In which I tell conservatives I understand them because I used to be one
If I can say anything at this bleak hour, with the world splitting at its seams, it’s this: conservatives, I understand you. It may not be something you expect to hear from a liberal, but I do. I understand you. I understand you because I used to be you. Long ago, in the era of Slick Willy and the dawn of explicit labels on music CDs, I was conservative, too. I stood up for men first, considered money an inalienable right, questioned immigration, and thought abortion was the greatest moral crisis facing our lives…
Dumbledore’s Army, still recruiting: How U.S. elections are like the Battle of Hogwarts
I’ve been upset about the recent Senate hearings and I’ve been ever more upset since the vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court; I’ve also been thinking a lot about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Seem strange? Let me explain…
6 things you can do to help encourage voting (especially with those young voters!)
It’s a tense time in the U.S. when key issues are being threatened. Women’s healthcare, marriage equality, the Affordable Care Act, gun laws, voting rights, and so much more are and will continue to be challenged. What do we need? Voters. When do we need them? Now.
Here are a few ways we can encourage voting in the midterms and make a habit of it after that…
Wait, DON’T smash the patriarchy — its pieces are seeds
Recently I’ve become really uncomfortable with the term “smashing the patriarchy.” Not in the comfort-zone-pushing way, but in the misaligned-self-betrayal way. So I’ve stopped using it. Because you know who runs around smashing shit?
The patriarchy. If we look seriously at the situation, I think we find that to “smash” the patriarchy is to recreate it.
My same-sex marriage is as real as yours no matter what happens
With all the movement towards marriage equality in Australia (and now speculation in the US again), I thought it was time to talk about and maybe even open a discussion about gay marriage. Luckily for me and my wife, it is recognized in America post-Obergefell v. Hodges. I have mentioned my upbringing as a late-bloomer in the South, and the fact that I was raised to believe marriage is between a man and a woman. Little did I realize, when hearing these things, that I would find myself deeply in love and married to a woman when I grew up. Falling in love with someone of the same sex really puts a dent in those childhood teachings…
These photos of moms & babes nursing in protest of family separation will inspire you
For the past two Saturdays, a group of mamas and babies have gathered outside of the ICE detention center in Portland, OR to breast/bottle feed their babies in protest of the Trump administration policies that have separated roughly 2,000 children from their parents.
They were invited to hold the line during the nationwide Families Belong Together march on June 30th and decided to make it a weekly event until meaningful change happens in regards to ICE…
How do I teach privilege to my able-bodied, white male children?
My partner and I recently welcomed our miracle twin newborns to the world and we’re thrilled! But also terrified. Somehow we managed to bring two more blond-haired, blue-eyed, males into our rural Midwest society (we are both of primarily European ancestry, but we never expected this!).
We had always planned to teach our children to value diversity and to challenge the system of privilege, but now we’re looking at raising children who are the textbook image of privilege. Help! How can we do parenting right?
Gun control explained with cats (to share before tomorrow’s March For Our Lives)
Tomorrow is a big day for everyone, and especially all of those Gen Z-ers taking the nation by the jugular to give rise to a voice in opposition to gun deaths, and in support of common sense gun laws and school safety. It’s the March For Our Lives.
Whether or not you support enhanced gun laws or not (and please keep it civil in the comments either way), it’s happening tomorrow, March 24th, 2018, in cities across the U.S. (and elsewhere). In the meantime, here’s a quick take that gives some perspective on the whole issue… with cats.