Wear Purple Today

Realistically I wouldn't be saying this if I was still in Central Asia. One, because with the language barrier I am limited to "Thank You", directions back to the flat, and a few basic menu items. And while knowing how to get food, a tea or beer, thank the server and get home at the end of the evening is useful, it won't begin to start any sort of conversation when tact and sensitivity is needed. And those would both be needed with the topic on my mind today.

I'm wearing purple right now. Purple isn't my favorite color but I'm wearing it today because there's been a wave of publicly noticed LGBT youth suicides and there is an awareness event to show support for those youth. But before this recent wave the following statistics were all already known. 

• 9 out of 10 LGBT students experienced harrassment in school in 2009. 
• 30% missed a day of school after staying home due to safety concerns. 
• LGBT teens are 4 times more likely to commit suicide than their heterosexual & cisgendered peers
• 1 of 3 LGBT youth has attempted suicide

This is a reality that should be the cause of conversation and much thought. I hope you do something to show support to the youth who find themselves attacked by the same homophobia we see in politics without the shield of rhetoric but rather to their faces and in personal attacks. We as a society have tolerated this behavior from our leaders, from the media, and in doing so taught the next generation such hate is okay. It's not. And we have a lot of work to do to make sure the promise of equality and freedom is open to all and not just an American ideal never to be reached.

I hope you have a wonderful day, and that you too are wearing purple.

Things I should post on later

Gender. Big topic. Interesting topic. Something I've been thinking about for the last few days. But because it is a big, interesting topic... It's also intimidating. And will take more time to write than I'm ready to sit in front of a computer screen to do right now.

Also, I want to write about US LGBT Youth Suicides visibility in American media and how different it is to read the news from here.

Also Californian mud slinging in the political arena and the current elections here in Bishkek. Somehow corruption being the norm here makes it more polished and although the American political system seems more legitimate in outcomes the process is uglier... or at least so it seems from here.

GPS devices.

Cameras.

Being American.

Mosquitoes.

Food.

Why Coca-cola is so comforting when abroad....

Lots of things. But somehow though I often feel like an opinionated person who doesn't listen enough, when I'm typing posts I'm always second guessing. Is that really the way it was? Or did I just see it this way because of... ? Maybe that's not totally accurate. Let's just say that which can't be debated.

And by the time my mental loops have been jumped through the text that results is sadly boring. I read my coworker's blog and go, "Wow that sounds so exciting! But... that's not how I remember it at all. It was much more... eh/whatever. Not OMG exciting." Maybe I'm just being jaded? Maybe it is incredibly exciting. Maybe my life is much more interesting than I'm currently giving myself credit for. But from where I'm sitting it seems all I can do is hope this burning mosquito coil works, the net doesn't crash, the garlic adds flavor to the MREs, the only working converter doesn't conk out as it would kill my laptop's usefulness and that I can sleep through the call to prayer at 5:30 in the morning. It quickly goes from new exciting locale to adjusted rhythm of life with standard daily quirks and the desire not to see THE WORLD in big exciting capitals, but rather simply find a gym. The world will still be there afterwards, but somehow a forth floor walk up is just not as satisfying as a rowing machine.