For years I’ve heard stories from my chronically ill friends of loved ones who abandoned them or who refused to believe that their illness was real. So, I wanted to write a letter to the friends & family of chronically ill people.
Category: What Can I Do
Specific suggestions for behaviors and thought patterns you can change or actions you can take to help support marginalized groups.
So, You Want to Write an Article for Yopp
Please check our submission guidelines page to find out whether or not we are currently accepting submissions. As of August 27th, 2022, we are no longer accepting submissions. You can check our submissions’ page periodically or subscribe to our email list to be notified as soon as we re-open submissions. At Yopp, we seek to help any group of people whose lives suffer from social, financial, & legal factors outside their own control and to …Read More
The Unique Power of Digital Organizing
CN: general discussion of past elections and the pandemic. As someone who deals with chronic pain and chronic illness, many versions of “boots on the ground” activism have not been very accessible to me, and unfortunately, I have intense anxiety around making phone calls, so volunteering for things like phone banking or calling representatives were also out, for me. I also know I am not the only person dedicated to social justice work that is …Read More
You Are Not Alone: How to Respond to Escalating Fascism
CN: extensive discussion of the escalation and resistance of fascism; mention of 45, suicide, impact of the pandemic, police brutality and police corruption. Kella here to give the context for today’s guest post, which is a little unusual. If your social circles are progressive in the same way mine are, then you’ve heard warnings about the continuing escalation of fascism, and the threat of violent backlash if Trump loses the presidential election. According to The …Read More
Everything You Need to Know About Voting
CN: general discussion of recent and historical voter suppression; brief mention of the pandemic, fascism, and climate change. If voting didn’t have a real impact, politicians wouldn’t work so hard to prevent marginalized people from doing it. This year’s election in the United States is incredibly important and there are even more factors working against us than usual: We know that there will likely be interference from foreign governments with our election; the pandemic has …Read More
Hanging Out with Your Autistic Friend: A Guide to Social Inclusivity
CN: extensive description of the experience of autism including ableist treatment, triggers, and sensory overload. Mention of ableist term. Autism advocacy as a branch of activism is something I’ve learned a huge amount about just in the last few years, and one of the repeating problems the community faces has been how any “advice” on interacting with autistic people that’s published in large scale media sources, is exclusively written by neurotypical or allistic (the opposite …Read More
The Things Our Pets Can Teach Us About Self-Care
CN: General discussion of food and healthy eating habits, mental health, and the emotional impact of the pandemic, brief mention of bodily functions, and white supremacy. Extensive discussion of rats including photos! Everything happening in the world at the moment is a lot and it can be easy to default to just disconnecting from current events, or pushing through without taking care of yourself which can result in burnout. Neither of these extremes is ideal. …Read More
What Bolivia Can Teach Us About Confronting Systemic Violence
CN: extensive discussion of government sanctioned violence, racially motivated police brutality, and violence against women; brief discussion of of 45, sexual assault, torture, and immigrant deportation camps. Living in the US, it can be easy to forget the ways our systems and political histories are mirrored by those of other countries, and as a result, we can potentially find wisdom in other political movements similar to ours. Guest writer Marie-Ève Monette does an excellent job …Read More
7 Lessons on Racism That White People Need To Learn
When the Black Lives Matter protests reached a peak in June 2020, I sought out Dennis Upkins’ writing, whose scathing and witty critiques have been published here before. I’m honored to publish these lessons on racism that he sent me.
Adjusting to Social-Distancing & Other Lessons from Chronic Illness
CN: Extensive discussion of the experience of chronic illness, the emotional experience of living during the pandemic, brief discussion of ableism, grief, and financial hardships. The era of Covid-19 has been a strange time for folks with chronic illness. For anyone with pre-existing conditions that make catching the virus more dangerous, it has been a scary time with the already high stakes that surround our health getting even higher. But recently, everyone else’s world has …Read More