In case you don't know the symbols of latest flag  

Wheel keep turning, round and round.

Seeing Pride being treated like it has this year I can say Silvera Rivera was right. Capitalist Pride destroyed what pride was supposed to be. 

This is such a good question, and I am looking forward to seeing how people feel.    I find it quite tricky.    I have identified as LGBTQ+ for decades. But, really, for me, it just was a useful way of expressing 'this is a linguistic way of describing SOMETHING of the complexity of who I am, and who I might be attracted to'   I struggle with it, because, I feel like, living as if LGBTQ+ is... Hmmmm. I feel like reducing my places to go and things to do to LGBTQ+ would be similar to only doing things for people with green eyes or only socialising with people with dark hair. It's who I AM, but, it's nowhere even CLOSE to ALL of who I am. I feel a bit anxious about corralling LGBTQ+ people for Pride for example. I love the idea that we should be ABLE and FREE to be open, and confident in our LGBTQ+ identity, but, I feel like doing that OUTSIDE of the rest of society, while NECESSARY AT THE MOMENT FOR SAFETY REASONS, should NOT be an end point. Should not be the ultimate goal.   I want to be a WHOLE person. If I ONLY interact based on my gender identity OR who I am attracted to, that feels weird to me. They feel like small, important, yes, but, small parts of my whole being.    I would LOVE to meet someone and have a healthy relationship, but, I want to meet someone who is a person who IS LGBTQ+ and MAY love Pride and show up for people and events in that sphere, but ALSO has other interests and skills and talents and loves and fears and hopes and dreams and losses and damage and joy for ALL KINDS of human reasons.    I think it's sad and something we need to change if people ONLY feel SAFE being and socialising within the protected spaces for LGBTQ+ folks. 

What does it mean to be LGBTQIA2S+ or an Ally mean to you?

Thank you! Also, please do feel completely free to pop me a message any time, if you are having a rough day OR if you have sparkly joy... 

This is always so tough isn't it? But until you're able to give that to yourself, try to just accept it from us. You are allowed to be you!    Hell yeah! I got into it when my daughter was younger. Definitely one of my favorite kids' shows of all time! Who's your favorite pony? And which pony are you most like?  

I'm so happy Toli! It's so exciting to see you continuing to make find sparkly joy! It makes it so much easier to get through the rough days.

I like to assume that it's worse over there, but, tbh, I seen FAR less Pride merchandise over here this time too. It's not a big deal on its own, but it does feed in to the fact that it feels LESS comfortable to just *be* in public.    I also assumed that because I no longer live in the LGBTQ+ capital of the country, I was being more careful about who and how I come out to people (and that I need to more often if I want to be recognised - before, ALL people were valued etc, no need to come uout so much because people didn't assume things about you) because *I* was being careful, but actually, I think it's the whole climate that has shifted. 

I have heard of this program. This could be good for you? I understand any kind of resistance to things like social services / outside agencies / people sticking their nose in and taking away your agency. I honestly get that, on a visceral level. And it probably feels like (might actually be) that you find it hard to engage with a big brother who might have absolutely no understanding of what it is like to be you, and how could such a goody-goody always does the right thing, and doesn't even KNOW what it's like to not even HAVE choices, ( how could you then know how to make good ones?!) BUT, honestly, AS a person who faced a LOT of difficult childhood and particularly adolescent things, I would be ABSOLUTELY no where without external people stepping up and caring. It really might be that this program could be an awesome thing for you? 

oh -crap- so it's getting serious! Let's hope she pulls her finger out of her arse then and gets it right. I know you're ganna say shewon't but I wanna emphasis that it's her fault you know? Anything that happens is her fault. Not yours. She made the mistakes, she put you guys in the position you're in. You're doing the best you can you know?    That's sad. I didn't know that. Have you been in contact with them since? Are they doing ok?    Well, I thinking, I've got steal some kid from america and bring them home 😂 probably a bit much! End up being an international criminal.

You go, sibling!

OH and i probably need to mention:   what i mean by "what its like to love the abused", i mean the guilt of accidentally hurting people via your own fears. i just thought loving someone with issues like mine is very similar to trying to love a dog that was trained to fight. its hard at first, especially since they cant love others if they cant love themselves.

(CW: implied animal abuse, illegal activity, slight violence)   There was this dog, He doesn't remember his name. not after he left from home. Lets just say it was Rocco.   Long story short, His two owners had a fight, which lead to him running away. he got lost on the way there, but was drawn to a faint smell coming from a cage. one incident lead to the next, and he was now trapped in this cage.   he was brought to an illegal fight ring. of course, Rocco had no idea what it was. all he knew was: there were humans. humans were comforting. there were other dogs. that provided socialization. But that quickly changed when a treat was tossed into an empty ring.   Rocco followed it. and he was quickly confronted by a large Pitbull by the name of Brutus. Brutus stood over him and circled him while he ate. he only bothered to look up from eating once, and that was when a man in the background screamed:   Sic em'.   The powerful dog jumped at Rocco, who immediately flinched and jumped away. "oh no," he immediately thought. "this is just like back home.. what do i do?"   He ran around the ring, despite being chased by the dog and being eyed by the crowd like a piece of meat. he had no other choice... well, he only thought that when he was bitten in the leg.   His eyes went cold, his body went ridgid, and he snapped his jaws down on Brutus's torso. emitting a sharp yelp, while the owner called the Pitbull back.   That day, his captor praised him and patted his head for his work. but when Rocco looked back into his water bowl in his cage, all he saw was a blood-stained monster. all he saw was his owners face, blinded by rage. he felt sickened.   For days, Rocco did not eat. did not sleep. did not participate in fights. in fact, his captor kicked him out shamefully, leaving him to find his way home.   Days. Days, on end, he walked. He refused to drink water because he could not see the happy, innocent face he once saw. he only saw a hound, not a dog. a hound, who had bitten its own kind. made its own kind bleed. and betrayed the very people who provided him safety from that experience.   One day, he smelled the faint smell of home. he ran like the wind, running despite his pain and exhaustion to his owners home. he saw missing posters on the way. "they missed me..? even after all ive done to them..?" he thought, starting to walk slower now due to guilt. but when a small girl came running happily, screaming his name, all he could remember was his captor running to stop him from running away. to stop him from taking his injuries without a fight. "that is my owner... but why is she about to do this to me? why me?" but what really did it was when she moved her hand to pet him. the fear took him over.   " she's gonna hit me. i just know it. thats exactly what my captor did. she wouldn't pet a bad dog. "   he bit her hand. bit her so hard he nearly chewed it off, taking out his own fears and anxieties on the very person who loved him.   She ran away, screaming and crying. causing him more guilt than he could bear. but when the mother and father of his owner glared, and spoke: "that's not our dog." his heart sunk. he backed away, and realized what he'd done. if he had just never ran away in the first place, maybe he wouldn't fear the small things so much.         All done, also this story was heavily inspired by the song "Over and Over" by rio romeo. i'd love it if anyone looked into the song and story combined. :) i very rarely write idea's like this down lol