A Ticket for Your Resistance
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I’ve recently debated with a couple of different family members, the value (or lack thereof) of extolling your political leanings on social media and declaring yourself part of a particular movement. The family members weren’t arguing against the political viewpoint itself, or even the motivations of the movement, they were really just asserting that being loud about it on social media is silly, a waste of time, and will potentially alienate people whose minds you have no hope of changing.
I don’t disagree that Facebook political arguments often devolve into messy, pointless name-calling that does nothing but piss people off, and I confess I have, in the past, been on the wrong side of situations like that. I’m trying to be better about knowing when my arguing has no value, and when it’s hurting people. I respect other human beings who have views that aren’t mine, and I would rather have a conversation than an argument.
That said, I DO think there is intrinsic value to proclaiming my beliefs in our current political climate.
I’ve been lucky to live, until now, in a society that was heading in the direction of equal rights for all. There have, of course, been setbacks, but in my lifetime we’ve made strides toward righting the imbalance against minority groups of all sorts, and against women. There is fairly significant evidence this new administration intends to not just halt the momentum of our progress, but to actually repeal equal rights legislation, propelling us backward on these goals. I believe, strongly, that the normalization of the tactics that have been unleashed will put our country in jeopardy and set us back decades with respect to equal rights. This is something I intend to actively resist.
As such, I declare myself part of The Resistance of this administration’s goal to withhold equal rights from all humans.
A friend, who is an extremely vocal part of this resistance, has tasked me with attempting to organize small-scale fundraising to support some of the organizations that support equal rights, and are under attack by the new administration. I am to host a small fundraiser, and those who choose to attend, will do so agreeing to donate $100 to the ACLU or Planned Parenthood (attendee’s choice). They make the donation at the event from their own mobile device, directly to the organization (I won’t collect any money).
Therefore, here is my offer to you: I’m performing, Saturday, February 18, at 7:30PM, in a variety/burlesque show in downtown Phoenix, called Tryst, put on by Spellbound Productions. There will be 4 aerial acts, 6 burlesque pieces, and a comedy skit. If you are interested in attending and will agree to donate $100 that night to either the ACLU or Planned Parenthood, I will buy your ticket to the event. I also pledge to donate $100 to the ACLU that night, in addition to purchasing the tickets of my attendees. My goal is to have 10 of us donating, for a total of $1000 raised. It’s small, but not insignificant.
So if you think you might enjoy a sexy, fun aerial/burlesque show a week from Saturday AND you’ve been thinking you’d like to put your money where your mouth is with respect to equal human rights, hit me up. As long as you commit to me you will show up and donate, I will buy you a ticket and have it waiting in your name at the door.
If equal rights are important to you, but you’re out of town, busy, or aerial/burlesque shows aren’t your thing, I encourage you to not only donate, but to reach out to your social circles and consider organizing your own small-scale fundraiser. Jason read to me last night about a fundraiser put on by small coffee shops last weekend that gathered more than $400k for the ACLU. Have a dinner. Host a movie night at your house. Do a wine tasting. Have a karaoke party. Or tap in to your own creative instincts. Just put your money where your mouth is.
*Important info: This is my personal political agenda and not related to Spellbound Burlesque. I did, however, get their permission to advertise the show in this way.
**Full disclosure: I will be performing an aerial tippy lyra act with my clothes on. Not everyone else will keep his or her clothes on.
***Additional clarification: It makes me super nervous to put myself out there like this, but I feel like it’s important. So I’m doing it. While sweating nervously.
Photo by Nemec Photography.