Microaffections as revolution: one response to mass shootings and lock-down drills
Then my daughter tells me that tomorrow in school, there will be a lockdown drill and asks me if the alarm will be loud. I freeze.
We need softness in the face of terror, we need kindness in response to hate, and we need love as revolution. We need these tiny drop of some magic healing warmth. We need the opposite of the microaggressions that so many of us deal with daily… and I realize that what we need are microaffections.
Don’t know what to do next? Here’s what you can do to fight white supremacy
With the events in Charlottesville this past weekend, we’re hearing many white people expressing the sentiment that this is not the real America and that they are shocked this could all be going down in 2017. The reality is that this absolutely IS the real America and has been since its inception. If you’re a white person, it is up to you to carry the burden of fighting back.
If you’re feeling helpless and don’t know what to do next (like I certainly did), here are some things you can do to fight white supremacy and Nazis in America and beyond…
Why are female politicians STILL getting looks-shamed?
When Hillary Clinton was running for president, there was a troubling amount of talk about her “stamina” and her “look.” Now Theresa May was called out for looking “heavily made up, as if she’s been crying.” So what’s the deal — why are we still having to dodge distraction headlines about the looks of female politicians?
The unexpected way insomnia causes political tensions
We talked about political tensions causing insomnia, but it can also work the other way around, insomnia causing political tensions, and back again in a vicious circle.
At last autumn’s Psiber Dreaming Conference, a major dream researcher said that most people don’t even know that there’s a dream deprivation epidemic in this country, or that it has terrible consequences…
A scientist breaks down some useful resources to stay engaged and stay sane
I am a scientist and an Extension educator, and therefore I spend a lot of time helping people find the resources they need, and translating complex and technical information into a form that is useful to a key audience.
Here are the resources I rounded up for my mom and my friends, plus some useful things I have learned in the last few weeks. Pick and choose the resources and action items that agree with your values, and get involved.
Sleep hygiene: protecting your sleep and your sanity during an information war
A friend mentioned that in order to combat her news-triggered anxiety, she was focusing on creating nighttime and morning routines to help protect her time in bed as precious and not to be fucked with. Basically, she’s making rituals to protect the sacred space of FUCKING SLEEPING.
This is what’s known as “sleep hygiene,” and of course it’s important all the time… but maybe extra important during times like these, when the cultural anxiety is through the roof. You can’t get shit done if you’re exhausted. Sleep is crucial.
Why I can’t get over the Trump election, as a survivor of sexual assault
During this election cycle, I was sexually assaulted by a man that I had told just hours earlier, “I don’t like you. You’re the type that just takes what you want.” Now that type of man is my president-elect. So this is more than losing an election. It’s more than Donald Trump.
It’s that I thought this country was getting better, and it’s a smack in the face to realize that it’s not.
Ignore the “Mommy Wars” and stand up for one another
Wendy Atterberry, author of Dear Wendy, recently addressed the firestorm of debate surrounding Representative Todd Akin’s comments about rape. In this piece Atterberry also makes several pointed references to the so-called “Mommy Wars.” It’s worth noting that we vowed to never even type the phrase “Mommy Wars” on Offbeat Mama, but this is good.