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I BEG that if you really really want to tell your parents/family that you’re a part of the LGBT community, don’t come out to them unless you’ve confirmed two things:

1) They have shown and told you that they are accepting of queer people and it’s not performative.

2) They have told you, specifically, that if you were part of the community they’d be okay with it. (Because supportive ‘ally’ parents can still flip shit if it’s their child).

I did not come out to my parents until I was 19. I only told my mom, who assured me the two things above, and I begged her not to tell my dad until I was 22 and I could actually move out if needed since he has been openly homophobic. (I didn’t even want to tell it to him. I wanted her to do it, because I was scared of getting hit).

I grew up in a homophobic, painfully religious household, and I was homeschooled K-12. So you can imagine how little of an escape I had, and how little chance I had to learn about things not controlled by my mother.

I didn't figure out gay people even existed until I was 13, and it took another two years for me to find out there was anything other than gay and straight (aka the BTQ+ part of the acronym).

I figured out my own sexuality at 19.

I didn't come out to anyone for two years. Anyone. At all. I had this blog, which has never had anything that could tie me to my irl self because I was petrified of being outed, especially to my mother. Eventually after two years I came out to my best friend via tearful text word vomit essay, thankfully to open arms and full support and acceptance, as well as complete understanding as to why I hadn't come out yet and full support of helping me stay closeted.

I played that role for another two and a half years.

When I finally did come out to my mom, I was away at college, and I did it through an email (very modern-day Fun Home of me, I know). I had spent the last seven or so years slowly, subtly, trying to get my mom to be less homophobic. We had got from immediate vilification "gay is a sin" to uncomfortable silence, and I wasn't sure it would ever get any better.

So, before I sent anything, I told my friends what I was doing. Two friends were ready to take me in if I got kicked out, and a third was ready to help drive me to wherever if I needed a ride. I spent a week drafting the email, and cried the entire night I sent it because I was so scared.

In my case, I got lucky, and it ended up working out. But remember, it took four years of work after I came out to myself, and an additional 3/4 years when I just thought I was an ally before it was even a little safe for me to come out. And it took an additional three months to tell my extended family.

Coming out is never mandatory. Ever. Even if you know it's safe. Even if you know you could do it and get only positive responses. And especially if that's not the case.

Mahakala Mantra Mandala

Hasta Thangka Art Center wrote : Mahakala Thangka represent the protector of Buddhism Dharma, Mahakala helps to destroy confusion and ignorance and provide wisdom, pacify hindrances and enrich your life.

Mantra here refers to the recitation of the essence words of the particular rituals of deities. When the word mantra is separated into two segments, it reveals the inner menning of salvaging one’s mind from conceptualization, concept and fear.

Size =79cm x 79cm, Price = 170$ Material used = Cotton canvas, natural pigment, gold leaf

It turns out some Members of Congress despise the five-day workweek as much as the rest of us. This week, Rep. Mark Takano of California introduced groundbreaking legislation meant to make four-day workweeks the norm in the US, instead of the Monday-through-Friday grind full-time workers have learned to accept as inevitable.

“Many countries and businesses that have experimented with a four-day workweek found it to be an overwhelming success as productivity grew and wages increased,” said Takano in a statement about the proposed legislation. He went on to add that especially after a pandemic that left so many Americans unemployed and uncertain about their financial futures, embracing a shorter workweek would “allow more people to participate in the labor market at better wages.”

Takano came up with a clever way to turn the 5-day, 40-hour workweek into one that lasts 4 days—and 32 hours—instead. Specifically, his drafted legislation would lower the maximum hour threshold for overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). For those unaware, the FLSA is a federal labor law passed back in the late 1930s that gives most workers across the country the right to a minimum wage, and access to “time-and-a-half” overtime pay when those workers are on the clock for more than 40 hours per week.

Also, what’s implications for public health/environmental/ criminal Justice sectors? Some industry sectors may not be able to adapt to this.

“No mom!!! I still fit”