Pride? What's That? Part 2

 


Today there is a lot more acceptance of people who identify as LGBTQA+ but it wasn't always like this, nor is it perfect. Society is hardly perfect, and it takes a lot for change to happen. In nearly every case, we have to Be the change we wanna see. So imagine, if you will, that you're in New York, in 1969, towards the end of June. New York Police raided a popular openly gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, and started arresting people. Some decided they'd had enough and started rioting. Two notable people who started this were two trans women of color, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. 

After the riots, a wave of LGBTQA+ activism started up all over the USA, and by the next year, there was a parade for gay pride in New York, on June 28th, the same day of the Stonewall Riots. Since then, awareness and acceptance has spread. These days, when people think of Pride, they're starting to think of it in terms of commercialism. There's a lot of rainbow and Pride themed things you can buy, and while there's nothing wrong with that, there's so much more to it than booze, parties, and rainbow flags. 

You can still participate in Pride even if you don't identify as LGBTQA+ by being an ally. But please, if you're going to take on that title, act like an ally, especially when it's hard. That's when the community needs you the most. I haven't been in many situations where my friend or family is being bullied or commented on or treated badly because of their sexual orientation, gender, or color, but I do rehearse what I'd say, what I'd do. I'm not going to stand by and let people be cruel to my friends and family. Not on my watch. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vivienne, A Music Lover

Image
  I have wonderful friends and cousins. Every now and then someone sends me a song recommendation, and it turns into me becoming obsessed with an artist for a while. No-one can take the cake from Poets of the Fall for me, but Twenty One Pilots are right up there on my list. One of my favorite songs from them is Guns For Hands. The music video is a good, but simple one, and I found it rather endearing to just see the two band members of TOP with a white background and blue and red duct tape. (Watch the video, you'll see what I mean.)  But the lyrics are really what get me, the whole idea of struggling to sleep, knowing the world is sad and broken, and feeling like there's nothing to fix it. But then, realizing that if nothing else, there are little things we can do. Reach out to those we know, express yourself with art (whatever that looks like for you) and go outside and connect with people. ^_^
Read more

Food? What About Food?

Image
Food! Food and snacks and caffeine are really important. As a writer, I tend to forget to eat (I'm working on that, though), but when I'm writing, if I have a snack nearby, I eat without having to think about it. Win-win for me! So I wanted to talk about snacks for Nanowrimo. Everyone has something different they like to munch on as they write. Some people have a container of mnm's, I like to have a bowl or two of skinnypop popcorn, and some like cheese sticks or cheeseits.  There are loads of snacks to choose from, so I suggest something that isn't primarily sugar. Fruit and veggies are good, as well as things like crackers, popcorn, and nuts. Whatever you choose, make sure it's something you can keep on your desk. (So you know, maybe a bowl of popcorn instead of a massive Costco bag haha.) Another aspect of this is meal prep. If you premake meals, you'll be able to get more writing done, since you won't have to spend as much time making dinner, for example...
Read more

Mental Health Through the Holidays

Image
A lot of us neurodivergent people struggle with the holidays. As a kid, it was my favorite time of year. I had time away from school, I got presents, and I got to see my family and eat lots of yummy food. As I've grown older, the holiday sparkles have faded and grown dimmer.  There are a thousand different reasons for not enjoying the holidays, but it's not all bad. I'm excited to introduce my nephew, who's not quite 2 years old, to our favorite Christmas movies and teach him to make cookies. I want to see him get excited about presents and seeing family and trying new things.  However, the massive amount of Christmas decorations, the expectations of getting and decorating a tree, putting all the lights up and whatnot, and making sure you have gifts for pretty much everyone you know...it's a lot. It's made me feel a bit like the Grinch. Not angry at the holiday itself, but annoyed by all the decor and overt CHRISTMAS everywhere. As someone with anxiety and depre...
Read more