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What is Activism?
What is Activism?
When we ask ourselves about how we would like to make a difference in our community, in hopes for benefiting and releasing stress from individual people and allowing the community to bear them. - This may look like rights allowing everyone to get an education through 18 years of age, for free, paid by citizen taxes.
As citizens we play a vital role in the economy, by making up the majority of workplace/labor, and consumerism. There are several ways where we can manipulate how we take up our space in relation to those things, that effect on the people in change of forming bills and laws in the name of the people. - It's important to remember that our representatives are supposed to be just that, representatives of their areas values, untouched by corporate lobbying. However, we don't see that as often as we would hope.
In addition to those three things, we have the space we take up as valuable humans in many places, you may be commonly thinking of Marches, Sit-ins, and other ways of taking up phsycial space that calls for a change. While all of these things are Activism, not all of them are accessible for a number of reasons we outline in the Social Discrimination section; so it's vital that we find ways to bridge our accessibility by forming communities. This allows us to not only be there for each other, but keep you and your community on the same page about issues you are facing together.
Economical related Activism
Using your position in the economy and the choices you make within its growth to reflect the wants and needs of yourself or/and the community. People with higher incomes can typically fight this head on by choosing longer lasting, or sustainable products at their higher prices. Wherefore the people with lower incomes can find bartering systems.
Workplace/ Labor related Activism
Using your space in daily workplace to reflect the worth that you amount to, and to influence the reason and willingness for workplace improvements. When this is done on a larger scale it is typically in form of not attending work, in order to stop economical growth and reflect the worth of the American working class.
Consumerism related Activism
Using your space in the realm of buying products and services. by choosing to purchase these with intent of social responsibility. Thinking about how and where we spend our money in relation to social justice and improvement, of course this is not accessible for everyone. Boycotting and seeking marginalized communities for business and services.
Community Bartering Systems
When we create community bartering systems, we are eliminating the burden of financial decrease from the masses, and increase the contribution within. You can do this with lots of things, and it's primarily up to you and your community members willingness to share space with one another.
This may look like trading a bike for a printer, or sharing one set of lawn equipment for the same street, therefore sharing the cost. Many people host group dinners, where one person is responsible for one meal -where you can choose to split costs- and it feeds as many as you choose to invite, in hopes of reducing waste and enjoying social time while eating.
(Respectful of allergies, appropriation, and preferences)
Its up to you and your areas needs; also take initiative to find people in the area who have common needs and see what you can manage as a group, that still benefits you individually.
Not Attending Work
Community-Based Activities
A lot of people over the course of time have use their ability to work as a form of activism. It has been known to be very powerful, as we generate several million dollars a day as a whole for corporations, that cost them money when being unable to open.
Of course it is not accessible to people who would lose housing or safety with the loss of work.
It's important that we remember that we can build communities that may be able to bridge these accessibilty gaps.
Longest work strike in American history was a 116 day - Steel Strike in 1959, 1/2 million were involved and eventually increased their wages and change workplace rules.
Where you work matters to your mental and physical health, workers rights should be build up, not broken down.
Boycotting Products/Services
There are several ways to boycott: based by type of product of service, (ex. avoiding plastic, minimum-wage establishments);
based by the brand/ owners of a product or owner of a service chain,
(ex. avoiding brands that test on animals, homophobic owner- service provider);
reverse boycotting, or shopping specifically with a type of brand or service for a reason of benefit:
(ex. shopping Black-owned businesses, choosing to eat at restaurants with a living-wage promise)
There are so many ways to do this, and in some ways we do it all the time when we run out of money. Just remember WHERE & HOW you spend your money is crucial to the economy.
Some people try to cut out the things they need by sharing as mentioned in the Community Bartering System (the left of these three columns) section. Or making plans to reduce waste and choosing sustainable options can also be a form of activism.
Physical Space related Activism
Marches
Marches
Marches are a very popular type of activism, whether it is a largely attended march that is held annually or an impromptu march of very few. It is preferable that these are scheduled with the city for safety, but we often see marches and walks as a movement for change, acceptance, or memorial. Marches have a long history, and required lots of variations of preparation.
Sit-Ins
Sit-Ins
Sit-ins were a very popular form of activism beginning during the civil rights movement, LGBTQIA+ and Racism related activism. It is an act of disobedience that often requires another party to choose whether or not to engage. Many have found this as an effective way to show people in power, the amount of people who are in support of this change.
Walk-Outs
Walk-Outs
Walk-outs also originated in the civil rights era, (1968) and have become most popular in educational buildings due to the intolerance of school policies, school-shooting related activism, and racism/ homophobia. This is typically representative of the facade that educational establishments have for the public in relation to the reality for students.
Creative Activism:
Art & Music
Art & Music
There are several ways in which the art that we make and interact with, affect and are pieces of activism. All the art we make makes the world around us ponder a little bit more than they would've without that interaction.
History: We saw a new movement of activism music from all groups in the early 1970's, but it roots back to songs and story telling in times of slavery and war. We seeing this in the Slavery of African Americans, and the Blues era following the 'freedom' during Jim Crow. Music and art, has always been a source of energy and strength to continue the fight, as well as a mourning of lost experience, love, and life.
Self Expression
Self Expression
We are all able to use our expression in different ways. For many of us, choosing our clothing, make-up, favorite colors, who we follow on social media, it seems like the fun and easier part of life. We also know that sometimes there are people in our lives that stop us from being able to express ourselves the way we want to. This care for your safety is very important, so when we talk about expression, we keep this in mind.
Who you buy from, and what your expression says about your support, should be welcoming to others in your community. We have the ability to choose what we wear, and how we act, and all of that is very important to everyday activism.
The conversations that we do have, are a large part of our self-expression, but deserve their own category because of how tough it really is.
If you are in the environment where conversations about activism or differences is encouraged, make sure you speak up to the people around you, engage them in a discussion about current events. Its super important that as activists we take the time to hear what others think and how they view different situations. Your best tool is understanding as many points of view or perspectives as possible.
Remember also that not every conversation will go well, but read your peers and see how you can navigate the conversation to take some thinking and pauses. Silence is not bad in a conversation.
We can all learn from the conversations that either don't take place, or dont finish smoothly.
Reminder: Always engage your fellow employees to discuss their wages, to make sure people are being paid a fair wage based in the hope of reversing or slowing social systems that may be silently in place.
Of course in a more idealistic environment education would be encouraged for any and all, in any and all capacities. Accessibility to education and advice is what helps any of us make more solid and feel more confident in our decisions. This doesn't mean you have to follow certain philosophy or theology to have a more aware self; it's the capacity to remind ourselves to keep learning. The moment we allow ourselves to feel in a place of full knowledge, is likely to be when we are faced with the things we still have to learn. It's a vital part of our personal grow over time to learn how to learn and face our curiosity head on. We have the ability, even with little to no resources, to make an impact on the people around us who are displaced by our social systems. Talking to friends and family about the current activities going on to combat social systems and structures from being upheld in negative ways. Even if you are not effected by something, we can always learn from the people around us and the way they are experiencing something.
Consent in All Spaces is a mechanism we can use to focus on how we would want to be treated in any given situation. We know that being forced to do anything is uncomfortable, and when it comes to sexual encounters there is a high tendency for people to abuse their position in the exchange of pleasure. This is not only a crime, but a tendency high enough that 1 in 4 people Assigned Female At Birth, or represent femininity, are sexually abused before the age of 18. This is not to take away from the ways that males are alos victims of sexual asssault.
Talking about consent is important and there are plently of ways to make is a sexy experience. We should always discuss our sexual preferences in terms of sexual acts, before we engage in sexual acts with someone new. It's important to discuss STD/STI status and make sure that this is a person you are comfortable with. Continuous consent is also important, and if you aren't feeling a situaiton don't feel compelled to continue. Make sure to have good communication with the people you are engaging with, this can be even in non-sexual spaces. Consent can revolve around many different areas in life such as, medical procedures, touching (hugging/kissing), discussion of personal information or triggering information, etc.
Protest: A form of actions& behaviors that suggest/tell a group of individuals how they could be doing things differently-typically for the betterment of access, equity, equality, autonomy rights and/or treatment in facilities of work.
When this is done in peaceful, non-violent forms of action, we consider it to be a peaceful protest. Many philosophers have aruged back and forth as to the necessity of peacefulness in protest. For our involvement in activism -and our influence on you to do so- we are strictly discussing or influencing for peaceful, legal, protest.
THIS IS ACTIVISM
THIS IS ACTIVISM
CHALK EVENTS
We have taken it upon ourselves to find middle-ground forms of activism, that either surround forms of creativity or rely on community involvement. When we do CHALK EVENTS, we allow the entire community to write, draw, express the ways they feel about the conversation at hand. This allows us to show the beautiful things that come out of togetherness and meeting each other at a place of understanding and compassion.
Disclaimer: In Colorado, where this was done, chalk is not classified or considered an type of of vandalism.
What is Equity?
What is Equity?
Equity as a concept differentiates from equality in that it is a way for us to view the necessity of not having equal support for each person, but rather finding the way for everyone to have equal access to the support they may need to meet their basic human needs and have access to the spaces and resources necessary for human spiritual health. A goal of equity is to acknowledge how the trades that we make of our energy for a common goal, may not always look equal, but have similar weight to each person and their ability to contribute. Equity is a large piece to understanding the best ways we can create more accessible spaces, as well as essential to addressing various kinds of power imbalances relating to hierarchies of race, class, citizenship, sexuality, assigned gender status, ability, and more.
What is Precariousness?
What is Precariousness?
Precarious:
“Precarity (also precariousness) is a precarious existence, lacking in predictability, job security, material or psychological welfare. The social class defined by this condition has been termed the precariat.”
Precarity is a good gauge to use when looking at visible and non-visible identities, because we are gauging the level of danger for a given identity based on different situations. While some people may carry identity privileges, it does not take away from their precarious identities, or the impact they may have in someone’s day-to-day life. When discussing identities and power struggles, utilizing the lens of precarity can help us to navigate complex intersectional scenarios.
Are ways in which we have structured our society to cater to a specific kind of format for us to run on; even-though, it may be an unspoken and interpretable format per se.
Are ways in which we have structured our society to cater to a specific kind of format for us to run on; even-though, it may be an unspoken and interpretable format per se.
First we must understand what kind of systems we are looking at?
Patriarchy has been founded on the preconceived notion to sex differences at birth and assumed placement in breeding or procreation for future generations, and the assumed placement of a labor source or provider. While this notion has been getting very old by this time, we have let it up hold several households and leave many spending years in emotional aguish over their true wants and the systems' need to stay alive. If men are home bodies who take care of the young, as their female partner have a larger corporate jobs that provide for the family you are actively breaking this norm. However, don't misguide your sense of praise for breaking away from the norm. The praise goes to those who also teach their children not to rely on a specific sex or gender to provide for emotional needs etc. There is a lot in this world that caters to the male ideology, but in many ways it dis-serves the male population the most by inappropriate expectations and emotional strangulation. This does not negate that the tole the Patriarchy has put on AFAB people and/or women is unattainable by most, and has caused death, abuse, and manipulation in the name of gender superiority. Sexual domination has always been apart of this historical fantasy, but the patriarchy uses this assumed domination to abuse and silence women all the time. Rape and abuse culture is an egregious act and it's important that we take the energy to deal with our biggest predators in the community.
However our systems journey does not lead us just to Patriarchal Systems, but also Racist Systems that further upheld the white male agenda for power and profits. We saw this throughout the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Fugitive Slave Laws, Emancipation Proclamation, and Jim Crow Laws that have only evolved in their ability to access black communities and gerrymander their counties. Racism has many different ways of manifesting itself in the psychology of white individuals. Racism is something every white person faces, because our environment inherently works for us. It makes sure that we are safe; instead of fearing us and therefore endangering us. Racism and Slavery gave white men with power the ability to control and manipulate the ways in which voting and many other forms of freedom were withheld. Black Communities have faced the most extreme of attacks in our nation's history. It's our job as people today to combat our learned racism and other social systems, so that people can be in this place of freedom with the feeling of actually feeling safe, protected, and free to do so as they please (with reason).
There is more research being done to finish this page, please be patient with us.
There is more research being done to finish this page, please be patient with us.
If you would like to help us write about commonly silenced areas or personal experiences you may have with these topics, contact us at thisisactivism2023@gmail.com or fill out our Comments page. We want our website to be a continuous growth of knowledge to share with each other in a positive way. There are so many things we don't talk about and we should!
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