We Will Continue Marching For Justice ...

 

This has been a rough start to summer for so many of us, a rough June for so many of us, three bad rulings by the "supreme" court, smoke filled skies, medical issues, mental health issues, soul weary issues.

Days where saying such as “If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” by Martin Luther King Jr seems impossible, seems hopeless, seems never ending.

This has been a tough month, and the last few days have been even harder for so many, for so many of us. I do not have any platitudes about the future, any platitudes about whether it is worth it, fighting on and on in a country that keeps legalizing harm, legalizing racism, legalizing sexism, legalizing homophobia, legalizing transphobia, legalizing ablism.

But this month was Pride which started with a riot when hate and pain and discrimination were forged into a movement, a movement for justice, a movement for love, a movement for the freedom to live a full and fantastic life.

But that does not mean it is not hard, that does not mean we are bone tried, that does not mean we can see the light or the justice at the end of the tunnel. If w need to rest, if we need to refuel, if we need to pause that is ok too.

But pausing is not the end and once we have met our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs we will continue marching forward for justice. 

When The Supreme Court Harms Us All

 

Once again the supreme court has decided that harming others is the best policy. They harmed us all by overturning Roe v Wade last summer. They harm us all with today's anti-affirmative action judgment. I am tried, tired of having my found siblings, my found friends, my found family harmed again and again and again. 

As Michelle Obama put it:

I do not know what to do with a supreme court that enjoys causing harm. I don't know how to make them take an Hippocratic Oath. I don't know how to make them understand the impact of racism and sexism and homophobia and transphobia and ableism and all the other phobias and isms. I don't know what to do, so I wrote a poem to get some of what I am feeling out.

Today’s Supreme Court Ruling

Does harm to every single person

College should be filled with

Learning wisdom from those who’s

Life experience is wonderfully different

College should not be limited to

Those who are white and rich enough

College should be an opportunity

To think new thoughts and debate

Those thoughts. What makes a 

Meaningful life? What is the purpose

Of work? How can we together 

Build a Better Community? Better Nation?

Better World? Everyone should be

Able to choose whether college makes

Sense for them or if a different path

Is the adventure that they choose,

People should not be punished for

Attending a high school with fewer 

Extracurriculars. People should not be

Punished for lower grades because

They had to care for family members

Or work in order to make sure they

Had food to eat each morning, night.

Punished for multigenerational

Disinvestment. Punished for struggling.

Punished because their ancestors were

Ripped from their homeland, or stolen

Punished because they face the fear 

That a cop might shoot them at any time

Education should be the great equalizer

Education should be the great equalizer

Education should be the great equalizer

Today’s Supreme Court Ruling

Does harm to every single person

I am so so so very tired of the courts

Efforts to harm every single person  

Intersections Of Identity aka Oh That Is Why People Are So Confusing

 

This evening I watched the live stream of Queering Culture featuring Matt Baume via the Chicago Public Library. It was a discussion of queer representation and queer coding within the history of sitcoms. When discussing the conversation with a friend (and them asking what queer coding was) I mentioned how I am not someone who picks up on queer representation or queer coding unless it is spelled out for me. 

And it is very much an issue of not picking up on it, the same way I don't pick up on most things when it comes to people being people. Honestly I often lean on fanfiction or commentaries to provide the context of what characters are experiencing or why they are behaving the way they are:

• "Oh fanfiction says that character is considered "sexy" interesting"
• "Oh fanfiction says that shirt/sweater/fill in the blank looks really good on them"
• "Oh fanfiction says that bit where they were acting really oddly they were actually flirting"
• "Oh fanfiction says those characters are meant to be in a romantic relationship not just friends"
• "Oh that academic paper says that character is coded as queer"

I will say that in the past I was confused why I never picked up on LGBTQ+ themes unless they were explicitly mentioned. Which was odd considering how highly I value LGBTQ+ representation. I think I thought it was just because I am Ace and that is why I did not pick up on things. However, now I have the fact I'm autistic as an additional explanation. 

In some ways this makes me feel better knowing that my inability to pick up on coded queerness is not some sign that I somehow really don't belong in queer spaces. Nor that I am simply "naïve" considering via fan fiction I feel like I could pass a basic quiz on kinks, safe BSMD procedures, etc LOL. In reality it is more likely just an offshoot of my deeper not understanding what makes most people act the way they do. 

The better I understand the intersections of my identities the more I understand why people are so confusing so much of the time. So writers, commentators, academics, etc. keep pointing out all the queer representation especially that representation which is coded representation so that I can see and celebrate it. 

Showing Myself Kindness This Summer

 

Right now I am focused on being gentle with myself. This includes having a gentle summer. For the past several years I have compiled a list of summer activities I have done around Chicago. I do this so that when the summer is over I can look back and see that no matter what it might feel like I have enjoyed lots of activities.

The last several years I have done over 100 activities over the course of summer. That is where showing myself kindness/being gentle with myself comes in this year. While I will still track what I do, I will be "throwing away the plan" that I have to do 100 activities to say I took advantage of summer in Chicago. I am sure I will get to lots of activities but I am not planning on stressing about it.

I am going to get to stuff that looks interesting or activities that are close to my apartment. However, I am not going to hyperfocus on doing stuff just to add to my summer activity list. Am I going to get to everything happening in Chicago this summer? Nope. Did I get to everything when I was hyperfocused on doing 100 activities? Nope. 

I hope we all can have a gentle summer where we are able to refuel ourselves, our minds, our bodies, our sprits. Yes summer can be a very busy time filled with fun and adventure but remember you don't have to do it all. So get outside when you can, go for a walk when you can, and create a summer of growth and healing. 

Hello June, Hello Pride

 

Pride Poem

By Dreaming Ace

Honor Pride, Celebrate Pride

Pride found at the multifaceted

Intersection of gender + sexuality

Pride that survives even as this

Country seems to seek to destroy

All those who are big and bold

Pride that survives even as this

Country seems to seek to destroy

All those who know who they are

Pride that survives even as this

Country seems to seek to destroy

All those who march to their own beat

Honor Pride, Celebrate Pride

Remember the riot, the riot of justice

Led by our Trans Women of Color

The riot that must continue today

The riot that must be remembered today

The fight continues for Life

The riot that must continue today

The riot that must be remembered today

The fight continues for Liberty

The riot that must continue today

The riot that must be remembered today

The fight continues for Love

Honor Pride, Celebrate Pride

Know that you are loved, are beloved

Honor Pride, Celebrate Pride

 

Know that you are loved, are beloved

Ace and Aro, Bi and Pan, Single and Polyamory

Know that you are loved, are beloved

Know that you are loved, are beloved

Trans and Intersex, Nonbinary and Nonconforming

Know that you are loved, are beloved

Know that you are loved, are beloved

Open and out, Closteted and Afraid

Know that you are loved, are beloved

Honor Pride, Celebrate Pride

The riot that must continue today

Know that you are loved, are beloved