Shout That's What It's All About!

It’s looking like the apocalypse now! Stuff got crazy The sky got hazy Adele set fire to the rain And it must be coming down in Fort Collins. My eyes and throat are stinging The helicopters are coming in. There be ash everywhere In my house, my car and my hair. I don’t know what to do. They must be coming for you. The sky is orange like the fire in the woods, And we are all driving round in our neighborhoods, Going to concerts, swimming in the pools Acting like nothing is wrong. The fire in the sun came down and heated up our earth, It’s gonna be a hot summer, So there is more where that came from You had better gear up Colorado because we are gonna have some fun! Copyright: CJHarrison

Day 6 Maquilladoras Can you imagine being kidnapped and killed just for the simple act of going to work? This is what many women face as tensions grow along the border at the sites of the maquilladoras. On day 2 the environmental effects of the maquilladoras were explored and here are some of the societal repercussions. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1171962

Day 5 Preventable Global Diseases: AIDS Think you know a lot about AIDS? Think again as Emily Oster, an economist reveals a different way of evaluating the AIDS crisis. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/emily_oster_flips_our_thinking_on_aids_in_africa.html

Day 4 Human Trafficking: Not For Sale Sunitha Krishnan does a great job of humanizing the issue but it might be easy to say that human trafficking only happens in places half the world away. However, this is very much not true, check out the SlaveryMap on Not For Sale’s website to read about some reported incidences of human trafficking all around the world. http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/ Check out this video from TEDtalks: TEDtalks Sunitha Krishnan

I think this is an issue that we all take for granted and often forget about in our daily lives. I started that water challenge yesterday and my shower took care of all my bands. I was really ashamed, I take water for granted in my everyday life and often do not think about the privilege that I have of having fresh water running straight into my house. A basic human right that I think everyone deserves: the right to clean drinking water. So I made a vow to myself that I will wear 8 rubber bands everyday as a reminder of the privilege of water and also to remind me to try and reduce my water usage. As for today, so far only 1 band used, but then again it is only 9 in the morning. A website that I found about reducing water usage in toilets, if I find any more, I will let you know :) http://www.wikihow.com/Convert-Any-Toilet-to-a-Low-Flush-Toilet

Day 3 Global Access to Water One water.org fact states that many people live using only 30 liters of water a day. That’s about 8 gallons (rounded up). Find 8 rubber bands (hair ties, etc.) to hold on your wrist. Every time you flush a toilet, every 30 seconds in a shower, every minute of a faucet running take off one band. Can you live on 8 gallons of water a day? http://water.org/

I have been conflicted about self - identifying as disabled lately as I used to think we should abolish the term, as abilities are on a spectrum. However I kinda like the idea of reclaiming it too. This post got me thinking, thoughts? http://puckett101.tumblr.com/post/16768602360/pwds-disability-and-preferred-nomenclatures-a-k-a  I realize that self - identification is a personal thing in its very nature. Earlier on in this blog I identified by saying that I did not have a 'disability' and that we should redefine it. Rather I have a medical condition called cerebral palsy (that in and of itself is labeling). I still agree with this idea, yet at the same time I am denying a group of people, with whom I identify. Would it not be better to reclaim the term 'disability', 'cripple,' to abolish those preconceived negative connotations? Much like the way that the self - identifying term "Queer" has been reclaimed by the LGBT community and ther...

So I was talking to my professor yesterday and he introduced me to this really interesting theory in sociology called Queer Theory. This theory completely blew my mind, well I guess not completely, because I had been thinking about some of these issues for a while now, but it was nice to know that others have thought about this before me. From my understanding, at the heart of queer theory is the notion that the categories and labels that we have in society (often related to identity, etc.) are limiting to our human creativity and nature and actually limits how we think and interact with the world. In its most radical form queer theory looks to abolish all forms of categories and live in a world where the labels that we have for each other does not exist and we just are. Queer theory often focused in the concepts of sexuality and gender, although the principles can apply to any identity. With regards to gender, can you imagine society without the man and woman binary? Why does ...

This article made me really sad and brought back a lot of memories of what I learned Freshman year in a Globalization class. It makes me really sad that a lot of our society is so caught up on making a profit and making a living for themselves that they sometimes do not consider the impact that their profits have on other individuals and the environment. I am sure a lot of people don't like living or working near these factories, but with a lack of funds and public voice they often have no choice, they are stuck between a rock and a hard place. The need for money to survive, but not having the funds to move away, leads to this dilemma. I know that I have mentioned this before, but I believe that often people get too caught up in the present and now that they don't think about what impact their actions could have in the future. I can only hope that in a couple of years when the toxic waste is starting to affect the factory owners lives, etc. then they will see the mistake th...

Day 2 Environmental Justice: Piles of Poison in Mexico Due to NAFTA, many U.S. companies have been able to export their product production, along with its hazardous byproducts, across the border to Mexico. Although this is an older article it sums up a lot of the trends in a lack of hazardous waste management up until 2002 but not a lot has changed, so just add on 10 more years of damage. (And for folks wanting to look at other impacts of the maquilladoras, just wait until day 6) http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/162/28045.html

Don't know if I posted this video, but I thought it was a good little informational piece with some different points of view, so here you go:

What privilege do I have? I have a lot of privilege, some of which I notice, but I know that there is a lot that I miss on my radar on a daily basis. For one I am white, which leads me to have copious amounts of privilege for I live in a society in which for many people my 'race' (albeit a social construct is very prevalent in our reality) does not exist and it is simply the air in which we breath and the ocean that we swim. Also as I am part of the majority my views are often seen as individual and I do not have to take on the responsibility of being a spokesperson for others of my race. Another privilege that I have is that I am often read as straight in a predominantly heterosexual society. Regardless of what my actual sexual orientation is, the way people interpret and perceive me, changes the way that people interact with me. I do not have to justify my actions like others might be asked to in different situations. I am just seen as another fish in the sea that is he...

Day 1: Check Your Shit Before starting on a social justice journey, you gotta make sure that you have everything together. Take this day to reflect on where you have privilege, and what you are willing to do about it.   Think on both large and small scales, systemic and international to individual and in your sphere of influence.   If you are considering starting a blog this might be a great time to reflect on what you are thinking and feeling about this challenge. Oh, and don't forget to brush your teeth. ;)

So I went on a Social Justice retreat earlier this year and someone from this retreat has come up with a 30 day challenge with regards to social justice, activism, advocacy, etc. The objective of this challenge is to for the next 30 days do 1 task a day that will lead to self reflection and discovery. Discovery of who you are and what you bring to the table in the way of being a better advocate, etc. Because it is not until we truly know ourselves and where we come from that we can help others. I will be completing this challenge over the next 30 days and posting the challenges and discussing them on this blog. Feel free to join in with me or to discuss my posts. :)

Saw this on facebook and I thought it was interesting.   I think it is interesting that the people that want to run a country often have a quite idealized view of it. If only there were equality/equity of rights and access to resources, etc., then perhaps his ideas would make sense. What are your thoughts?

Clearly my mind comes alive when I am supposed to be asleep or maybe it is just sleep depravation that brings crazy thoughts into my head, anyway here is another poem. Let me know what you think. Chasing Butterflies You can be anything you want to be If only that was true Sadly babies dying in Africa Are not likely to ever be millionaires in Manhattan Sadly a person cannot change where they are born So although we might try and convince ourselves that the above statement is true You can't always be anything you want to be As hard as the chicken might try to fly, it has a 99% chance of falling to the ground, flat on its face And although I might try to tell you that with a little bit of faith and determination you can get anywhere That isn't true because anywhere, is a long way from here At least for me the world isn't where I want it to be But then maybe I am selfish and egotistical But isn't everybody, isn't that how the western wor...

As I sit here writing my first poem Ok sure I have written them before I have written poems for school and projects The ones you write to make them rhyme with every line Because you think that making line rhyme with dime sounds cool Even when it adds no sustenance to the poem Sure I have written poems before, the type that are strewn across adolescent bedrooms at my vain attempt to write a rap, yes a rap, and that was after I realized that I could not sing let alone rap as I have no rhythm. No, what this is, is my first real poem My first poem of meaning, or as my friend says a poem of purpose Because purpose is all that we have in life to make our lives worthwhile Purpose is the glimmering light in the darkness that is sometimes life, it is the star shining for our very existence, urging us to carry on. Without purpose we are but newspaper tossed to the wind A bundle of information with no direct, nobody to read us and make us important I find this ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbG7gokrRAo Really makes us think about the things that we take for granted that may in fact inhibit us in ways we do not realize. For some it is this, for others there are other ways to feel boxed in.........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3elpEYAAuY The first one is my favourite. :)