Category: activism

better for me than a scone and decaf soymilk latte

After a glorious two years of partnership, Jen and Mad have announced that they are retiring from their work putting together and hosting the Just Posts. Their final Just Post hurrah will be on Monday, and for those asking what sort of retirement gift they’d like, they’ve put in a special request: to make a financial contribution to a charitable organization of our choosing, and to write about it. (If you haven’t seen their posts on this, in which they lay bare some of their behind-the-scenes discussion and debate, go have a look.)

I confess that I have never been great with donations. I’m inconsistent. I have a few organizations that I support, typically once a year. When they ask. And not even a great amount. If friends publicize a cause, or request sponsorship for a charity-based activity, I gladly contribute. But I haven’t made giving a regular part of my life.

So, I have taken a plunge that I haven’t taken before: I have signed up to give a regular monthly gift to the International Rescue Committee, which will be billed to my credit card.

The IRC just celebrated its 75th year of humanitarian relief and assistance to refugees.

Founded in 1933, the IRC is a global leader in emergency relief, rehabilitation, protection of human rights, post-conflict development, resettlement services and advocacy for those uprooted or affected by violent conflict and oppression.

This is the same group I volunteered with back in 2001, when I was an ESL tutor working with refugees who recently resettled in the US. The office out of which I worked closed, sadly, due to post-September-11th reductions in refugees admitted to the US, but they organization is still active resettling refugees in many other cities around the country. They are also active around the world giving humanitarian relief, and campaigning to protect populations that are at risk due to war and other political upheaval in countries including the Sudan, Congo and Iraq. They are among the organizations working to get humanitarian relief to civilians in Gaza, where the crisis has been much on my mind these past couple weeks.

The monthly amount I’ve chosen is not huge for me, especially if I think of it in terms of a weekly amount. I’ve easily spent more than that on an afternoon snack and beverage. In those terms, I feel downright stingy. But it’s a solid start. And it makes me feel a bit warmer, knowing that I am contributing to an organization whose work I find so important, and in a way that will make it easier for them to do that work.

Blog Action Day

Today is the second annual Blog Action Day, and the topic for the day is…poverty.

I admit that when I saw the topic, I was a bit overwhelmed.

I wanted to contribute, to add my voice to the thousands of others who are speaking out to make a difference in the world. But poverty? That’s huge. What can I say in a single post? Especially in the short amount of time that I have each day for typing.

But I realized that is the sort of attitude that makes it so easy to avoid doing anything at all. It’s too much to do? Better do nothing, then.

Well, I’ll fight that urge and do something. Not enough, certainly, but something. My 2 cents worth, as it were.

5 Things you can do to help fight poverty

  1. Write about an issue of poverty.
  2. If you are voting in the U.S. election, read up on the candidates’ plans for addressing poverty in the United States. (Obama and Biden have a detailed plan on their official campaign website. McCain has a paragraph.)
  3. Send a letter. According to Poverty.com, 22 nations pledged in 2002 to make efforts to give 0.7% of their national income in aid to poor countries, in the interests of ending hunger and severe poverty. 5 countries have already reached that goal. Other countries have established a schedule to reach that goal. 6 countries have yet to either reach the goal, or set a schedule. (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Switzerland.) Ask governments to honor their commitment. The website provides letters that are all ready for you to print up, stuff in an envelope, and mail. (But you should probably use a stamp, too.)
  4. Make a micro-loan through Kiva. Kiva helps people rise out of poverty by connecting them with funding for their entrepreneurial goals.
  5. Pledge to make at least part of your holiday gifts work towards helping others out of poverty. Consider gift donations, such as to Heifer International.

Okay, I guess that’s sort of 2 cents worth. What’s more, I’ll put in more than 2 cents. I’ll put in my 2 dollars. I’ll follow Magpie’s lead. For every commenter that leaves a comment on this post in the next 24 hours, I’ll donate $2.00 to Unicef. (So up to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, October 16th.)

gone crazy with the nominations

buttonsept2008The Just Posts went up today, offering up their sumptuous display of tasty activism-oriented morsels. Go pay a visit to Su, jen or Mad, and see what tastiness they have to offer.

In case you haven’t encountered it (them?) before, the Just Posts is (are?)¹ a monthly roundtable of posts from around the blogosphere on topics of social justice and activism. They are posted on the 10th of each month, and anyone can send in nominations to jen, Mad or Su.

I usually take it upon myself to nominate posts that I’ve come across each month. And since there’s no limit on how many one may contribute, and since I read so many great blogs, I like to nominate a generous-sized serving. I’m a bit lazy (and maybe even a bit timid) when it come to letting people know about the nominations. However, this month, I’ll put them out here in the open. (And spread a little more link love.)

For September, I nominated posts by leslie of adventures in randomness, den of Work + Play ≠ Dull Boy, magpie of Magpie Musing, Emily of Wheels on the Bus, girlgriot of if you want kin…, Rebecca of Flying Tomato Farms, Holly of Cold Spaghetti, and of course, by my heroes jen and Mad. (And, as I’ve confessed before, I also submitted one of my own posts.) Go have a look and see which posts I nominated! Just click any of the buttons below.²

Posts about topics of social value benefits writer and reader alike, and the Just Posts are a great way to spread awareness and share ideas and ideals. I really encourage any of you out there to participate, either by writing and nominating posts of your own, or by nominating posts by others who have inspired you and made you think. And certainly I encourage you to go read! (Go. Now. What are you waiting for?)

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¹ Number agreement can be such a tricky beast…

² For the August round-up, I nominated posts by wreke of Wreke Havoc , Holly of Cold Spaghetti, YTSL of Webs of Significance, girlgriot of if you want kin… and Neil of Citizen of the Month.

September 12, 2001

7 years ago, I worked as a volunteer for an organization that worked to resettle refugees. On Wednesdays, I had a standing appointment as an ESL tutor, going to work with a refugee family in their home in a nearby city. I had been working with one family since June, who had arrived in the US in March of that year. There was a mother and a father and two kids (a four-year-old girl and a teenage boy).

On Wednesday, September 12, the world was still reeling from shock. The events of the previous day were mind-numbing. Though my own family and friends were safe, I grieved for the loss of life (then estimated at over 10,000), and for those who lost loved ones. I was shaken to my core by the images I’d seen on TV the previous day. Like millions around the country and around the world, I was in shock. Part of me wanted to hole up in my house, perhaps stay glued to the TV. At the same time, it was important to me to go to my appointment as usual.

I wanted the family to know that I was there for them, that I was their friend. I wanted to be there to explain things to them, to answer any questions I could. And if necessary, to speak up for them should they be confronted in any way.

Because, quite honestly, I didn’t know what to expect from the world. From my fellow Americans. Quite honestly, I was a bit fearful about the direction the reactions might go.

I don’t know whether they had any idea that the horrific events of the previous day could be associated with them, this quiet family of four. Why should they? They were as shocked as anyone by what they saw on the TV, horrified by the violence and the deaths.

But I knew that they were from a country in the Middle East, they were Muslim. They spoke little English. And for many ignorant people, for many people who lashed out in anger, these qualities were damning. I remembered the anti-Islamic sentiment that arose shortly after the Oklahoma City bombings, before they had been attributed to terrorists who were American nationals.

I don’t know what I expected that day. That the neighbors would come banging on their door? That an angry mob would come for them, screaming for blood? That some authorities would come by to haul them off? Or maybe that there might just be some garden variety ugly words and harrassment.

Thankfully, nothing so ugly happened. Well, there was one angry neighbor who came knocking on the door. But it was in response to the actions of the teenage boy. He had climbed out onto the roof outside his window, and was lighting matches while his mother and I sat inside talking. He seemed completely oblivious to the high tensions of the day, typical of a teenager.

But my fears were not totally unfounded. As the days passed, reports came in of hate crimes from around the country, and around the world. There were reports of attacks on Sikh men, attacks on mosques, even attacks on Hindu Indians. And there were plenty of ugly words directed against Muslims and people of Middle Eastern descent. I knew women, themselves refugees from Afghanistan, who stopped wearing headscarves out of fear of being harrassed or assaulted.

In these years of witch-hunting that this country has seen since that day, I have often felt I should be doing more to stand up for those whose rights have been violated. That I should speak out more against the xenophobia and bigotry that have colored the discourse in the media and the casual conversations of some people I know. But the truth is, I struggle with laziness. And I avoid confrontation.

I’m glad that I went to my appointment that day 7 years ago, in part because in my quiet way, I showed that I was willing to stand up. I was ready to speak up that day. At the very least, I demonstrated my continued friendship and support with my presence, offering a counterexample to the pervasive anti-Islamic bigotry that soon would rear its ugly head around the country.

holes in the bucket

I posted a list of bucket things earlier today, and I somewhat intentionally left this item off. A hole in my bucket list, as it were. Anyhow, I came across this video on YouTube while looking for a version of the classic “hole in the bucket” folksong. It turns out, I can barely tolerate the versions of the traditional song. (I found them corny and grating.)

But I found the song “Hole in the Bucket” by Spearhead, which makes reference to the folksong in title and lyrics. And I found it more compelling, too. It’s about a man’s reflections on an encounter with a panhandler. The video tells more of the story, too.

It reminded me of a post jen of one plus two wrote a while back about why she shares money with those who ask for it on the street: brother can you spare a dime? If you haven’t read it, have a look. Jen, who works daily with the homeless, knows a thing or two about poverty and compassion.

And it seems a good time to mention that the Just Posts are up again. Jen, Mad and Su, are hosting this monthly roundtable of posts about issues of social justice and activism in all sizes.

I’ve nominated a few posts for the latest roundtable. Go see if you can guess which ones! Well, at least go have a look. Just click on the button with the birdy:

What’s more, Jen will be speaking at BlogHer (in San Francisco next weekend) about community-building in blogging, and the Just Posts in particular. If you are attending BlogHer, make sure you go see Jen speak. And then tell me about it afterwards, because I’ll be sorry to miss it.

gifts and thanks

Dear Jen and Mad,

I want to thank you for starting the Just Posts, and keeping them going. Ever since I read a gift post by one of your original wedding attendees/co-brides, I have been drawn in. What’s more, I have taken it upon myself to draw others in. You see, I think that when a person makes an effort to use their voice for social change or for generally making the world a better place, that person deserves an audience. And I see the Just Posts as a means to that audience.

I think the voices do really matter. Mad, I know you have expressed some doubts about the possible emptiness of online activism. Are the Just Posts really Just Words? For me, at least, they are more than that. I have actually made efforts based on what I have read. I joined a CSA, to support a local farmer and sustainable agriculture. I have donated money. I have given gifts that benefitted a school library. I have considered ways to take action, and have at least in some cases, taken those actions. And, what I feel is most important, I have started to speak out more. I have shared my thoughts and my hopes, and found others who have listened. And I think that this in itself matters.

I must admit that I was taken aback when you started your gift registry list for the baby that the two of you are growing. When you asked for time for volunteering, for actual getting-out-of-the-house actions, I thought that this was too expensive a gift to request. You see, my life has gotten quite busy in the last few months. Pressures are building for school and work, and I’m at a point where I really need to buckle down and work towards my degree. At the same time, I have other demands from family and friends, which I cannot ignore to an even greater degree that I do now.

Here’s something kinda funny. Just a few weeks before you announced this new growth in your marriage, I had started to consider more ways that I could act. I have spent time in the past in volunteering activities, and these have been very important to me. Only few days before the big announcement, likely particulary inspired by this post of Jen’s, I started looking at online databases with volunteer opportunities, scoping out places that might be close to home. But I didn’t get too far. My scoping activities were likely cut short by some other demands on my time and attention. And I thought that this was perhaps not the right time for me to start wearing my volunteer pants again, but that I’d keep looking to see if there was something I could fit in down the road.

So when you made your request, I was thrown into a bit of an existential crisis. I may even have had a wee bit of a temper tantrum. I felt a little like I was being asked to clean my room, after I’d already decided to clean my room later. “I will not clean my room! I don’t want to!” I shouted to the universe. “I don’t need to clean my room!”

But the truth is, you are right. My room is a mess. I need to pick up the piles of stuff off the floor and take some action. Here’s the thing. I can’t promise a thorough job right now. It will have to be a gradual one. For a start, I will share my stories of volunteerism, in the hopes that these may motivate me more, and maybe someone else who sees them. I will look into volunteer opportunities, and share what I’ve learned. I will make some calls. And I will find more actions I can take.

I know it’s not the gift you were hoping for, but consider it more of a gift card. Or a promise of a gift card, scribbled on a greeting card. A re-used greeting card.

So, here’s to say thank you for all you do, and all the ways that you inspire me.

Much love,

alejna

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As the ultimate in tacky gift-giving, this post is being offered not only as a shower gift to Mad and Jen for their Just Post baby, but as an entry to the Monday Missions. This week’s mission was to write a post in the form of a thank you note.

presents that make me feel happy

I sent some holiday gifts this year that really made me feel good.

There are some family members for whom it has become increasingly harder to come up with ideas for gifts, since we don’t see or talk to them often enough to know their tastes well. When I can, I try to choose a book or CD that I liked, thinking they can at least pass it on to someone else if they don’t like it. In other cases, when I don’t have books or music in mind, I try to keep the gifts compact or consumable so that the recipient won’t be burdened with storage of something they might not really like. (I wrote some more thoughts about gift-giving at this time last year.)

This year, I was multiply inspired by some blogs I read. First, Mad of Under the Mad Hat described and showed photos of her impressive craftiness, and asked what sorts of holiday crafts her readers were up to. I replied that I had in the past made some Christmas tree ornaments, but that my own days of craftiness were largely behind me. Then Sage of Not So Sage went and showed her own crafty endeavors.

Somewhere along the way, I started reminiscing about the things I used to make with my hands, while dreading the experience of holiday shopping. And I thought to myself, “wouldn’t it be great to spend my time and energy making gifts, rather than desperately hunting for gifts and parking spaces?”

So I decided to dig out my supplies, my brass and copper wire, my tools and my beads, and to make some ornaments. (I’ll post some photos later.) My plan was to give an ornament to these hard-to-buy-for relatives, and supplement with a donation to Heifer International, or some such.

But then my next inspiration came in the form of a post from jen of One Plus Two. In her preamble to the November Just Posts presentation, she mentioned a project described by Jess of Oh, The Joys: the rebuilding of a school library in New Orleans that had been destroyed during hurricane Katrina. There is an Amazon wishlist for this school whereby people can purchase books for this library, and have them sent directly there.

So the idea fell into my lap what I could give to those various people. I picked out books from the wishlist that I thought would be appreciated by the giftees: music books for/from the musicians in the family, a history book for/from a history buff, art books for/from the artists. And for each gift I bought, I printed up an image of the book, and wrote a little note saying “We sent your gift to New Orleans!” (And briefly describing the project.) I got on such a roll, I even bought extra gifts for/from people I already had other gifts for.

I have to tell you, as I wrapped up my hand-made ornaments, and enclosed the notes, I have never felt so good about the gifts I sent.

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just go read (please)

The Just Posts are up again, and this time, it’s the first anniversary of the social justice wedding that started it all. Go have a look at the posts that are listed at jen’s, mad’s, susanne’s and hel’s. As usual, you can find posts on a range of topics of social justice and activism to get the blood pumping in your activist heart.

I’d also like to direct you to a post that jen put up just this morning. Jen writes beautifully and powerfully about her work in a homeless shelter, and the range of people she meets in her work. I often find myself trying to figure out more ways that I can make a difference, and reading jen’s writing makes me feel more of a sense of urgency.

pull up a chair

The Just Posts roundtable is up once more, and I just can’t keep myself away from (or keep my elbows off) that table. The Just Posts are a monthly event where we are invited to join in, by submitting posts that speak to the common goal of making the world a better place. You can see them right now at jen’s, mad’s, hel’s and suzanne’s. (Each of those posts has the whole list, but the hostesses also add a bit more to the discussion.)

And while I have your ear, let me whisper a small confession. I nominate my own posts. Whereas some folks consider the Just Posts an award list (and they are that, as well) the hostesses stress that this is also a roundtable. People are invited to submit their own posts.

The first time I participated, I sent an email with some nominations for other people’s posts. And I hoped that maybe someone would find one of my own posts worthy. But then I realized that there was a good chance that no one else would nominate me, and then I’d just feel bummed and left out and discouraged. So I nominated my own post, and felt a bit tacky. Since then, I’ve gotten over that.

The way I see it, knowing that my post will be a part of a bigger picture is part of what motivates me to write about topics of activism and social justice. And I do think it’s important that I write about these things. For one thing, it eases my own conscience. But for another reason, I truly feel that my contributions, tiny and insignificant though they seem, really do matter. They add to the numbers showing that people really do care. There’s power in numbers.

And in keeping with this philosophy, I also try to nominate plenty of other people’s posts, too. Plus nominating is fun.

I hope you’ll join me at the table. Dig in for some reading. Maybe a bit of writing. Might I entice you try a taste of nominating? (But please let’s not eat that pig’s head shown in the woodcut. That’s just icky.)

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A 1484 woodcut from Canterbury Tales.