Partner violence is often centered in conversations about emotional abuse, when truthfully, leaving an abusive friendship can be just as hard
Tag: social power
Read This Before Commenting: Yopp’s Comment Policy
For the first time in six years, Yopp’s comments are open! Please take a comment to read Yopp’s comment policy before jumping into the discussion.
Resistance to Conformity: Balancing Authenticity with Community
I’d like you to please welcome a new writer on the Yopp platform, Eleni Stephanides! She’s here to talk about the complexities of conformity: the damage it can do, and the benefits it can yield when used well.
Every Single Social Media Link for Lizzo’s Featured Activists in One Place
My first thought after I finished watching Lizzo’s People’s Champion Award speech was “I need to follow all these people on social media.” And my next thought was, “Other people should too.”
The Practice of Allyship
This blog post was originally published as a subscriber-only article entitled “Yopp’s Guide to Being an Awesome Ally,” at the beginning of January 2020. I decided to share it more widely because it was such valuable information and I also updated it as my opinions and understanding of allyship had shifted over the years.
A Tale to Tell: A Cherie Priest Tribute
Just a few months ago I re-published my article, “Creating Social Change One Person at a Time,” in which I talked about how the impact you have on individual people around you can, in itself, be a form of social activism. Denny Upkins is back to demonstrate exactly how this phenomenon can happen and the ripple effect it can create in his tribute to Cherie Preist.
Creating Social Change One Person at a Time
Do you remember a time when you were a child and an adult in your life changed something in you for the rest of your life? Maybe they were the only person who believed in your ability to achieve your dreams. Maybe they taught you kindness and compassion towards the people you found difficult to forgive. Maybe they saw you for who you were and reflected you as good and valuable when no one else had before. Even just a small word of encouragement can be important enough to us at that age that we remember it for decades. That person that helped you probably has no idea that they affected you so much, even if that impact lasted a lifetime. What if you could be that person for someone else?
The problem of activists feeling simultaneously overwhelmed by so much to do and helpless at how little they have control over continues to be prominent in circles of people devoted to social justice. Today I’m re-publishing an updated version of an article I originally wrote and published for The BeZine as “Using Social Interactions to Create Change One Person at a Time” in September of 2019 which covers my philosophy around enabling social change. Enjoy!
Hiding Behind “Good Intentions”: Why Good Intent Does Not Erase Oppressive Impact
For every blatantly malicious bigot, there are 10 people who “meant well” or “didn’t mean it like that” or “had good intentions” when they said or did something that actually had a harmful effect on a member of an oppressed group. This excuse is used so frequently that it’s hard to see a single online argument about social justice without someone having to explain that good intentions does not negate or remedy impact.
The Unique Power of Digital Organizing
Because of the limitations of my chronic illness, I am so grateful that the genre of digital organizing enables remote forms of activism through mediums like text messages, social media, and email campaigns. Ingrid Cruz is here to break down this collection of strategies for us.
The Problem with Misrepresenting Oppression as Just Part of Life
When we undermine someone’s life-altering issue by framing it as something that everyone deals with, we dismiss the magnitude of the societal problems that contextualize bigotry, we disrespect marginalized people’s ability to assess their own problems, we discourage the pursuit of solutions for widespread unearned suffering, and we sign off on allowing that suffering to continue.