Photo credit: Los Angeles Times
The last week has been rough.
I say that as a white, privileged, middle-class female struggling to process not only how I feel about the events in Charlottesville, but how I’m supposed to feel. Or, more accurately, how I’m supposed to respond.
I feel disgusted. I feel angry. I feel, in a not-so-small-way, like I’m part of the problem. Not because I voted for a President who mourns the loss of “beautiful statues and monuments” in the wake of a neo-Nazi rally (I didn’t–gag me with a spoon), but for having not done enough.
I feel responsible for having done, well, basically nothing in the way of denouncing the kind of hatred that so viciously reared its head in Virginia until it was thrown in my face by white supremacists waving torches. I feel responsible for not actively voicing my support for and unity with people of color, Muslims, Jews, the LGBT community, and everyone else Trump has made to feel insignificant, or worse, unsafe. I didn’t think I needed to.
I was wrong.
I feel guilty. I feel helpless.
Charlottesville is, if nothing else, a wake-up call. This quote perfectly sums it up:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
Damn.
I may not know the “right” thing to say or do at this moment, but I know that saying and doing nothing isn’t it. As my friend Steph said, refreshing Twitter and watching the news like a zombie isn’t it either. For those of you like me, who are feeling helpless or unsure of how you can make yourself useful right now, here are a few good places to start.
Get involved with the NAACP
You can text STAND to 52886 to take a stand against racism and xenophobia. You’ll be signed up to receive alerts about opportunities to volunteer and make your voice heard.
The NAACP is the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and they push for legislative action, expansion of voting rights and public policy that supports the equality and protection of all people.
Contribute to the ACLU
This is the group that rushed pro-bono lawyers to airports to help detained fliers when Trump’s ill-advised travel ban was thrown into effect. They go to bat hardcore for people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to or be able to afford an effective legal defense.
If you need proof, just look at their nifty little graphic:
The ACLU is rated four stars by Charity Navigator, which means almost all of the funds they raise go directly to their work instead of into executives’ pockets.
You can make a one-time contribution on their website, or use the convenient monthly donation signup to make an ongoing pledge.
Vote—and not just every four years
Maybe the biggest wake-up call of all this past year came for voters who, in the presidential election, stayed home because they thought their vote didn’t matter or wasn’t necessary for their candidate to win.
And although this presidency is the facepalm machine that just won’t quit, it’s not the only office we should be paying attention to. I’m fully aware of the importance of state and local elections, yet I’m not sure I’ve ever voted in one unless it was also a national election. Why???
It’s not hard. It takes five seconds of effort to go online and request an absentee ballot that they will literally send to your house. I’m preaching to myself as much as anyone else here, but I just filled out the form to register as a New York state voter, and at least that’s the first step.
Click here to find your local election office where you can both register to vote and find out when your next local election is. If you’re unfamiliar, these are for seemingly “small” public offices like your mayor, city council and state senators, but in today’s political world I think it’s become abundantly clear that even state and local offices can turn the tide in a major way on important issues.
Congressional elections are also more critical than ever. The midterm elections are coming up in November of next year; this is when the entire House of Representatives and 1/3 of Congress are up for reelection. If you’ve been feeling like Congress should be doing a better job (hi, everyone), these elections are where you need to be.
Show up
To rallies. To marches. To protests. To our neighbors’ doors to collect signatures. Be there when it matters instead of home watching it on TV.
I wish I could say I’ve been doing these things all along, but I haven’t. Why? Laziness. Passiveness. That feeling that it’s somebody else’s soapbox to stand on. But it’s not–it’s all of ours. If you’re not outraged, you’re not paying attention, and this is pretty impossible to ignore.
I’m sure there are other, even better ways to stop being passive and start stepping up. If you share them with me via comment or email, I will gladly add them here.
