#everyday activism

What do you do to be involved in the community? Let’s be real — being involved in the community ain’t all cookouts, feel-good panels, and Instagram-worthy service projects. It’s work. It’s showing up when nobody’s watching. It’s caring enough to get uncomfortable.Me? I stay involved by refusing to look away. When something’s wrong — injustice, ignorance, neglect — I don’t just whisper about it…

In a recent article by OutLife UK, author Aedan Wolton shares an interview with "Jamie, a 50-year-old trans man" titled "What is sex really like for a gay trans man?"

(Full Article Here)

Throughout this article, gay men are shamed for their exclusive attraction to the same sex. Male homosexuality is maligned as "phallocentric" and painted as something for trans men to overcome and manipulate. Interviewee "Jamie" goes so far as to describe methods of rape by deception used to prevent gay men from recognizing the sex of their partner.

As a community space and organization, ALGAE is appalled by the blatant homophobia demonstrated by this article and OutLife in publishing this text.

As part of our effort to encourage Everyday Activism,  we have created a letter template for contacting OutLife. We believe the only way to combat bigoted, dangerous homophobia is to make ourselves heard and (in the words of Storme DeLarverie) "do something!"

Below, you can find our letter template as well as contact information for OutLife:

To me, as a poor and psychologically wounded person, changing daily habits to be more environmentally friendly is sort of like being polite to mother earth.

I know turning off the tap when I don’t need the water won’t stop droughts in other parts of the world (or even here) and I am depressed about what happens with recycled trash afterwards whenever I think about it and I know there is “no ethical consumption under capitalism” (which by the way NEVER meant “so don’t even try to change anything”).

But all these things are important anyway!

I see this kind of as a parallel to microagressions and basic decency. Just like being polite to people who are systematically oppressed isn’t going to give them housing and health care and food sovereignty or free them from environmental racism or exploitation or any of that - it’s still important.

I couldn’t call myself an activist or social justice proponent or try to ally if I didn’t even bother to show minimal respect and politeness on the level of saying “please” and “thank you” and smiling and listening and giving everyone their personal space and apologising when I mess up or step on anyone’s toes (literally or figuratively).

Of course to be an actual activist, it can’t just stop there. But it has to start there imho.

So how could I call myself an environmental activist while wasting water and other resources, littering or buying unnecessary plastic or electronic throwaway-items, flying by plane or driving by car needlessly or being anything else than as-vegan-as-possible-for-me?

I wouldn’t trample a flower or rip off tree branches without good reason either!

Changing what daily habits and consumer choices I can change in my current circumstances - without guilting myself over the things I cannot do - is how I express and cultivate my respect for our earth.

If I were to be “rude” to mother earth on a daily basis and excused it with “consumerism doesn’t change anything”, I’d cultivate disrespect for our planet in myself. I’d get used to mistreating ki on a daily basis and justifying the mistreatment.

That’s just not a good basis for doing effective activism in any capacity! 

I’m not saying this must necessarily be the same for everyone. But for me - and I’m guessing for a lot of other people too (you’ll probably know where you land wrt this) - it’s important to cultivate respect for everyone I value, including our planet.

Again, I know it’s not possible to always do everything. Heck, I’m not even able to hold eye contact or speak (and thus say “good morning”) 100% of the time! But I no longer beat myself up over this or call myself impolite or rude, because I know this is not done out of devaluing the other person, it’s a result of my psychological or physical struggles and limitations. Everyone has their struggles and limitations and everyone deals with them in a different way.

Everyone has different priorities and that’s as it should be! So if you’re “rude” on a day-to-day basis but effect real change through other avenues, then more power to you! If you use plastic plates because doing the dishes is too much for you, you rock!

But please don’t denigrate others or sap them of hope by telling us our actions are meaningless, when what we do is vital for us to feel and express and nurture respect for other people and the earth. And from that fertile ground of respect can spring beautiful flowers! (= Other types of actions, marches, protests, community organising, direct action, mass boykotts, art, what have you!)

It kind of reminds me of discussions around whether spending energy educating others on the correct usage of non-oppressive language is worth the effort or a waste of time and energy that could better be spent doing more meaningful activism. And I can understand both sides! For some people, being confronted with thoughtless (not even intentionally mean!) words and phrases that hurt them is bad enough to have to leave spaces that might otherwise have empowered them. So it’s not a waste of time to change our language to be welcoming to everyone!

On the other hand, some people simply don’t have the energy and time to have the same discussion about terminology for the hundredth time so they tune that out and focus on lobbying for societal and political change or building up community resources.

Recently, The Guardian published a new entry in the publications Blind Date series. On this particular occasion, a lesbian was paired with a trans woman and received no forwarding that her blind date would be, in fact, with someone of the opposite sex.

This is concerning on a number of levels.

The Guardian should not be pairing homosexuals with partners of the opposite sex. Period.

The Guardian should not be placing homosexuals in the incredibly vulnerable and traumatic position of publicly declining romantic connections with the opposite sex, particularly in a modern climate where homosexuals are shamed for their exclusive same sex attraction from both sides of the ideological isle.

The Guardian should be working to ensure an issue like this does not happen again. Instead, The Guardian has stated that both participants have not complained and that assumptions should not be made about either of the individuals involved.

The Guardian should not be pairing homosexuals with members of the opposite sex in their blind dating series. Period. Regardless of participants willingness to forgo their own reasonable, healthy boundaries.

What should be a PR nightmare has been received as normal or a minor issue.

In our ongoing attempt to support LG persons and their boundaries and criticize homophobia, ALGAE is providing a letter template for contacting The Guardian. We encourage anyone else concerned and disturbed by this blatant homophobia and apathy demonstrated by The Guardian to make their voices heard.

Together, we can continue to make it clear that homophobia and the disregarding of boundaries set by lesbians and gay men will not be tolerated or left uncriticized!

The Guardian Blind Date section can be reached at: [email protected]

.:Letter Template:.

Hello,

My name is ______. I am a lesbian/gay man living in _____.  I am writing because I am concerned about one of your recent publications. As part of your blind date special, a lesbian was set up with a trans woman without her prior knowledge or consent. As a fellow homosexual, the fact another gay person was paired with someone of the opposite sex for a blind date deeply worries me.

While I understand the limitations of requesting certain information from your readers and respect the need for all members to be treated with respect and privacy, I am unhappy with the idea that a gay person could be put into such a vulnerable position publicly. It is not respectful to have a gay man or woman enter into a vulnerable situation like date with someone of the opposite sex.

I understand that the woman in question did not take issue with the situation. Personally, I cannot imagine the pressure on this individual to avoid creating conflict and target herself for harassment. However, regardless, I think it is unacceptable that any organization would consider it acceptable for a lesbian to be matched with a member of the opposite sex in a vulnerable situation like a blind date.

I sincerely hope The Guardian can better respond to this reality in the future and gain the full consent of any gay participants in the blind date section, if not entirely refuse to place homosexuals in situations where they are expected to "date" someone of the opposite sex, who they are incapable of being compatible with.

With all of the political craziness going on, it is easy to feel hopeless. Many, including myself, ask, "what can I do?" The following are five things I put down, that are steps that I promised I would take.

1. Be informed: This is the start of it all. Consume as much news as you can from as many sources as possible. You can't be an activist if you arent aware of what is happening. For me this includes regular news apps, as well as tumblr, reddit and twitter blogs to be as aware as possible.

2. Be vocal: Being informed means very little if you stay silent. Talk to people in person about the news. We all have friends or relatives who aren't as engaged, so be an opinion leader and talk about what you are hearing. This is also a great way to be further informed.

3. Be engaged: This essentially means voting. Reading and talking about current events is good, but you should use that knowledge to make an informed vote. Here is a link to a site where you can both register, and find info such as where to vote, absentee ballots and more.

4. Be heard: Once a candidate is elected, that is just the beggining. Continue to be informed of what your representatives are doing. Here is a site that will help you find your reps and how to call them. Do this both for things you like, and dislike that they do.

5. Be there: This is the most dramatic. This is the culmination and essence of all of these. Protest, go to town halls, do everything you can to make yourself and your opinion as widespread as possible.

Doing more with less, having experience over product and having products with emotional value brings us closer to each other and reconnects us with nature.