Activism - Maastricht Pride 2023
Don't forget that a Pride is actually a protest march to make you remember that there are compatriots of yours struggling to have the same rights & possibilities as you just because they refuse to hide their true feelings & their true self in the bottom drawer of a dark closet like so many did before them in order to comply with a general opnion that was imposed on people by several dogmatic, patriarchal religions and authoritarian politicians. (and their following)
At 4.26AM Photoshop logged my last manual save on the wedding photos I was working on. Then I must have dozed off because at 7AM the cats woke me, in the couch with the laptop in my lap.. so I immediately WeTransferred everything I had finished during the night to the couple and decided to get ready for a protest march at 28° Celcius.
The lack of sleep has been an issue since early March. Hence 1 beer, 1 ice-cream and mere 9000 steps got the best of me while the pride went it's own way.
But it isn't the distance you travel that matters most; it's the people you travel with, the sights you see (and/or hear, smell, feel,..) and the things you learn during that journey that really count.
Today was about being persecuted for doing no wrong to anyone else. About making choices that matter to yourself and no-one else should feel bothered by. About humans who are being denied basic human rights. Who need to defend themselves from haters. Who often have to fight to get the same possibilities as non-LGBTQ+ people.
Maybe it's because I prefer being in the company of open-minded creative people and as a result I feel less in touch with the increasingly emerging religious zealots & ideologically simplistic souls who fear anything outside their strict lines, but to me they are things are very simple: all human beings deserve the same rights, duties, protections and opportunities. And every single human needs to protect the planet, the animals & living things on Earth. Period.
I haven't finished all stills yet.. much too tired and tomorrow there's another event
You'll find all photos here on flickr (UPDATE: all photos are online)
And there will be a short video on Clapper and maybe even on Instagram.
If you have any questions,best do it via Facebook.
A handful of images from the Antwerp Pride Parade 2023, a rather different take on the same issues.
Namaste & you're all beautiful
Post scriptum:
An interesting video on Transhumanism (not just the integration of technology into humans, but the complete concept of becoming who you feel you are or could be)
