Spirit Day

Originally posted by neo_prodigy at Spirit Day

 


It’s been decided. On October 20th, 2010, we will wear purple in honor of the 6 gay boys who committed suicide in recent weeks/months due to homophobic abuse in their homes at at their schools. Purple represents Spirit on the LGBTQ flag and that’s exactly what we’d like all of you to have with you: spirit. Please know that times will get better and that you will meet people who will love you and respect you for who you are, no matter your sexuality. Please wear purple on October 20th. Tell your friends, family, co-workers, neighbors and schools.

RIP Tyler Clementi, Seth Walsh (top)
RIP Justin Aaberg, Raymond Chase (middle)
RIP Asher Brown and Billy Lucas. (bottom)

REBLOG to spread a message of love, unity and peace.

in reference to my previous post

I remember the gay-bashing visited on a friend back in high school. He got rocks thrown at him, his home vandalized (which his dad made him clean up), any and every kind of verbal harassment. No surprise, he started skipping, and was kicked out of school for it. Around the same time he was kicked out of his house.

Lost track of him over the years, but to my knowledge he attempted suicide at least once and never graduated high school.

I tried to be an ally, but was too young and messed up and frankly stunned at learning that in polite society bullying of LGTBQ kids is acceptable, (some) parental love is completely conditional, and people in authority will do nothing to stop it that all I could manage was standing up and glaring back in mute shock.

That was in the late 80s.

I'm tight-lipped with anger that 20+ years society still clearly has not learned a damn thing. The lack of empathy required to both bully a kid to suicide and the fact that it keeps happening in this so called enlightened place and time... I can't fathom it. I'm still as stunned now as I was as a teenager.

Do more than wear purple on the 20th - donate somewhere, anywhere. I've already put in at SMYAL and GLSEN.

the wall

Went to another competition this weekend, an E and under. Not a great showing, though not the Kickoff's definitive rout - I scored touches in all my pool bouts, though won none and finished last.

I was blessed/cursed with an opponent in pools and DE that fences the same way I do: slow moving defense with quick parry 4s. I fenced her last year and got no touches on her; she's not changed noticeably in style but I got 3 on her in pools and 4 in DE. Still, it was frustrating - one of those damn learning experiences.

Many people seem to assume that I have this amazing lunge - not so. Or, at least, not consistently. I've got the energy for about 3 good, upright lunges with recovery and then my hips and back get too weak to reliably pull me back. I've been slowly getting stronger, but the improvement is glacial and slight.

The footage Badger got of me last week is downright painful to watch, and not just because I look awkward - I felt as stiff and inflexible as I appear. No bounce, no stretch.

True thing: I love fencing but hate the repetitive solitary exercises that would improve my game: footwork, lunges, target practice. I don't like doing them at club because in theory I can do them alone at home, I just don't :P Brutal truth: at base, I am a fundamentally lazy person :/

So I'm going to start, and supplement with prophylactic back yoga instead of waiting until I hurt to stretch out. Today I did yoga and fifty lunges, plus some time in the fitness room. Tomorrow I'm doing it again combined with target practice on the wall (the laundry room should be ok).

And I'll put on music, 'cos it's so boring.