Stealth Activism

So I am not what I think I would call an activist. I believe in things, but generally I don't put much time or money into advancing those beliefs. I have a feeling that as I get older this may change some, but it is what it is right now.

In a demonstration of extremely little effort I am starting to accumulate a little pile of banners on this page. I haven't really set out to find any on purpose, they've just been pages linked to pages I have happened upon that I think I should support - and hopefully other people will notice. So, if you scroll way way down you can see the first two. I guess eventually I may recompose the margin and move them up. Guess we'll have to see how many there turn out to be.

The first one showing is PurpleOcean.org. This is from their "About" page:

Over the last few decades, our country's economic system has stopped working for average Americans. Wages have stagnated while executive pay has skyrocketed. In the last 30 years, the average worker has seen their pay increase by only a nickel an hour a year. At the same time, health care premiums are forcing families to forego needed medical attention. In the last year alone, wages increased 4 percent, while insurance premiums increased more than 15 percent.

At PurpleOcean.org, we're PO'd.

• We're PO'd at corporations who rack up record profits by taking the low road—squeezing workers and refusing to offer quality, affordable health care.
• We're PO'd at politicians who say one thing at election time and promptly forget their promises the moment they take office.
• We're PO'd because the American dream is failing millions of hard-working Americans. We know we can do better.

That's why we're joining forces with the 1.6 million members of America's most exciting and fastest growing workers' organization, SEIU, to demand a better future for our nation.

An affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), America's largest union, PurpleOcean.org is the latest advance of the American labor movement. By joining PurpleOcean.org, you are standing with over 1.6 million workers from nurses and health care workers to librarians and public service employees to security guards and janitors.

I latched onto them because they have an education strategy for talking about WalMart and its effect on America. Click the link above or the banner below to jump to that page. There are tidbits there like this:

Reliance on public assistance programs in California by Wal-Mart workers costs the state's taxpayers an estimated $86 million annually. (Source: UC Berkeley Study)

There's also a funky contact tracing map that shows how many people hook up with them through me - which would be interesting in and of itself.

The WalMart phenom is going to be very important in years to come. We need to be paying attention. I'm not sure if the SEIU is the most benevolent of organizations, but they deserve some attention in this respect.

The other banner you will find is for SaveRoe.com. I think the intent here is pretty plain. This is a Planned Parenthood advocacy site. From "Why Courts Matter":

Planned Parenthood Federation of America has embarked on a unique collaborative project focused on coalition building, grassroots organizing, and public education around the Supreme Court and lower court nominees. The federal judiciary affects many communities on a spectrum of diverse issues. Due to the concern over court nominations that are currently being considered as well as a potential Supreme Court nominee, Planned Parenthood formed the Planned Parenthood Court Network. This coalition draws together various progressive national non-profit organizations to educate our individual constituencies about the threat that an unbalanced judiciary brings to reproductive and civil rights.

The site has information as well as avenues to contribute both money and time to the cause of protecting Roe and a woman's right to choose.

All in all I think the site is kind of depressing as it catalogs all of the various ways that reproductive freedom is under attack right now. But the awareness is necessary, and the opponents are energized, and feeling very empowered by the current administration. I guess it is time to gear up on this side as well.

I'll keep looking for other causes to add to the column as time moves on. If you've got one you think should be included, let me know.