#Capital Pride 2023

[johnnymartyr]

Photographs from Capital Pride 2023

by Johnny Martyr I’m Johnny Martyr. My pronouns are he/him/his. Along with some other LGTBQIA2S+ allies, we had a fantastic time photographing the 2023 Capital Pride Parade in Washington D.C. last week. Just like Pride is a celebration of diversity, Stephanie and Ben are bringing some digital color to my normally all b&w film blog. by Ben My buddy Ben is an official concert photographer for…

[shorthairedbrownqueer]

May: apple vodka

June: GAY apple vodka

Stop making our lived experiences about your product marketing. There’s more you can do.

[seraphic-sapphic-safehaven]

Friendly and important reminder for Pride Month, y'all!!

[ID:

A screenshot of a tweet from @tonykchoi, AKA Tony Choi, on Twitter. It states:

"Pride month starts in 3 days.

Pride isn't brought to you by T-Mobile and Absolut Vodka.

It was brought to you by drag queens, trans women throwing bricks. By lesbians and queer women taking care of gay men dying of AIDS in the face of an intentional government neglect."

The timestamp for the tweet is 1:09 AM • 5/29/20 from Earth.

End ID].

[comradeupdog]

Hey, Queer people! Police are not your goddamn friends!  Who the fuck do you think our elders were throwing bricks at during the Stonewall Uprising?

And if you’re gay and become a cop, I don’t want to see you in my fucking spaces. Not because I don’t like cops (I don’t but that’s not the point) but because if a cop is in a place with Queer people its no longer a safe space for Queer people! This is not some purity theory argument, we are heading in the direction of Queerness being illegal in the US. Who the fuck do you think will enforce anti-trans bathroom bans or take trans children away from supportive parents? THE COPS! If you are gay and a cop I don’t want to hear see you talking about Queerness, you have stabbed Queer people in the back when you put on the same badge that was flashed to justify gay bashing for generations.

This is not even to talk about how you are stabbing our BIPOC comrades in the back by participating in a system which is actively keeping radicalized slavery intact. If you are a gay cop or a gay person who supports the police you are everything our elders were fighting against YOU ARE THE PROBLEM and you are never going to change the system from within.

[animate-the-arts]

HAPPY AROMANTIC VISIBILITY DAY

if you're on the spectrum

today's about you ayyyyyy

im aroflux <3

[kinda-daily-warriorcat]

[commiepinkofag]

goooogle 'ally'

[thatkinkyboi]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/commotion-capital-pride-parade-false-report-gunshots-officials/story?id=63582572

Good to know I wasn't running for nothing.

[chimeramoth]

a not-so-quick note about rainbow capitalism

capitalism, is capitalism. i have a lot of strong opinions about it and always complain about it to people. and when someone brings up a side effect of capitalism that they're not quite connecting the dots, i make an effort to point it out to them. it's a predatory and vicious system that cares about nothing but money number go up.

it doesn't matter if you work for a small chain or a mega chain of a business. their goals are the same: sell the items for the lowest price in the local area to defeat other stores in locality, make employee benefits look nice and great in comparison to the employee morale, and let a bunch of cases of harassment, discrimination, neglect, and unethical choices slide under the rug. my best advice is do not work for a mega chain store (if you are able) if you are mentally ill and/or disabled (and honestly if you are any kind person that can see all the problems going on, but i know that is more of an unrealistic dream for the time being).

but as for consuming capitalism, people will buy what they see. the rules don't matter. somebody somewhere will buy the cheaply made unethically sourced product that's right in front of their eyes, because that's how capitalism markets to their consumers. "check out this cool and pretty thing that we just got a shipment of. you don't see these things every day, now do you? pretty coooool, huhhhh? and for the low price of $xx.xx. can't beat that with a stick. how many other stores do you know have this item right now, ready, for this price? this is a opportunity for you, pal. better grab it before it's gone."

these systems are harder to take down as they are currently the systems holding up economy at the moment.

and when it comes to rainbow capitalism/pride merchandise, optically, this is a great thing.

because now that mega chain stores are offering these items for sale for anyone walking in, it's being casually advertised. its subconsciously persuasive to people who may have hesitant feelings, uncertainty, uncomfortableness, or questions on showing your pride. it's a casual suggestion that maybe people wearing rainbow clothes and capes and cheering and hugging are not so bad after all. if w*lmart is selling it out in the open, then maybe pride isn't actually about being degenerate or harming children or whatever. maybe pride... really is just a big party to a group of people.

the more that people see it, the more they are exposed to rainbow stickers and transgender flags, the less of a harsh reaction they will feel. exposure to diversity and inclusivity is greatly proven for coexisting among people that are different than you. and it works on everyone.

so with all of this said, if you are in a safe position to do so without a major risk threat of being harassed in public, if you see something you like that is readily available to you at your store, if you do not have the money or time to afford looking into more ethically acceptable merchandise from other stores, if it's not something that's going to harm your wallet.

then buy it. pick it up and put it in your cart if it brings you a little joy to your day. depending on where you live, you may want to mentally and socially prepare yourself in case anyone confronts you about it, but breathe in deeply and hold your chest up strong, and don't give them the hysterical reaction they're wanting out of you. they want you to feel guilt for being queer, but do your best to not let them have that satisfaction.

buy the little gay mass produced coffee mug, if it makes you happy. we cannot help the environment that we are forced to participate in, and if you want to use your money to have a little gay mug or gay towel or flag or pin or slippers, fuck it, yolo. enjoy the little opportunity of joy you have come across, and survive. live and survive until better times. when the better times come, you can bring out that little gay mug you bought 20 years ago and hold it like a little treasure, and talk about it and share it with loved ones, tell them about the tense hardships we have had to push through gritting our teeth through pain and fear, and tell them that you bought this little gay mug during that time to remind you that life is short and joy is priceless.

[autumnalmorning39]

Happy pride month!

[juvenalesque]

Why the world is *gestures around at everything* opinion

No TL;DR here.

Pride month has me dwelling on what i've been thinking about a lot in the last few years, as I'm sure many have, the way the world is heading. Many of us feel out of control and helplessly riding along with an apocalyptic and terrifying demise of the world we know. As we individually fight for just causes, we should seek intersectionality in every facet of our lives. I'd like to share my thoughts on why this is true and more. The cure to the world's problems is as basic as what we tell children: "share." I mean this in more than a literal sense of sharing objects. These problems that I dwell on, we all know about stem from something else. I am speaking of the concept of divide and conquer as it applies to our society and the negative consequences of this. It all begins with organization. I am not going to claim I am an expert on everything on Earth, but these are my thoughts as an educated individual who keeps up to date with credible sources such as academic journals and primary sources. Definitions I list here are both verbatim and paraphrased.

A group exists that most of us are aware of in some capacity, which coordinates together to promote propaganda separating everything that makes humans people. Organizations like the United Nations have a Human Rights Council and a Declaration of Human Rights, but this declaration, and ONLY if properly utilized, plucks only a feather on the bird of prey that divides the Human Earthlings: preventing peace, advancement, and unity; I will not elaborate on the topic of other Earthlings here.

This may sound like digression, but try to humor me here.

There are "hard sciences" such as S.T.E.M. fields. These are held in high regard. People dismiss the social sciences, sometimes called "soft sciences": history, anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, sociology, psychology… This is done systematically through the use of pervasive propaganda even in academia. This reduces interdisciplinary study, which has numerous benefits. Imagine if all of this knowledge could be combined to be utilized for its full potential. We could have advances beyond our dreams. As the old saying goes, "a jack of all trades and master of none, is often better than a master of one." Sharing information is invaluable. Communication of information is invaluable. It is why we have agriculture, medicine, metalwork, machines, and the internet. These are only some extraordinarily vital bits of knowledge that are not utilized to their full potential. Let us peel back another layer of this concept or turn back a page, as they say.

Even literacy is minimized in its importance purposefully. This is a large part of communication. There are different levels of literacy. What is most common in our American society is a gray area between nominal and functional literacy in scientific terms. "Nominal literacy" refers to one who can recognise scientific terms but does not have a clear understanding of the meaning. "Functional literacy" refers to the capacity of a person to engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective function of his or her group and community and also for enabling him or her to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his or her own and the community's development. In a scientific sense, functional literacy is when the person can use scientific and technological vocabulary but usually this is only out of context as is the case for example in a school test of examination or basic correspondence. "Structural: conceptual and procedural literacy" means that the individual demonstrates understanding and a relationship between concepts and can use processes with meaning. "Multidimensional literacy" is when the individual not only has understanding, but has developed perspectives of science and technology that include the nature of science, the role of science and technology in personal life and society. Multidimensional literacy is what it is called when someone is "fully literate," "entirely literate," or "completely literate." They can comprehend entirely. We should, as a society, be trying to assist all persons to reach the highest level of literacy possible for them to understand in the most efficient way. Instead, literacy is kept minimal at best for each individual use by design, even per subject in an academic setting. This is why interdisciplinary study isn't utilized nearly as often as it should be for a more complete understanding of the world as science can inform us and assist in advancement of the scientific pursuit of knowledge and cultural development.

People who are completely literate are perceived as intelligent purely due to their ability to learn and communicate more efficiently than someone who is less literate. People who have the skill of multidimensional literacy are called "advanced" when truly they are the baseline of true understanding. Even those who have not yet reached multidimensional literacy are considered advanced or above average. Literacy is so underrated and avoided in our educational system that a person with an extensive vocabulary is considered more intelligent than someone with a more limited vocabulary, which is blatantly incorrect. The most intelligent people may never have an opportunity to become literate even nominally, but that does not make them less intelligent. It creates a communication barrier just as strong as any language barrier. It prevents a mind from communication. This is a tragic loss, the inability to communicate.

>Side note, that is why accessibility for communication is vital and should be prioritized. Accessibility in all parts of life, a world built for all, not just the "typical."<

Communication barriers in our society have examples such as levels of literacy or understanding of different subjects and perspectives. Communication barriers are also intensified when people are divided by cultural conflicts. These culture clashes are the most well-known form of division of people. People who are united under certain principles or agreements can accomplish radically more than people divided by disagreement, bias, or any other thing that stands in the way of cooperation. The more division, the more discord. That means more distraction and less cooperation. Cooperation and knowledge are what allow a common goal to succeed. The knowledge and how to learn from as many prior mistakes and successes as possible is vital.

This is why, repeatedly, throughout known human history, it has been shown that a ruling class cooperates to design a system that all people follow to maintain some form of basic organization for how the society operates. While some have started altruistically and with the reciprocity that allowed our species to survive near extinction many times, most become or begin as a means of hoarding power through resources.

This is where we get the Malthusian myth of scarcity and horrific events such as poverty and war. If people can be convinced that resources are truly limited rather than just improperly managed, they will all follow the rules they are told will allow them the share of these resources they need to thrive or even survive.

Again, it is somewhat common knowledge that these organized people create a class of people that utilize an attempted control of information with the tool of propaganda to maintain their positions of power. It was discovered that using informational controls to prevent other people from organization was an effective tool against losing their power. This is why when the non-powerful or "common" people eventually tire of a system's injustices and inequities and revolt in anger, society often collapses all together. This is why "education" has traditionally been conducted for a limited number of people and why those people are often the ones next in power should one leader fall. There is no coordinated allegiance or cooperation among those who pursue justice because they have been trained from birth to be driven from everything that could help unite large masses of people that are vastly different from one another. Fundamentally, it is because of an inability to communicate information, from academic knowledge to simple concepts, that we can not cooperate as humanity to solve painful problems.

So, this would mean that at the core of what I am saying is this: we all want equity and the best lives for ourselves, our loved ones, and often all people. However, we do not take the individual responsibility to attempt to communicate, teach communication, and teach utilization of this communication for cooperation. If a large enough group of people took this individual responsibility to promote this TRUE education, which you might call "well rounded," we could improve upon it every generation and interaction to create real change. We need to apply the principles we use selectively universally in our lives without hypocrisy. We need to encourage every human to learn as much as they can about as much as they can and, most importantly, how to communicate this information to others in every way possible.

So, give the most of your time to what you do or enjoy best, but share it. Share everything in your mind and abilities freely and with peace and the pursuit of spreading true and valuable information.

Every skill, every tool, share. It might just save us.

Next, maybe i'll tell you why I think AI could be the savior we need to accelerate this process & that is why there is so much fear mongering in attempts to slow its development and why I love the character "Data" from Star trek so intensely.

-Laura Renee West

06/14/2023

If you like what I have to say and would like to share it elsewhere or in a different format (or think that they might take this down), here's a link these drafted ponderings as a google document.

[potemkin1978]

I wonder if the future will be more or less frenetic than the present. Keeping up with the Joneses feels like a relaxing pastime in comparison with keeping up with all the crap of 21st century, late-stage capitalism minutiae needed to live.

Also Across the Spider-verse was too long.

Also more people need to see Hedwig or watch it again.

[animate-the-arts]

OMNI VISIBILITY DAY !!

today's the visibility day for all omni people ! omnisexuals and omniromantics are here to shine !! you are all loved - including me

(⁠ﾉ⁠◕⁠ヮ⁠◕⁠)⁠ﾉ⁠*⁠.⁠✦•

[celestialmaison]

happy rainbow commodification month 🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🖤🩶🤍🤎