#thisiswhywemarch

[streetfightwcrs]

Thank you @raiderlo510 for talking with us about the Juggalo March On Washington ・・・ “And who said juggalos don’t have a say on our country’s issues. Us at #StruggaloCircus rolled deep to tell these Nationalists idiots that their hate and views won’t be accepted in our city!!” #JuggalosFightBack #ThisIsWhyWeMarch #BerkeleyProtest #JuggalosAgainstTrump #JuggalosAgainstHate #WhosGoinNaziHuntin #struggalocircus #Juggalos

[hommedecuir]

“The first PRIDE was a RIOT!” Stonewall Uprising On June 28, 1969 at the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street (the hub of the NYC Gay Community in the 1960s), things turned violent after a few LGBTQ people were arrested on questionable charges, handcuffed, and very publicly forced into police cars on the streets of NYC. The LGBTQ community was fed up with being targeted by the police and seeing these public arrests incited rioting that spilled over into the neighboring streets and lasted several days. These events have been collectively described as a “riot,” a “rebellion,” a “protest,” and an “uprising.” Whatever the label, this was certainly a watershed moment in LGBT history. Many eyewitnesses have identified Marsha as one of the main instigators of the uprising and thus, some have recognized her as the vanguard of the gay liberation movement in the United States. Who Was Marsha P. Johnson? Marsha P. Johnson was an African-American transgender women who was an LGBTQ rights activist and an outspoken advocate for trans people of color. Johnson spearheaded the Stonewall uprising in 1969 and along with Sylvia Rivera, she later established the Street Transvestite (now Transgender) Action Revolutionaries (STAR), a group committed to helping homeless transgender youth in New York City. She was tragically murdered on July 6, 1992 at the age of 46. Her life has been celebrated in numerous books, documentaries, and films. #pride #thisiswhywemarch #nycpridemarch #eaglenyc #nycleathercontingent

[sarahannee]

I think she’d be proud. 💙💛 #motherjones #protest #thisiswhywemarch #imarchbecause #politics #activism #democracy #america #isamericagreatyet #march #teacher #55strong #55united #teachers #peia #fixpeia #healthcare #healthinsurance #poverty #kidstagram #studentprotest #thisiswhywecanthavenicethings #wv #wvstrong #mountaineers #laborunion #union #labor #labormovement #progress #westvirginia #crw #charleston #teacherstrike #workstoppage #jimjustice #boybye

[akissbeforeigo]

I have a boss who I can be truly myself be myself with, in a professional setting. People are like why did you want to leave a place with so much money? Because I wasn't making a difference in any way that mattered to me. When you are wanting to make an impact on this world, money is never involved. People keep asking me how I "like" it? I don't like it, I love it. I love it because I work with a supervisor who I look up to and who I respect and whose work ethic I admire. She isn't white and she is a female and she is married and and she has her own personal style. People keep looking at me as though all the interpersonal drama of this place will get me down. It's not About them. It's about the community and the people I want to help and the educational programs I want people to do and learn from. People keep looking at me as though they expect me to quit or to slack off or to be put off. I'm none of those things because I am spending a good chunk of my life in a place I want to be in, to fight for, to inspire and to promote positive change. For this first time, I'm spending my days doing something I truly love doing. That's hard to find as an adult.

[sdenisecullen]

"She was warned...she was given an explanation...nevertheless, she persisted..." #persisterhood #SenatorWarrenismyhomegirl #thisiswhyweneedfeminism #thisiswhywemarch #tattoo #lovelovelove (at Painted Lady Tattoo OKC)

[my-loves-dont-know-i-exist]

Because women's history has gone through much to take steps back. #thisiswhywemarch #womensmarch

[hisruin]

I did not march today because my Husband was at work. Before I met him, I was #Assaulted. Ever since then I've had #Anxiety and #Agoraphobia. I prefer to go places with him to feel safe. This is why we march. #ThisIsWhyWeMarch #WomensMarch

[bigeorgeivegotit]

Thoughts on How Allies Can Help

The following was written by a queer friend of mine. He has authorized sharing it widely:

“I'm seeing a lot of allies doing the "my prayers are with you" thing and then leaving it at that. (Substitutions include uploading a photo to depict Pride or sharing your happiness at the WTC being lit up in rainbows.) . At first, I was getting angry and offended that this appeared to be all you'd contribute before returning to your funny cat memes. But then I thought that maybe you honestly just don't know what else to do, that suddenly you're so panicked at the thought of making a horrible situation worse, that you're frozen in trying to do something meaningful. So, with the greatest of sincerity, here are some ideas of what to do for those of you allies who want to help us out in this more-than-usual terrible time: . 1. Give blood. (Gay and bi men still aren't allowed to give blood unless they haven't had sex with another man for at least one year. As such, many desperate blood donors are being turned away during a desperate situation to save lives in desperate conditions. We need you.) . 2. Don't vote Republican. (At least not this year, if you feel so freaking strongly about it. Just keep in mind that you're not allowed to be sad about the Pulse massacre when you've been actively promoting people who have been behind loose gun laws, trans panic defenses about bathrooms, and at least 200 anti-LGBTQ bills this year alone. If you still feel your presumed tax break is more important that saving lives, then you need to fucking admit that to yourself and ponder over what kind of person that makes you.) . 3. Check in on us. (I've had only one friend outside of the spectra contact me to see if I was okay over these first 24 hours. One. I find this unacceptable. I understand it's because you don't want to make that terrifying, personal connection, but it's nonetheless unacceptable to block it. I need all of you allies--now, right now--to look your surviving LGBTQ friends in the face [or on a FB photo or whathaveyou] and think, "That could've been you. It could very well still end up being you in the future." Make the personal, terrifying connections about how fucking real this is. Because we're already in that state of mind over here. And I can't even begin to explain how scary that is. We walk around with this terror just under our skin every day, but right now it's burst through for everyone to see. We need you to know that, we need you to feel that. Also, just check in on us because we may need a shoulder to cry on that isn't currently hobbling through the battlefield along with us. We sometimes feel it's unfair to try to unload on fellow LGBTQ people that are suffering just as hard as we are, so we try to put up a brave front for one another.) . 4. Make us something to eat. (Make no mistake; this type of situation stimulates grief and mourning, and grief and mourning are horrible things to go through. One of the first things to go is one's self-care, especially when it comes to eating. Make sure we're eating. Don't lecture us about the type or quantity of food. Just make sure we're eating. Imagine as if our beloved family member just died, was ruthlessly murdered by a stranger in a senseless act. Only that stranger has said they'll be back; that they'll pick off every last member of the family just 'cause. Oh, and when I say "stranger," I mean "hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of strangers." And when I say "one family member," I mean fifty. It's not that ONE stranger COULD be around the next corner, it's that THOUSANDS of strangers ARE. And over and over again, they're succeeding. That's the best I can describe how we're feeling right now. And it's why we may be forgetting to eat among other things.) . 5. Don't talk over us. (This is not your time. This is our time. Yes, you're sad. Yes, you're scared. Yes, you're feeling things. But I'm sorry, this isn't about you. The queers are talking right now. We're the ones that were just shot. We're the ones that can't give blood or visit our dying partners in the hospital because of archaic laws. We're the ones being prematurely outed because we were at a queer club and calls are going to families from morgues and hospitals. We're the ones that are conveniently being used for political gain right now by our enemies in order to smother a fellow vulnerable community. And amongst all that, we're expected to sit down, swallow our grief, and listen to how YOU feel watching us suffer? No. Just no. You have to wait your turn. Your feelings are valid and we appreciate your sadness and anger, but you need to talk about your feelings with fellow allies for right now.) . 6. Stay focused on the real issues. (Don't let the media or bigots or ignorant people fool you into this being something other than what it is: a horrible act of murder fueled by a mix of LGBTQ hate and unregulated gun use, both of which run rampant in American culture. Do not get distracted by any other claims. To get distracted is to keep progress from happening, to allow history to repeat itself in the future just like it has every other time in the past.) . 7. Reflect on your religious affiliations. (If you're offering us prayers, I assume you practice in some faith or another. If this is the case, please strengthen your offer of prayers by checking in with the religious leader of your congregation and ensuring they don't spout anti-LGBTQ rhetoric any of the other 364 days of the year. If they do, talk with them earnestly about changing their ways. If you're unable to sway them, please strongly consider shifting to a friendlier, more accepting congregation, and let your religious head know exactly what you're doing and why. Because if those pews keep being filled, that religious figure will just keep spouting. Don't put your ass in that seat. Don't idly allow this hate to breed with you in the front row. Remember that a shepherd can't shepherd if there aren't any sheep. Hateful rhetoric can't be heard if there's nobody around to hear it.) . 8. Remember that it's not just Pulse. (Pulse should most definitely be getting the greatest of attention at this moment in time. But that's not to say that, once the news has died down, you think, "Man, sure glad THAT'S over." Because it's not over. It's never over. We deal with this kind of fear and hate on a daily basis. It's just that Pulse was SO bad and SO atrocious on such a direct scale of attention that it actually made the news. But we've been dying long before this and likely will continue to do so--especially my PoC siblings, the Latinx population of which were the showcase at Pulse that night. But the violence has always been around us; it's just usually shoved into silence by those in power. 40% of homeless kids are LGBTQ because their families either kick them out or abuse the hell out of them. A transgender person--usually a transwoman of color--is murdered every 29 hours. Daily harassments--from off-the-cuff slurs to threatening gestures to physical harm--are so prevalent that they can't even be properly recorded; they are so far off the charts that the charts can't keep up. Some dude headed to LA Pride this same weekend with rifles, ammo, and presumed explosives was thankfully caught in advance. The list goes on so long that I need to force myself to stop now.) . I know I'm usually a sarcastic son of a bitch, but I mean the above list (which is by no means exhaustive) with the utmost of sincerity. These are the things we need, both right now and in the future. While we appreciate your desire to want to comfort us, tweets about prayers actually don't do shit. They won't change a thing. Further, those prayers can be offensive to many of us, those prayers theoretically coming from the exact same God that's been used to condemn us right up to this most recent massacre. . I'm tired now. I had more to say, but I'm tired. I've been tired since I first heard the news, and I've been tired in steadier increments long before that. . I urge the sharing of this post. Due to my privacy settings--three guesses why they're there--you'll need to copy and paste for it to go anywhere. No worries about citing me as the writer. I really don't care. What I care about is getting the message out.”