Activism

Tom Hanks is Just So Meh Right Now

November 16, 2016November 16, 2016 Emily SuessLeave a comment

I’ve been joking for a while that no one would pick me for their Zombie Apocalypse Team. Except maybe as the friend you sacrifice to slow down the horde that’s chasing you.

That sentiment, along with the post-election fallout, and this week’s episode of The Walking Dead all led to one insane nightmare earlier in the week. As concrete rubble rained down on me and a stranger, she began crying. I grabbed her arm and said, “We’re not dead yet.” But it felt like maybe death wasn’t too far off.

That’s about the point I woke up from the dream to my pulse pounding in my ears. While waiting for my body’s overly sensitive stress response to chill out, I started thinking about what contingencies I should be planning for come January 21, 2017.

***

Then this morning I read that Tom Hanks wants us all to calm down and my eyes rolled so far back in my head, you guys.

Some people would tell you you’re overreacting if you drive around with a spare tire in your trunk. I’m guessing those people ride in limos and taxis and always fly first class.

Yeah, being calm under fire is helpful. However, when Hanks says, “We are going to be all right. America has been in worse places than we are at right now,” and “We who are a week into wondering what the hell just happened will continue to move forward,” I wish someone would tell him to sit the fuck down.

Just because his rich, privileged ass has always walked away unscathed doesn’t mean the rest of the nation can expect the same. He might move forward; others might have to take a few steps back to put their hijabs back on. To mourn their loved ones. To protect their children. To find a safe place to live.

Intentional or not, he’s made a public call for complacency. I wish he’d requested our diligence instead.

Activism

Emily’s Recommended Resources for Activists

November 14, 2016January 30, 2017 Emily SuessLeave a comment

This list could be longer, but I’ve had a rough day with work and the stupid fibro. I’ve tried to hit on resources from different areas to serve as your launchpad. Please contact me or comment with resources you’d like me to consider adding to the list!

Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky

This is one of the first books on activism I read. (Yikes! It’s been about a decade ago now that I’m doing the math.) Part of the joy of reading it for me was knowing how much this Saul Alinsky guy was and is hated by people you might collectively call The Man.

Tiptoe through the one-star Amazon reviews, and you’ll get a taste of what I mean:

“The book is chilling as it describes how to undermine government and take it over for the benefit of a splinter group. Read it for understanding, but don’t take it as good advice.”

I suppose it is “chilling” if you’re comfortable with the status quo and terrified that the powerless might become the slightest bit empowered. It’s downright terrifying if you believe equal rights for all means fewer rights for you.

True story: I was once told that Alinsky was a “horrible communist tool of Satan.”

“Oh”? I said to the fifty-something white guy at Borders, “You’ve read it then?”

“Of course not,” he spat.

This book has been around a while. So if you’re looking for a step-by-step, it’s probably a little outdated. However, it’ll get your brain working in creative ways and show you how disruption gets attention.

Southern Poverty Law Center

Bookmark this website.

Since this post is written in the context of Trump’s looming presidency, I want to call specific attention to the SPLCs invaluable efforts to track hate incidents and report on hate-related activity through their Hatewatch initiative.

Report your experiences and encourage others to do the same.

On a related note, much of mainstream media is being criticized for their reporting right now. Take Stephen Bannon, Trump’s pick for chief strategist and senior counselor as a capture prime example. CBS News described him as a “former Goldman Sachs executive.”

The SPLC reported the actual news in this story with their article “White Nationalists Rejoice at Trump’s Appointment of Breitbart’s Stephen Bannon.”

In addition to hate and extremism, the SPLC also fights for immigrants’ rights, criminal justice reform, children’s rights, economic justice, and LGBT rights.

Activist Hashtags on Twitter

Earlier this year, the Washington Post wrote about how hashtags have the power to change the way we talk about social issues. From #Ferguson to #BringBackOurGirls, social media has proven it’s a powerful resource for keeping the public informed and organizing rallies, protests, and other events. (It’s also a powerful tool for harassment and trolling, but I’m trying to stay positive.)

If you use Social Media to keep in touch, you can also use it to be engaged. (Of course, this advice comes with a couple of caveats: 1.) trolls are out there; retreat as often as necessary and 2.) be wary of false information that spreads like wildfire.)

Here are a few current hashtags you might want to keep your eye on right now:

#NotMyPresident
#Normalization

and if you can stomach it:

#Trump
#AltRight

I believe it’s important to be informed, so I include the latter two hashtags as possible ones to watch. If it’s too much, though, stay away. I don’t check them regularly, and I NEVER engage the obviously hateful accounts. I manage to stay relatively informed without being triggered. Your mileage may vary.

And of course, as news breaks, keep your eye on Twitter’s trending list. I invite you to follow me, your state and local representatives, and activist organizations you’re aware of. Through retweets and hashtags, you’ll be exposed to more ways you can get involved and you’ll also find reassurance that you are not the only one who wants to fight for justice.

Activism

Emily’s Introductory Rules for New Activists

November 14, 2016November 14, 2016 Emily SuessLeave a comment

This post is for my friend Angela.

you-may-say-im-a-dreamer

The more I write about activism, the more you’ll understand how loosely I use the word “rules.” But here’s something to get us all started.

1. Embrace the Discomfort

Being an activist is not easy. It requires doing things outside your comfort zone, taking a stand against powerful oppressors and oppressive systems, getting the side eye from people you love and respect, and confronting ignorance, both willful and accidental.

When these things happen and you start to lose confidence in what you’re doing, when you start thinking maybe you’re being too pushy or too bold and you’re doing yourself and your cause a disservice—please realize these feelings are signs you’re doing it right. You’re pushing for change but still able to evaluate if what you’re doing is helpful or harmful. That’s the sweet spot.

2. Reject Absolute Binary Positions

People who insist that saying Black Lives Matter means you can’t respect white lives and love indigenous people are just wrong.

When I tell my mother “I love you” my husband doesn’t pitch a fit and divorce me because suddenly I no longer love him.

I think as activists we are already sensitive to absurdities like these. But false binaries come from within social movements and organizations too. In college, for example, a fellow activist theorized that our group should discount religious organizations because they harbor oppressors and encourage “othering.”

Your allies are everywhere, and finding them in unlikely places is exhilarating. However, when we accept oversimplified narratives about very complex issues, we decrease our chances of finding them.

3. Prep for Exhaustion

Before you really dig in, I want you to prepare for the inevitable exhaustion. Being an activist can be physically exhausting or mentally exhausting or emotionally exhausting or any combination of these.

Identify the things that make you feel good and help you recharge and be ready to run to them when you need them.

My first-tier aid is music. I have a couple of playlists—one called “Empowering” that includes Shakira’s “Try Everything” and P!nk’s “Fuckin’ Perfect.” Then I have another playlist called “Relax and Soothe” that includes songs like John Lennon’s “Imagine” and Carrie Newcomer’s “Leaves Don’t Drop (They Just Let Go).”

Humor is another great healer. I thank God for the John Olivers and Amy Poehlers and Dave Chappelles and Bill Hickses of the world whose work keeps us woke but laughing.

Okay, there’s a lot more to cover. Stay tuned!

Activism

No One Deserves an America Like This

November 13, 2016November 13, 2016 Emily SuessLeave a comment

The following text was originally posted on my Facebook page. It sets the backdrop for an upcoming series of posts I have planned on activism, and so I republish it here to give you some context on who I am as a political being living in the United States post-Election 2016.

DISCLAIMER: This post is for those interested in my thoughts. If you don’t care about my opinion, please just keep scrolling.

ALSO: This is not an invitation for internet-style debate. If you agree with me, by all means comment! If you disagree with me and can do so while simultaneously owning that your analysis is your analysis and not the only analysis, please comment!

As you may have recently been made aware, my blocking finger works on a hair trigger. My house, my rules. My uterus, my rules. My Facebook page, my rules. Continue reading “No One Deserves an America Like This”

Activism · Fibromyalgia

Emily Suess, Troublemaker Extraordinaire

November 7, 2016November 13, 2016 Emily SuessLeave a comment

I didn’t live with my parents for my senior year of high school. My dad changed jobs during some kind of personnel restructuring or something at his employer, and my parents moved to a different state. Being filled with love and mercy, my folks opted not to rip me from my hometown and instead worked it out that I would live with family friends to finish my last year of high school.

Thanks to time and brain fog, a lot of my life between 1997 and 1998 is blurry. An acquaintance or classmate might come to mind, but I will probably only recall a face and first name while straining for a last name or another important detail. Said detail will simply burrow deeper into the recesses of my mind until I’m angry and frustrated at my inability to recall stuff I thought would be accessible for my whole life (or at least another 30 years).

One thing I do remember from this era of my life, however, is a tiny bit of a conversation between my mother and her best friend, the woman who let me stay with her. Being church friends, the conversation had major religious themes. This woman said to my mother, “…and then it hit me. ‘Ye have not because ye ask not.'”

***

The fall after my graduation, I enrolled at the University of Evansville as a physical therapy major. And, much to everyone’s surprise, I dropped out of college a couple of weeks after I started. (And by “dropped out” I mean I just quit attending classes.) I was miserable and not really sure why until the Dixie Chicks’ “Wide Open Spaces” started playing pretty much everywhere. I felt that shit in my soul.

I struggled with some guilt for a while, until I realized that quitting was the first time I’d done anything for myself. I felt I’d let others down; I did not, however, feel I’d let myself down.

Too bad I wasn’t able to express that at the time, but hindsight amirite?

I was squirming on the inside, trying not to be a total flake while acknowledging that things were different now. I was different.

Continue reading “Emily Suess, Troublemaker Extraordinaire”