From Communication: A Critical/Cultural Introduction p. 40:"What counts as public advocacy? In what ways do you participate in public advocacy?"
I am supporter of gay marriage. Not because I myself am gay, but because I have dear friends who are. Does this change our friendship? No. All it really changes is that one day they will be able to come to my wedding, but at this stage, I will only be able to attend to their civil union ceremony. Not only does that sadden me because I see that their love is no different to the love a heterosexual couple experience, but it also saddens me because one of my friend's BIG dream is to walk down the aisle in a white dress and marry the person she loves surrounded by family and friends (and also jealous ex's if she gets her way :P)
I have helped my friends make banners and posters to march on Brisbane, I have taken them to the airport to fly down to mardi gras in Sydney, I have signed petitions to support the legalising of same-sex marriages in Australia. I have advocated for their right to have the same rights as me. And yet Bob Katter has the right to air this derogatory advertisement which singles out a group of people?
Why has he got the right to do that, commission and air an ad which is oozing with hate towards one group of people, when my friend's don't even have the right to walk down an aisle and say "I do"?
This is the ad, I believe, that Australians need to see and support. This is the advertisement which I support.
Moving on to the second part of my rant - Mental Health Advocacy.
I'm a born-and-raised Ipswich girl. And I am proud of it. Ipswich gets a bad name because we (Ipswich-ites) joke about it, and people who have never been here think we're serious. There is some truth in our words, never go to Bell Street if you can avoid it. Don't wander through the main mall at night by yourself if you are a young female. Things like that.
But suicide is rising in Ipswich. Depression and anxiety are very prevalent at the moment in my city. Is it because of the floods? Many would think so, but sources say no. All I know is this - suicide has doubled in Ipswich in the last year.
Suicide rates in Ipswich and Toowoomba.
I knew some of these people who took their lives. I did. I went to primary school with some of them, I was facebook friends with them, I experienced their lowest lows and spoke to them hours before they decided it was all too much. And now they are reduced to numbers in a graph. Their pain and suffering isn't shown in this graph. But we who knew them, still feel it. That empty hole inside of us, which we can never fill because they're not coming back, it just grows.
The rapper 360, is dating a girl I used to know. He sent out this heartfelt message on February 18 2012, which gives people a glimpse into the suffering we who have lost someone due to suicide feel.
So please, the next time someone who has never felt the pain I have felt due to suicide, tells me that depression and anxiety is "just an act, and all bulls#$%", I may just have to beat your head against a wall. It isn't an act. It is real. Just because you may not be able to see the sickness doesn't mean it isn't there. When you look at someone can you see their diabetes? Do you say that is just an act? Well if don't say diabetes is an act, why do you say mental health is?
I wear a youth beyond blue wrist band everyday to advocate for people suffering from mental illness to SPEAK OUT! To seek help. I write "LOVE" on my arms on TWLOHA day, to show people that they're not alone, and that they are beautiful and they are needed in this world. I advocate for mental health.
Before I finish this blog, I wanted to show you a poster I have on my wall.
I don't want to sound like an awful old biddy, but PLEASE before you open your mouth, think about what you're doing to say. Sometimes your words really do affect the people around you, and sometimes they can push people over the edge.
Here endeth the rant.
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