pride, riots, bravery and death videos

i want to send my love and support to all my beloved homos.... it's pride day!!!!...the anniversary of the stonewall riots... i always get real reflective and emotional on days like this...it makes me think about activism, personal bravery, oppression and change...and if you know me.. you know that these are all things i like to think about.... sorry..but i have to get all serious for a minute...

 it sucks to be held down by something or someone...even if it's yourself... and typically we think of bravery as a heroic act done out of some life threatening situation...but bravery can be tiny moments that we live out everyday... like speaking up to a co-worker when they are making racist jokes, or a mother leaving the abusive father of her children for a heather life...it can be a soccer playing kid on the playground  pushing the swing for the girl with ugly clothes in front of all his friends.... it's totally relative....  the past few weeks i have been  holding daily bravery at the front of my thoughts... i have friends who are going through shitty times and the way they push through and do really really really hard things is amazing to me. 

Have you seen the video of Neda Agha Soltani? She was shot during a protest in Tehran... and now every fucking asshole is watching her bleed to death out of her face on youtube.... but i think it's getting people talking...about different types of bravery and how we need to stand up for the shit that's right..even if it's hard or scary.... you are never ever alone...there is always someone else who wants to stand up with you...or hold your hand while you shout...even if you are shouting at yourself in the mirror...

all of the people at stonewall decided enough was enough... the women of Tehran are really fucking sick of the bullshit... the black panthers had some shit to say..so did Rosa parks..and guess what dudes... it's just as important to tell your mother in law what you think about apartheid or to let your neighbor know that the confederate flag in his front yard means a bunch of shitty stuff.... and even more important is to tell yourself that you can do hard things..and make things better... i call it "mind riots" and i do it all the time...  let's do it together...i will hold your hand.