In this time of worldly unrest, we need to stand up and do something I felt it appropriate this week to touch on a subject that’s important to a lot of us. ~Audio Transcript Below~ Yuuri: Yeah…..I know….everything in the world feels like it’s spiraling out of control, doesn’t it? It completely and utterly sucks. And honestly, I personally don’t know whether or not everything is going to be ok, but I mean…..if we try, if every one of us go out and do our best to change things for the better, do our duty and speak loud enough, fight back with enough power and number and voices and love…..maybe things won’t change right away….but maybe it’ll be a start? I’m not saying that we should just fight hate with love because….honestly…..sometimes love isn’t enough. If someone wants you dead, wants your way of life erased–a way of life that in no way affects them personally–you can’t just…..will or love that person to change their mind. They still want you dead, no amount of love is going to change that. Some of the people who say, ‘don’t fight hate with hate’ don’t understand that while yes, love is good, it doesn’t mean that we should be complacent against people who are trying to harm us for just existing on this planet. Some people do it to trivialize our outrage and our fears. It’s gas-lighting, trying to make us, ‘compromise’. *chuckles ruefully* It’s like, “I thought all you gay people were supposed to be about love and acceptance and everything,” like the idea of MOGAI community not wanting to be literally persecuted for existing is actually offensive. They killed all the nice ones, and all that’s left is us cockroach motherfuckers that aren’t taking it anymore. I’m sorry, it’s just…..people get so angry at people our age for standing up for what we believe in, even though that’s what we’ve been taught from a young age, because whoops! Looks like we don’t agree a lot of the time with the ones who raised us because we see the horrors of what some of them have in store for us. People our age get complacent because they think nothing they do matters and people of the older generations pray on that because they know that is we were to rise up in numbers, we would outweigh and overthrow them in an instant. So they pray on that fear and they lie and they cheat, and they make us feel like out opinions and our morals are worthless in this world because that’s how they keep winning. So we can’t keep doing nothing, we just can’t I know that it’s scary to stand up for what you believe in, especially when a lot of the world thinks that you’re ideas are wrong or worthless, but we can’t just sit and do nothing because nothing is going to get done. It can be hard and scary to know when to start, but it doesn’t have to be some grandiose thing. Shutting down racist jokes, or even researching more about politics or ways that you can volunteer to better your community can help in huge ways if there are enough of us who do it. But, you still need to keep yourself safe. You’re smart, I know that. I know you know that there are times where you could be put in danger when you stand up for something. I don’t want you to voluntarily put yourself in danger, that’s not what I want. You know whether or not you can handle something like that, but you shouldn’t feel bad if it puts you in a position where your existence is threatened. There are those who can, and will, but now everyone can do it. Little steps….conscious efforts are what we need right now. Strength in numbers is what we have, and if we allow ourselves to unite under those numbers, I don’t think there’s anything that we can’t accomplish. We just….we have to do. It doesn’t have to be an all day–every day thing, but putting effort into your beliefs, shutting down and standing up, even in small ways, to those who try to harm you for no reason other than your existence, is what matters now. Yes, we need comfort, but most of all, we need change. The world and the current climate of everything will not change unless we start actively trying to change it. It’s scary yes, it’s very scary, but…*sighs* I know it’s important to keep yourself mentally healthy and safe….that’s very important….and you shouldn’t expose yourself to harm unnecessarily, but if we try to ignore what’s going on in favor of engrossing ourselves in comfort…..nothing will change….the comfort eventually will go away….it won’t last…..I believe that true comfort, won’t come until things change. So I ask you….hell, practically beg you….to help change things. It doesn’t have to be big, it just has to be something, because like I said, there is strength in numbers. Enough of us, going out and doing the right thing, fighting for what’s right and for what we believe in, even the small things will become a mighty and fearsome force. So please…..let’s start changing things for the better.