Diversity Rules Magazine

Jim Koury is a seeker of personal truth, and desires to empower oth- ers to find their own personal truth, whatever it may be. He is also an ac vist who is not afraid to speak his mind, and ruffle some feath- ers, if necessary. His main objec ve is to get people to think and think for themselves. He espouses Aristotle's mantra, "It is the mark of an edu- cated mind to entertain a thought without accep ng it." Jim does not force his views on others but just puts them out there for folks to think about and discard if they wish. Welcome to the April issue of Diversity Rules Maga- zine. The year 2021 is surely going as fast as prior years have! Wow. Well, one good thing is that spring is here, despite the 4" of snow outside right now, as I write this. LOL. Oh well, Mother Nature can surely have a warped sense of humor, can't she? I hope all of you reading this who are eligible to get vaccinated, actually get to a vaccina on site and do it. We need you to. We need everyone who can get one to get it. A 4th surge appears to be underway, and the only way we can stop it and/or mute it is to get vaccinated. PLEASE DO IT! The vaccines are very safe and were developed using 20 years of SARS research. Do not let the fear and lies of those who are uneducated and not science-based dictate your health decisions. If you want some degree of nor- malcy again, then GET THE SHOTS! Period! Ok, with that soapbox preaching out of the way, let's get to this month's feature. I am very excited to present Suzanne Guacci. Suzanne Guacci is a former New York State Trooper who lost her leg in the line of duty in 2001 and went on to become an award-winning writer/director, and producer. Suzanne created Aspire Produc ons in 2007 to tell authen c character-driven films about the LGBTQ and disabled communi es. Her films have screened at fes vals all over the world includ- ing Framline, Ou est, and BFI. Currently, Aspire Films can be seen on various pla orms including Amazon Prime, cable, VOD, and broadcast television world- wide Her newest project is "T11 Incomplete." It is a love story involving a par ally paralyzed paraplegic. I encourage you to check out Suzanne's interview, and her website. She is a remarkable, strong, and powerful woman making her mark in the film indus- try. There are other great features in this month's issue as well. In addi on to the expected regulars, Joey Amato, Tony Guadagnino, Diane Lang, and Lee Lynch, Diversity Rules Magazine welcomes a new regular columnist, Stu Schwartz. Stu is a re red university professor who has taught and conducted research related to human diversity issues for more than 30 years. His first college job, in 1964, was posing naked for art classes— he s ll poses part- me. He was a successful author of col- lege textbooks. "Lights On—Clothes Off" 'Confes- sions of an Unabashed Exhibi onist' is his first novel. Stu welcomes comments and ques ons related to his column or book. I hope you find the ar cles and features in this month's issue informa ve, as well as entertaining. If anyone wishes to submit material to include in a sub- sequent issue, I am always open to reviewing it and giving voice to a fellow queer compatriot or ally. I hope you have a great month of April and spring! As always, we shall see you all in May, when another ex- ci ng issue of Diversity Rules Magazine is published! My Two Cents A Message From The Editor James R. Koury, Editor/Publisher Diversity Rules Magazine | Apr 2021 | 3

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