*nods vigorously* I completely agree with you that organising social events is worthwhile work! That's why I did it for Oxford BiFest and why I am doing it again for a particular Pagan festival in October. I like giving something back to the communities that have been important to me!
Also, if I am going to putting in my precious time and energy, I want things to go well and be meaningful to people, of course! So I was thrilled to see so many new people at Oxford BiFest... and I am utterly delighted to learn that there was at least one coming-out there, too!
I absolutely value these sorts of events... which is why we are already discussing ideas for Oxford BiFest 2011! *grin* I just don't particularly count them as activism. Probably because they are attended overwhelmingly by such a privileged set of people.
When I say that I miss activism, what I am really saying is that I feel I am not doing my share right now to make the world a better place. One and a half billion people do not have easy access to clean water. Forty thousand people die daily of poverty (i.e., hunger and curable diseases). The children of Jerusalem are persecuted and slaughtered and have their houses bulldozed. Sweatshop workers toil in obscene conditions for inhumanly long hours to earn a pittance. Union leaders are assassinated for attempting to organise collective bargaining. Back home, millions of my fellow US citizens rot in jail -- many for victimless crimes -- in the service of the prison-industrial complex. Without fear of consequence, police savagely beat or shoot people for the crime of being non-white. Around the world, bombs fall regularly on civilian populations; old landmines lay uncleared until the moment that they destroy the life of a hapless child.
These stories -- and many more like them -- bring tears to my eyes and passion into my heart. And it is working to bring about a better world -- a world without these horrors -- that truly fuels my desire to be an activist. Does that make sense?
I have been an activist in times past. I have worked to bring about significant change. Right now, however, I am not. And as wonderful and spectacular as Oxford BiFest was, I do not think that organising it gives me the right to call myself one.
P.S. Please excuse if this is less than eloquent. It is just about bedtime... so I may not be at my best when it comes to words right now. Many apologies if that is the case!
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Also, if I am going to putting in my precious time and energy, I want things to go well and be meaningful to people, of course! So I was thrilled to see so many new people at Oxford BiFest... and I am utterly delighted to learn that there was at least one coming-out there, too!
I absolutely value these sorts of events... which is why we are already discussing ideas for Oxford BiFest 2011! *grin* I just don't particularly count them as activism. Probably because they are attended overwhelmingly by such a privileged set of people.
When I say that I miss activism, what I am really saying is that I feel I am not doing my share right now to make the world a better place. One and a half billion people do not have easy access to clean water. Forty thousand people die daily of poverty (i.e., hunger and curable diseases). The children of Jerusalem are persecuted and slaughtered and have their houses bulldozed. Sweatshop workers toil in obscene conditions for inhumanly long hours to earn a pittance. Union leaders are assassinated for attempting to organise collective bargaining. Back home, millions of my fellow US citizens rot in jail -- many for victimless crimes -- in the service of the prison-industrial complex. Without fear of consequence, police savagely beat or shoot people for the crime of being non-white. Around the world, bombs fall regularly on civilian populations; old landmines lay uncleared until the moment that they destroy the life of a hapless child.
These stories -- and many more like them -- bring tears to my eyes and passion into my heart. And it is working to bring about a better world -- a world without these horrors -- that truly fuels my desire to be an activist. Does that make sense?
I have been an activist in times past. I have worked to bring about significant change. Right now, however, I am not. And as wonderful and spectacular as Oxford BiFest was, I do not think that organising it gives me the right to call myself one.
P.S. Please excuse if this is less than eloquent. It is just about bedtime... so I may not be at my best when it comes to words right now. Many apologies if that is the case!