the trajectory of my life and the nature of my activism. I was exposed to the progressive blogosphere, my network of contacts was vastly expanded, I began a blog and was invited to speak on panels at conferences here in DC and around the world .
I often drew strength and inspiration from MLK’s ‘Why We Can’t Wait ’. My LGBT activism was decidedly aggressive and unforgiving because of Dr. King’s example. It rubbed some people the wrong way and inspired others.
As a result of my political activism, I’ve had some amazing experiences. I co-founded DC for Marriage, which led to marriage equality in our nation’s capital, I’ve met some of my absolute heroes in life, I’ve watched history unfold around me and I’ve made some amazing friends.
At the same time, activism has taken its toll, especially in the most recent election cycle. I’ve been harassed, physically assaulted, I’ve been blacklisted from social events at the White House because I dared criticize the President, my job has been threatened, friendships have been lost and family relationships have ended.
All together, I’ve been a political activist for over thirty-one years. It’s always been a badge of honor for me because, for some reason, I’ve always been oriented towards acting for the greater good. This has often taken a toll on me both emotionally and financially.
I’ve rarely made money off of my activism and never really sought to monetize it. The reward for me was always the promise of advancing equality and electing people who shared my progressive values. I’ve always believed that if you put good energy into the universe that it will come back to you.
That’s where I need your help. I’m making a big change in my life and it’s going to require some training that I don’t have the budget for. Whether you appreciate the work I've done in the past or you're eager to see me leave activism, I'll appreciate the support in the new endeavor.
I'm going to be a sailor! That means getting trained with the skills needed to sail, learning the mechanics of a boat and getting training on safety procedures.
Here are the courses:
- This is the STCW Basic Safety Training Course and it costs $899. It's required for anyone working on a sailing charter: http://www.mptusa.com/stcw-courses.cfm
- The American Sailing Association provides three levels of training and certification: Basic Keelboat Sailing, Basic Coastal Cruising and Bareboat Cruising. These are all necessary to work as a skipper on charters and they cost $1500.
There will also be some travel and living costs involved for the training and certification. Every thoughtful and generous contribution will be humbly put to good use in building this new career.
Being on the ocean and in the sunshine has been a passion of my life that has taken a backseat to activism for too many years. I'm excited to build a career around something that I love and will work to make you proud of your support. I'll be posting pics on Instagram and Facebook as part of my way to thank you and catalogue the journey.
Sailing may look glamorous, but it's a lot of hard work. I'm excited to dive into it and channel my energy towards learning a new craft!
Since then, I have worked for a US Senator , a Governor , served as a Charleston County Democratic Party officer, twice elected as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention , volunteered for and raised money for more candidates than I can recall, most recently as a member of Hillary Clinton's national finance committee.
When I came out as gay, it was natural for me to dive head first into LGBT advocacy. I worked briefly at the Human Rights Campaign before being fired when it was revealed that I was the source behind an anonymous blog that led to the 2006 congressional page scandal that led to the resignation of Mark Foley.
That event changed the trajectory of my life and the nature of my activism. I was exposed to the progressive blogosphere, my network of contacts was vastly expanded, I began a blog and was invited to speak on panels at conferences here in DC and around the world .
I often drew strength and inspiration from MLK’s ‘Why We Can’t Wait ’. My LGBT activism was decidedly aggressive and unforgiving because of Dr. King’s example. It rubbed some people the wrong way and inspired others.
As a result of my political activism, I’ve had some amazing experiences. I co-founded DC for Marriage, which led to marriage equality in our nation’s capital, I’ve met some of my absolute heroes in life, I’ve watched history unfold around me and I’ve made some amazing friends.
At the same time, activism has taken its toll, especially in the most recent election cycle. I’ve been harassed, physically assaulted, I’ve been blacklisted from social events at the White House because I dared criticize the President, my job has been threatened, friendships have been lost and family relationships have ended.
All together, I’ve been a political activist for over thirty-one years. It’s always been a badge of honor for me because, for some reason, I’ve always been oriented towards acting for the greater good. This has often taken a toll on me both emotionally and financially.
I’ve rarely made money off of my activism and never really sought to monetize it. The reward for me was always the promise of advancing equality and electing people who shared my progressive values. I’ve always believed that if you put good energy into the universe that it will come back to you.
That’s where I need your help. I’m making a big change in my life and it’s going to require some training that I don’t have the budget for. Whether you appreciate the work I've done in the past or you're eager to see me leave activism, I'll appreciate the support in the new endeavor.
I'm going to be a sailor! That means getting trained with the skills needed to sail, learning the mechanics of a boat and getting training on safety procedures.
Here are the courses:
- This is the STCW Basic Safety Training Course and it costs $899. It's required for anyone working on a sailing charter: http://www.mptusa.com/stcw-courses.cfm
- The American Sailing Association provides three levels of training and certification: Basic Keelboat Sailing, Basic Coastal Cruising and Bareboat Cruising. These are all necessary to work as a skipper on charters and they cost $1500.
There will also be some travel and living costs involved for the training and certification. Every thoughtful and generous contribution will be humbly put to good use in building this new career.
Being on the ocean and in the sunshine has been a passion of my life that has taken a backseat to activism for too many years. I'm excited to build a career around something that I love and will work to make you proud of your support. I'll be posting pics on Instagram and Facebook as part of my way to thank you and catalogue the journey.
Sailing may look glamorous, but it's a lot of hard work. I'm excited to dive into it and channel my energy towards learning a new craft!
Organizer
Lane Hudson
Organizer
Washington D.C., DC