Monday, June 8, 2020

National crises and birthday fundraisers


This was originally posted on Facebook on my birthday, but thought I'd throw it up here to preserve it so I can remember how I felt at the time.

The post below may seem a bit disjointed, but I hope you will forgive my attempt to express a bunch of things that have been rolling around in my mind. And sorry for the length. Once I get going, it’s hard for me to be brief.

The TL;DR: The country sucks right now. I’m upset. Please give to a group in your community that is doing good work. I have some suggestions.
I feel alternating anger, outrage, sadness, confusion, and helplessness at the events of the past ten days. I haven’t posted, because I don’t know what to say. That doesn’t mean I don’t care or am indifferent. The outrage and anger that the protesters across the country are expressing are completely justified. It has been far too long that black and brown people have felt the knee on their necks in our country, both literally and figuratively.

I have a birthday coming up this week, and my friends will probably want to wish me a happy birthday. I can’t tell you how much this means to me during a time when many of us are apart. Social distancing has been hard, and seeing everyone’s well wishes moves me a great deal. Thank you for reaching out. It helps to know one has friends during these dark times.

Facebook encourages us to have a fundraiser for a charity on occasions such as this. But there are too many that are doing good work, so I don’t want to chose one. I but I do want to urge everyone who would send me greetings to contribute to one that does work you care about. Below I have some suggestions, if you want to give to one that I am personally supporting.

In this moment, this country is facing a quadruple crisis, and each piece is intertwined with the others.

We still have a health threat. It has not gone away, despite the more immediate events surrounding and precipitated by the killing of George Floyd, just the most recent in a long line of peaceful black men killed by the police or those claiming self-defense.

The health crisis brought on an economic crisis for many. Even before COVID-19 came to this country, not everyone enjoyed the prosperity that many of our national leaders touted (and I use the term “leaders” loosely, as you will see below.) Now there are millions struggling to pay their rent, find food, and meet their other basic needs. Economic insecurity can also bring on a host of other problems for individuals and families: mental health, frustration, domestic violence, physical health problems, etc.

We have suffered from racial injustices for the entire history of our country, but the killing of George Floyd has been the last straw for many, and protests – both peaceful and otherwise – have roiled our communities. We cannot turn away and pretend this will pass. If we do, we are part of the problem. All of us have a responsibility to make this country a place that is safe and just for people of all races, national backgrounds, incomes, genders, and ages.

Finally, we have a massive political crisis. We are divided in so many ways, and our “leaders” are just stoking it to serve their own needs. Not surprisingly, if you know me, I put this one squarely on Trump and his toady GOP sycophants. They don’t want you to vote, and they don’t want you to think about why we have the injustices in our country. They want you to blame your neighbors and anyone that is different from you. They will come up with any excuse to hold onto power. I’m not even going to start on how bad Trump is: his lack of leadership, empathy, moral compass, or a soul.

But there are bad elected officials all over the country, and they stay in power because good people don’t vote and/or don’t speak up. And because bad leaders try to make it hard for you to vote. This is especially true of disenfranchising the poor, the black and brown, those who don’t speak English or are recent immigrants, and those who are just struggling to keep their head above water. Many of our elected officials and even neighbors don’t want to make it easy for you to vote, because that’s how they hang onto power. Your power is your voice and your vote.

So given all these challenges, here are some groups that I’m supporting. I hope you will pick one and give what you can – and it’s not always money. If you don’t live in Madison, there are lots of similar groups where you live.

Freedom, Inc. This is one of the main groups that has been organizing the protests here in Madison.

ACLU and ACLU Foundation. (The latter is a 501(c)3, if you want your gift to be tax-deductible.) Protecting all of our civil rights and helping people who have had their violated. I almost can’t believe that we have to constantly be on the lookout for our civil rights being threatened, but it seems that’s true more and more these days.

League of Women Voters of Dane County Besides helping register people to vote, and giving people the information they need to make their voice heard in elections, they have taken good positions on social justice and environmental issues.

Second Harvest Food Bank – Providing the most basic needs to people in Dane County. They are overwhelmed with requests for help since people are out of work an struggling.

YWCA – Helping women get back on their feet or be safe when they have nowhere to go.

And there are so many more. Groups that help people threatened with homelessness and eviction. Those that give a safe refuge for women fleeing domestic violence. Resources for immigrants, who may be afraid to speak out when people abuse them. And on and on.

When I started working in the non-profit world, the president of the board of directors for Bike Fed said, “We expect all board members to contribute. But they all have different things to give. Everyone can give something: Work, wealth, or wisdom.” What that means is that some have money to give, others have time, and others have skills they can share to support an organization. I hope everyone can find a way to help their neighborhoods, the causes they care about, and those that are most in need.