I should write more because I do think more than I did...
but in fact I've been talking more and posting more online and so I tend to be ranted out by the time I get round to journalling, and forget what it was that I was thinking about or triggered by that day. To be honest, to a large extent it feels like these things that people are talking about are really far over my head and I don't actually know what to think, or what is the best informed opinion, or what camp I want to put myself in. Maybe I should just put some summary sentences, so that in 5 years time I can have a look back and see what actually became of these questions, rather than being my usual discreet journally self.

ID cards - do we need them in addition to passports? Plus the planned laws regarding trans people and ID cards and ID card change/multiple ID cards is a disgusting fiasco which pretty much undoes the decent work of the past few years. I however don't plan on going anywhere that I'm likely to be taunted maliciously or fear for my life if I open my mouth, and I'm grateful for that.

Westboro Baptist Church - Fred Phelps et al may be coming to Basingstoke (Hampshire?) on Friday to protest against the screening of The Laramie Project. Basically they're protesting for the right of 'normal' people to murder gay people in cold blood. QYN are protesting it, I have work, I think WBC are a joke as it is. Let them in and be visibly shouting them down - all publicity is good publicity, or ban them from the UK and have that be one step towards the state silencing or buying off ANY radical thought...(which tbh I think it does a fairly decent job at anyway, so continuing that might be a good plan). There's a difference between preaching hate and preaching love - preaching hate has no positive value for anyone - the hated behaviours will happen anyway. Logic can't flatten these viewpoints, what will?!

UMSU 'snail' article - an anonymous article in the Manchester student newspaper slags off androgynous people, basically claiming that binary gender is necessary in order to avoid confusion and havoc - genderless people are like snails. Us snails and snail admirers quite like that actually, and if you're scared of your own internalised homophobia you better get that seen to!

Scandal Dad at 13 malarkey - I really hope the teenagers and their kid get well supported by the local council and by both sets of grandparents. You can imagine the vicious circle obviously, but I think with a decent amount of support and parenting lessons/practical advice and help they might not be as bad at parenting as plenty of people older than them are. I mean, if it was up to me, I'd want to take a hell of a lot more kids away from their families (including extended families - because chances are the fuckup wasn't just a bad apple, it was the trend) and put them with foster carers or have them for adoption. I'd love to give more kids a better start in life with people who have a better clue. How much you are biologically related to or how much you love some child doesn't mean that you have any idea what is best for it. I think the education should be better, and more thorough, and start from a younger age, but to be honest, people are having unprotected sex and don't actually care if they get an STI or a kid out of it. They're apathetic and have nothing to lose, they don't value their own lives, they don't have any self esteem - no matter how much education you give someone they have to want to listen and choose the right thing for themselves. You can have as many lessons/tv programmes/websites/leaflets etc about sex and relationships, but you have to actually want to be mature if any of it is gonna actually sink in. I also think the emphasis on doing nice things other than unprotected penetrative sex, and valuing the same things you value in your best friends in your sexual partners is a good thing. (copied from my GYUK posts actually)

Reclaim The Night March (Manchester) - I'm glad it's been announced as 'open to all genders' officially, with no obvious sectioning off like last year. LGBT people get shit from straight men just the same as straight women do, and it's all rooted in sexism. (= binary centrism=transphobia=homophobia). I intend to be there with the TYN banner and my squealy referee whistle and with any luck some friends who are actual real allies for everything I believe in.





In other news, other than my thoughts, work has been pretty good so far this week (ie today) - decent weather, plenty of kids and I really had a good time this past weekend and pretty much all of it was spent in the sole company of El - not that that's a bad thing! We saw High Society, (Maxi looked fit as ever and their set was short as ever), saw Bolt at the cinema (and the hamster Rhino was even better than in the trailers!), had Nandos then saw Reel Big Fish (who were pretty fun but nothing amazing), did some errands collecting a fit 24" wheel old school BMX cruiser and some stuff for work and then saw Complicit at the Old Vic theatre, watched Teeth and Velvet Goldmine after going for a muddy bike ride...so a jam packed weekend! I did almost 8 miles on my new BMX (Putney Bridge to King's Cross) which made my arse hurt, but my knee seems to have handled it fine.