Tag: pride month

The PRIDE Month

The PRIDE month is celebrated to elevate the LGBTQ community, to support their rights and upliftment.

As we have seen the LGBTQ flag contains 6 colours. All these 6 colours have different meanings to them. The LGBTQ flag was designed by Gilbert Baker in the year 1978. The 6 colours in the flag represents, the Red symbolises Life, the Orange symbolises Healing, the Yellow symbolises Sunshine, the Green represent Nature, the blue symbolises Harmony and the Purple symbolises Spirit.

Why is PRIDE month celebrated in June?

The PRIDE month is celebrated in June to commemorate the Gay Liberation Movement which took place in the Stonewall Uprising on June 28, 1969.  There was a huge riot between the police and the gay community at Stonewall Inn.

Later in 2016, Barrack Obama declared Stonewall Inn. a national monument.

Here is a list of some major sexual orientation, to make everyone aware about them

  1. Gay-This is used preferably for a man who is attracted to another man.
  2. Lesbian-This is used preferably for a woman who is attracted to another woman.
  3. Bisexual-Someone who is attracted to both the genders, same and opposite.
  4. Asexual-These are the people who do not feel sexual attraction to anyone.
  5. Pansexual-These are the people attracted to anyone regardless their gender identity.
  6. Heterosexual-These are the people who are attracted to the opposite gender.

Here is a list of some of the major gender identities

  1. Cisgender-When one’s gender aligns with the gender assigned at birth
  2. Transgender-When one’s gender differs to the gender assigned at birth
  3. Non-Binary-When one does not identify as any of the binary genders but has a sole identity.
  4. Agender-When one does not identify as any gender.

(There are many more such terms which are not stated above)

Being a good ally to the LGBTQ community means giving warmth, acceptance, respect and understanding them. Also do not hesitate to ask what pronouns they use and mention what pronouns you use. Never ever stereotype anyone or gossip about someone’s self-discovery journey and always try to make this world a better place to live for everybody.

Happy PRIDE Month to everybody reading this 🙂

Tears for Gaseous Terror……

Tear gas, known as a lachrymal agent (from the Latin lacrima, meaning “tear”), sometimes known as mace, is a chemical weapon that causes severe eye and respiratory pain, skin irritation, bleeding, and blindness. In the eye, it stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland to produce tears. Tear “gas” generally consists of aerosolized solid or liquid compounds (Bromo Acetone or Xylyl Bromide), not gas. Tear gas works by irritating mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, mouth and lungs. It causes crying, sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing, pain in the eyes, and temporary blindness. With CS gas, symptoms of irritation typically appear after 20 to 60 seconds of exposure and commonly resolve within 30 minutes of leaving (or being removed from) the area. In case of a survey it was found that severe symptoms requiring medical evaluation were found in 6.8% of people. The most severe injuries were to the eyes (54%), respiratory system (32%) and skin (18%). The most severe injuries occurred in law enforcement training, intentionally incapacitating people, and law enforcement (whether of individuals or crowd control).

As with all non-lethal or less-lethal weapons, there is some risk of serious permanent injury or death when tear gas is used. This includes risks from being hit by tear gas cartridges that may cause severe bruising, loss of eyesight, or skull fracture, resulting in immediate death. A case of serious vascular injury from tear gas shells has also been reported from Iran, with high rates of associated nerve injury (44%) and amputation (17%), as well as instances of head injuries in young people.While the medical consequences of the gases themselves are typically limited to minor skin inflammation, delayed complications are also possible. People with pre existing respiratory conditions such as asthma are particularly at risk. They are likely to need medical attention and may sometimes require hospitalization or even ventilation support.Skin exposure to CS may cause chemical burns or induce allergic contact dermatitis. When people are hit at close range or are severely exposed, eye injuries involving scarring of the cornea can lead to a permanent loss in visual acuity. Frequent or high levels of exposure carry increased risks of respiratory illness.

There is no specific antidote to common tear gases. Getting clear of gas and into fresh air is the first line of action. Removing contaminated clothing and avoiding shared use of contaminated towels could help reduce skin reactions. Immediate removal of contact lenses has also been recommended, as they can retain particles. Once a person has been exposed, there are a variety of methods to remove as much chemical as possible and relieve symptoms. The standard first aid for burning solutions in the eye is irrigation (spraying or flushing out) with water. There are reports that water may increase pain from CS gas, but the balance of limited evidence currently suggests water or saline are the best options. Some evidence suggests that Diphoterine, a hypertonic amphoteric salt solution, a first aid product for chemical splashes, may help with ocular burns or chemicals in the eye.Bathing and washing the body vigorously with soap and water can remove particles that adhere to the skin. Clothes, shoes and accessories that come into contact with vapors must be washed well since all untreated particles can remain active for up to a week.Some advocate using fans or hair dryers to evaporate the spray, but this has not been shown to be better than washing out the eyes and it may spread contamination.Anticholinergics can work like some antihistamines as they reduce lacrymation and decrease salivation, acting as an antisialagogue, and for overall nose discomfort as they are used to treat allergic reactions in the nose (e.g., itching, runny nose, and sneezing).Oral analgesics may help relieve eye pain.Vinegar, petroleum jelly, milk and lemon juice solutions have also been used by activists. It is unclear how effective these remedies are. In particular, vinegar itself can burn the eyes and prolonged inhalation can also irritate the airways. Though vegetable oil and vinegar have also been reported as helping relieve burning caused by pepper spray, usage of baking soda or toothpaste, stating that they trap the particles emanating from the gas near the airways that are more feasible to inhale. A small trial of baby shampoo for washing out the eyes did not show any benefit. So it’s better to visit a medical professional rather than to try home remedies if you are exposed to tear gas.

Black it up…or in our case maybe brown or Rainbow?

So as we all know what is happening around us nowadays starting from Corona virus and ending with riots. But the thing which caught everybody’s attention was the riot which started in USA and is now making ripples through out the world as the coveted movement of black lives matter. The words which came out of George Floyd’s mouth still haunt me in my dreams as he said “I can’t breathe officer, I can’t breathe, I wanna see my mama”. Nobody deserves to die like that I don’t know if he is guilty or not guilty but it’s wrong to take the precious and the most valuable right a being on this planet Earth has that is the right to breathe,as if you call yourself a human and if in your whole life you have seen in someone else’s eye and you have realized that this being loves me as a mother, brother,wife,husband,daughter,son, family, pet or a stranger as they love me because my heart’s still beating and my brain’s still functional so that I can share this love with someone else to make a world with the harmony of heaven. I know it’s a little bit of an utopia but still then reality starts and ends with belief and hope.

Through out the world there are millions and millions of people facing racism ever single day of their life starting from Breonna Taylor to Freddie Gray to Alton Sterling and many more whose name still remains in that veil of oblivion and the complications of corruption to hide this cruelty. Statistics also speaks for racism as such the increasing number of hate crimes,atrocities upon minorities are like the so called all time trending subject of world’s total information and news scenario. Homophobia, Trans phobia and racism are really concerned and perilous issues for this great civilization which we call humanity. It was really a great moment to see India to tear away that orthodox article 377 of Indian Constitution which made homosexuality illegal so in a manner it was a massive point of elation for those millions and millions of Indians who use to live in the shadows of fear and pain as unapprehended felon due to that cruel article which made the dance of horrors for so many years in this great country we call home. Well if you ask me it was a bright moment for India but still then homophobia goes deep in Indian soil starting from those atrocities with trans people on train rides to any person coming out in a so called traditional Indian orthodox family so it all has to change and we all know that it’s gonna take some time but we can hope can’t we. As at the end that’s all we have.

But what about India after all why is the world’s largest democracy is silent in this one a bit weird right! well I don’t think we are not doing anything because we are really conscious about the lock down or we are really obedient and stuff like that because we all know that protesting is in our blood so how come is this blood not working in this massive scenario of ignited souls through out the world but not in case of Indians. Well I guess we all know the answer that racism is something which goes quite casual and is rooted deep in India starting from Bollywood to commercials to cosmetics and to every house hold we all are quite aware of the value of being fair and white. I think everybody as growing up in India have heard the term gora(fair),saonla(brown) and kala(black) but trust me nobody cares or gives an importance towards the later two the only color we see is gora. Let me ask you something have you seen a single actor or actress in Bollwood who is lets say not super famous but is considered in bollywood being brown or black on purpose for a lead role well I haven’t maybe maximum in a tiny side role or worse a villain maybe and maybe shown in one movie and also that movie is a super hit and after that her/his/their era fades away in a very clean crystal manner so if we are going to debate my question then i guess we all can agree on the fact that we have a few but is that few participation of black and brown justified till 2020. Now if we come to house hold then we all know Indian neighbor are really deserving for the label of gossip girls or mean girls sometimes and the same for guys. So in a manner I’m disgusted by this whitewashing of every single thing which we have in public or which may come in public in this great subcontinent, I mean why can’t we see that color of the skin is nothing but just a reflection of what our genes are speaking for us what our ancestry has made for us and that is it, it is nothing I mean literally nothing more than that. We should realize and we should help others to realize this too that live your life in the way that you won’t have any regrets the moment you will be leaving this world. Accept who you truly are and let others do the same even if it’s really exciting to make fun of others but think about yourself in that person’s shoe before you do that then you will know how bad it is to do that to anyone. So live your life in a manner which makes you happy and other’s happy too because we don’t know that is there another life after this or not we only know this one so use it to be happy,sad,angry,passionate and everything by which you can be humane.