Thursday, June 19, 2014

Stop Homophobia

ToppyToppyKnits
Stop Homophobia



Have you ever have been in a Gay Pride Parade? Do you know why people are were able to?

On June 28, 1969 the Stonewall Riots took place at the Stonewall Inn at 51 Christopher Street in New York City, sparking a civil rights movement for LGBT community in the United States.  Let’s look at what you could expect in America at this time, and why the anger was boiling just below the surface for so many LGBT people in the US:



Forty-three years ago here is what  an LGBT person in the United States could expect:

  • Your name (along with all of your friends and family members) would be put on a list by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, because as a homosexual you were “prone” to blackmail and “overt acts of perversion”
  • The United States Post Office also kept your name on a list to monitor any homosexual “paraphernalia” you were receiving so they could tip off the police and have you arrested
  • You would be dishonorably discharged from the military, fired from your government job or job as a teacher or professor at a college if you were suspected of being gay with no legal recourse
  • Your neighborhood would be “swept” periodically to arrest you and anyone else who was a presumed homosexual or wore clothes not “for” their gender
  • The American Psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as a sociopath personality disturbance and you were considered mentally infirm (this did not change until 1973).
  • You could be arrested for holding hands in public with your partner


 


There were no legal places where LGBT people could get together either so organized crime stepped in and opened the few gay bars that existed in New York City. A gay bar could expect to be raided at least once a month, no matter what “payoff” they gave to the NYPD.  The Stonewall Inn was one of those bars.  

Owned by the Genovese crime family who turned it into a gay bar in 1963, it had no running water (the glasses were dunked into standing tubs of water) lacked proper toilets and was one of the only places in New York City you could go dance, with a light “cue” on the dance floor that turned on when the police showed up to inform patrons to stop dancing and touching.  It is no surprise that in this tense, repressed, bigoted atmosphere that something was going to give.

In the wee hot hours of June 28, 1969 the police did a typical, routine raid on Stonewall Inn, but the night did not end as they expected.  Fed up with being bullied, harassed and otherwise pushed around and denied the basic freedoms everyone else had – something snapped for the men and women at Stonewall.  Those lined up along the walls inside of Stonewall refused to show their ID or identify their gender.  

Those who were not arrested went outside the bar and did not leave.  Instead they hung around and soon the crowd grew to ten times it’s size – and very quiet.  An unidentified lesbian was brought out after being hit in the head with a billy club for complaining that her handcuffs were too tight, she shouted to the crowd, “Do something!” and the crowd did, pelting the officers with bottles, pennies and whatever else they could find and shouting phrases like “Gay power!” and singing “We shall Overcome.”  The police immediately tried to disperse the crowd, calling in a Tactical Police Force, but the crowd grew larger as patrons from other nearby bars (straight and gay) joined in the fray.  The rioting lasted until around 4am. 

By the time it was over the officer in charge of the raid, Inspector Pine, had his wanted result anyway, a burned and completely trashed Stonewall Inn. 

 What he did not expect was the outpouring of sympathy and empathy that came from New Yorkers toward the LGBT community in the days that followed.  For five days after the initial riot people gathered in Christopher Park to discuss plan, organize and demonstrate.  

The Gay Liberation Front (GLF)  was  created as well as numerous publications, support groups, open LGBT dances and the birth of the first Gay Pride March in 1970.



In at least 77 countries around the world today, same sex relationships are illegal, at times involving life-time imprisonment. 

In 7 countries, same sex acts are even punishable by death. 

In almost all countries, freedom for people to live out and to express their true gender identities – and to have them rightfully recognised by the state – is harshly limited by transphobic laws and attitudes.

But even in progressive countries, violence and discrimination against LGBT people still exists in the form of discriminatory laws, unjust representations in the media, unfair treatment by employers, negative social attitudes, and even in everyday interactions with people we care about, and who care about us.

Homophobia and transphobia target all people who don’t conform to majority sexual and gender

roles, and they affect the lives of everyone – to express themselves and their opinions freely, and to have the rights of their, friends, family members, and loved one’s recognised.

In 1994, a coalition of education-based organizations in the United States designated October as LGBT History Month. 

In 1995, a resolution passed by the General Assembly of the National Education Association included LGBT History Month within a list of commemorative months.


LGBT History Month is also celebrated with annual month-long observances of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender history, along with the history of the gay rights and related civil rights movements. 

National Coming Out Day (October 11), as well as the first “March on Washington” in 1979, are commemorated in the LGBT community during LGBT History Month.















The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (marked on May 17) was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policy makers, opinion leaders, social movements, the media, and the public in general to these issues, and to promote a world of tolerance, respect and freedom regardless of people’s sexual orientations or gender identities.

As much as May 17 is a day against violence and oppression, it is also a day to promote freedom, diversity and acceptance.

The date of May 17 was chosen to commemorate the decision taken by the World Health organization in 1990 to take homosexuality out of the list of mental disorders.







Sources: 

http://www.stop-homophobia.com/thestonewallriots.htm
http://dayagainsthomophobia.org/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/










Saturday, June 14, 2014

Father's Day around the world

When is Father's Day in 2014

Italy  ItalyMarch 19
Spain  SpainMarch 19
Portugal  PortugalMarch 19
Germany  GermanyMay 29
Lithuania  LithuaniaJune 01
Switzerland  SwitzerlandJune 01
Denmark  DenmarkJune 05
Austria  AustriaJune 08
Belgium  BelgiumJune 08
Argentina  ArgentinaJune 15
Canada  CanadaJune 15
Chile  ChileJune 15
France  FranceJune 15
Hungary  HungaryJune 15
Ireland  IrelandJune 15
Netherlands  NetherlandsJune 15
United Kingdom  United KingdomJune 15
USA  USAJune 15
Colombia  ColombiaJune 15
Malta  MaltaJune 15
Mexico  MexicoJune 15
Australia  AustraliaSeptember 07
New Zealand  New ZealandSeptember 07
Latvia  LatviaSeptember 14
Luxembourg  LuxembourgOctober 05
Estonia  EstoniaNovember 09
Finland  FinlandNovember 09
Iceland  IcelandNovember 09
Norway  NorwayNovember 09
Sweden  SwedenNovember 09
Did you know? There are more reverse charge telephone calls on Father's Day than on any other day in the year.


Father's Day is a celebration that honours the role of fathers and forefathers. It is a modern holiday, though the ancient Romans did have a tradition of honouring fathers, every February, but only those who had deceased.
Around the world, Father's Day is celebrated on different dates though the day is celebrated in a similar manner, usually involving giving gifts to fathers and family activities.
In Spain, Italy and Portugal, Father's Day is celebrated on 19 March, which is the Feast of St. Joseph who is the patron saint of fathers.
In Germany, Father's Day is celebrated on the same date as Ascension Day.
Across Scandinavia, the tradition of a Father's Day was adopted in the 1930's. Originally the American date was used, but in 1949 the Nordic countries decided to move it to the second Sunday in November. This was partly to place it half a year away from Mother's Day but also it was chosen to increase sales in an otherwise quiet trading period before Christmas. The only country who didn't fall in line was Denmark. They forgot to inform the public and press about the date change, so Father's Day remained on the same day as their other early June holiday,Constitution Day.
In the USA, the first noted Father's Day celebration was held on July 5, 1908, in Fairmont, West Virginia. It was first celebrated as a church service at Williams Memorial Methodist Episcopal Church South, now known as Central United Methodist Church.
It is said that Grace Golden Clayton suggested the service to the pastor as a memorial after a mine explosion in nearby Monongah had killed 361 men the previous winter. Another explanation for the service was Mothers' Day, which had been celebrated for the first time two months prior in Grafton, a town that was 15 miles away.
An alternative claim for the inventor of Father's Day is the president of the Chicago branch of the Lions' Club, Harry Meek. He is said to have celebrated the first Father's Day with his organization in 1915; and the day that they chose was the third Sunday in June, which was the closest Sunday to Meek's birthday.
A key figure in the establishment of Father's Day was Mrs. Sonora Smart Dodd, whose father, the Civil War veteran William Jackson Smart, as a single parent reared his six children. Mrs Dodd initially suggested June 5, the anniversary of her father's death as a date for Father's Day. It is claimed she did not provide the organizers with enough time to make the arrangements, and thus the celebration was put back to the third Sunday of June.
The first Father's Day in June was celebrated on June 19, 1910, in Spokane, WA. In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge recommended the day as a national holiday.
President Lyndon Johnson made Father's Day a holiday to be celebrated on the third Sunday of June in 1966, though the day was not officially recognised until 1972, during the presidency of Richard Nixon.
Over 100 million Father’s Day cards will be expected to be given this year in the United States, making Father’s Day the fifth-largest card-sending occasion. 


Source: Hallmark research











Friday, June 13, 2014

Selling my Patterns

ToppyToppyKnits

I have been selling my patterns in Etsy and eBay and I have some friends that don't have accounts in these sites. To make it easy for them and anyone else who is interested in purchasing them, i've put up my patterns below for easy purchase. 

I hope you like my work. You can sell anything made from any pattern. 
http://toppytoppyknits.blogspot.com/  
ToppyToppyKnits

After payment has been confirmed you'll be sent the PDF file, to the email registered in
your Paypal account.  Must be sent during the next 24 hours.

You are buying PDF pattern only and not a finished product. You will need PDF software to read this pattern (ie. Adobe Acrobat Reader or OS X Preview).
This kind of file is universally accepted by all digitally based equipment, can be used with any PC, Mac, Laptop, Tablet, E-Reader, Smart Phone, Iphone, Ipad, etc.



Barefoot Sandals Crochet Pattern #4

 Skill level Advanced

 $5.00


Crochet Barefoot Sandals Lace Pattern 

 Skill level Advanced Beginners
$5.00
                                            

                                    









Crochet Barefoot Sandals Pattern 2 
Skill level : Medium
$5.00




  




 


Crochet Barefoot Sandals for Little Girl Pattern

Skill level easy
$5.00





 
 



Crochet Barefoot Sandals Pattern 5
Skill level easy
$5.00

 








Barefoot Sandals Crochet Pattern # 9 

Skill level easy

$5.00















I will be adding more different patterns soon.