OMG my heart goes out to all pink-eye and near pink-eye victims! That stuff is awful. The absolute worst boss I ever had came to work with it, said it wasn’t pink-eye, gave it to the entire team, and then we went home and gave it to our entire families. Over Christmas. Every day without pink-eye is a gift. Happy Sunday!
I love these bonus emails on Sundays! And re organising, I like the idea of something active and non-financial like mutual aid. Someone made a really good point in the comments on Friday about wanting to build from economic action like boycotts to something more practical. Hopefully there's a way to make it work remotely for those of us outside the US too, as I'd love to contribute!
oops, Maddy, I meant to post my original comment as a general comment, not a response to your comment which specifically called for a non financial kind of activism! my bad.
OK this sounds amazing. I might have missed this in your previous comment, but do you know anything about how this org identifies recipients? I'd love to think about how Burnt Toast could facilitate this...Maybe we need to partner with some established mutual aid orgs to make sure we could get the $ to folks who really need it?
Not to be Debbie Downer, but while we're on the topic of pink-eye, it's the most common H5N1 (Bird Flu) symptom in humans. Still very rare for people to get it and doesn't seem to pass human-to-human (yet?). But if someone has been exposed to birds, cows, or other farm animals (or had raw milk), it's something to keep an eye on (pun absolutely intended).
One thing I've been doing for the last few years is freedge (free fridges and pantries around my community, filled both by individuals and in partnership with some local businesses/bakeries). These are non-means-tested and non-charity spots maintained by community members that anyone can leave/take food from. There's also a "night market" where we distribute free food.
I think a lot of people are surprised at how many of these mutual aid orgs pop up in relatively small towns, and how easy it is to get involved - everyone's always looking for more hands. I also think that feeding people, in general, is a low-risk form of action that can be taken by people of a variety of ages/risk tolerances, so it's good for people who are still new to organizing.
I’m in WA state and in addition to doing the scripted voicemails, also thanking our senators for their continued support and fighting for democracy (esp. Sen. Murray). I’m in the third district and my supposedly democratic rep keeps aligning with the GOP on some pretty important votes, so I’m trying to call at least 3 times a week. I’m so annoyed with her right now.
On calling our reps –how many different times a day can we call our reps? Is there a more effective number? Should we focus on one issue per day per representative?
For those of us in larger metro areas, I'd love to find ways to meet up in person. (DC area folks, hi!) Not sure that's exactly what you're asking for, but I always find in-person connection sustaining in its own specific way.
My daughter had pick eye and I took her to doctor who said SHE CAN GO BACK TO SCHOOL. The CDC changed the guidance 8 months ago. She wrote a drs note and the school let her go back. Doc said it was still contagious, but more like a runny nose and viral so antibiotics wouldn’t help. My husband got it a week later but the other child and eye were spared.
OMG my heart goes out to all pink-eye and near pink-eye victims! That stuff is awful. The absolute worst boss I ever had came to work with it, said it wasn’t pink-eye, gave it to the entire team, and then we went home and gave it to our entire families. Over Christmas. Every day without pink-eye is a gift. Happy Sunday!
I love these bonus emails on Sundays! And re organising, I like the idea of something active and non-financial like mutual aid. Someone made a really good point in the comments on Friday about wanting to build from economic action like boycotts to something more practical. Hopefully there's a way to make it work remotely for those of us outside the US too, as I'd love to contribute!
(or at least, not entirely financial)
oops, Maddy, I meant to post my original comment as a general comment, not a response to your comment which specifically called for a non financial kind of activism! my bad.
Oh no stress! Was your comment about the UBI type donation system? Because that sounded really smart
yes! i was plugging the consistent money moving project. I guess I'll leave the link here afterall! https://consistentmoneymoving.org/
OK this sounds amazing. I might have missed this in your previous comment, but do you know anything about how this org identifies recipients? I'd love to think about how Burnt Toast could facilitate this...Maybe we need to partner with some established mutual aid orgs to make sure we could get the $ to folks who really need it?
It looks really impactful and clever! I'm glad you did share it!
Not to be Debbie Downer, but while we're on the topic of pink-eye, it's the most common H5N1 (Bird Flu) symptom in humans. Still very rare for people to get it and doesn't seem to pass human-to-human (yet?). But if someone has been exposed to birds, cows, or other farm animals (or had raw milk), it's something to keep an eye on (pun absolutely intended).
https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/pink-eye-conjunctivitis-bird-flu-avian-influenza
I love the idea of mutual aid being part of what we do.
One thing I've been doing for the last few years is freedge (free fridges and pantries around my community, filled both by individuals and in partnership with some local businesses/bakeries). These are non-means-tested and non-charity spots maintained by community members that anyone can leave/take food from. There's also a "night market" where we distribute free food.
I think a lot of people are surprised at how many of these mutual aid orgs pop up in relatively small towns, and how easy it is to get involved - everyone's always looking for more hands. I also think that feeding people, in general, is a low-risk form of action that can be taken by people of a variety of ages/risk tolerances, so it's good for people who are still new to organizing.
Mutual aid would be great.
I’m in WA state and in addition to doing the scripted voicemails, also thanking our senators for their continued support and fighting for democracy (esp. Sen. Murray). I’m in the third district and my supposedly democratic rep keeps aligning with the GOP on some pretty important votes, so I’m trying to call at least 3 times a week. I’m so annoyed with her right now.
On calling our reps –how many different times a day can we call our reps? Is there a more effective number? Should we focus on one issue per day per representative?
For those of us in larger metro areas, I'd love to find ways to meet up in person. (DC area folks, hi!) Not sure that's exactly what you're asking for, but I always find in-person connection sustaining in its own specific way.
My daughter had pick eye and I took her to doctor who said SHE CAN GO BACK TO SCHOOL. The CDC changed the guidance 8 months ago. She wrote a drs note and the school let her go back. Doc said it was still contagious, but more like a runny nose and viral so antibiotics wouldn’t help. My husband got it a week later but the other child and eye were spared.