Posts tagged “politics

Just Another Day

Posted on August 5, 2019

Saturday I needed to run to the grocery store, news had just broken about the shooting at Walmart in El Paso. Sean wasn’t home, and I told the girls they could hang back if they helped me with the bags when I got home. I listened to reports on the radio as I drove. I was upset that while this rocked me, I wasn’t numb like I’ve been after other shootings. I was sad, but my world didn’t stop. As I walked through the aisles at the grocery store, I wondered quietly about safety—my whiteness, not shopping at a WalMart, leaving the girls at home. Walking back to my car and seeing bumper stickers intended to divide and incite, I knew that no amount of…

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Vote Like Your Life Depends On It

Posted on October 28, 2018

The midterm elections are around the corner. Maybe you are sick of the ads, or you think your vote can’t possibly make a difference. I hope you will reconsider. I’ve looked back a lot since 2016. I made donations to candidates, I sent out tweets, and posted on Facebook. I wrote and spoke with friends. I didn’t knock on doors. I didn’t put a bumper sticker on my car. I didn’t attend meetings or rallies. I didn’t speak as plainly as I could have. I thought it was going to turn out fine. It did not turn out fine, and I am trying to change the way I participate to come out on the other side feeling like I gave it my all. Last…

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Your Disbelief Doesn’t Eliminate My Reality

Posted on September 23, 2018

Would you mind if we spent a little time here on context? I ask because just yesterday I bumped into someone and I watched it take a minute for her to place me. When it registered she smiled and blurted, “Amanda” triumphantly. We both laughed, there were no hurt feelings or judgment. “Context matters,” I said. It can be pretty easy to assume that everyone has the same perspective or familiarity with something—whether something is a person, an event, or an experience. Over the past several years there have been attempts to contextualize people’s perspectives on pain: Trigger warnings, #BlackLivesMatter, #MeToo. These hashtags and qualifiers are an effort to bring to the surface the pain or obstacles that people have and to honor them.…

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It’s time to step up-Gun Control

Posted on October 2, 2017

A few months ago I participated in a campaign to promote #WearOrange . The truth is, I happened to be wearing orange on that day. The campaign was completely in line with my views and I appreciated Moms Demand Action for taking the initiative to mount the campaign among people in my circle. It was Wendy who first tipped me off to the hashtag. I had Ave take my picture, Fin asked to sit in my lap, and BOOM, I had acted. But had I really? Sure, I sent money to Newtown, I shared articles, and ached for a writing friend whose nephew died in the school, but did I really do anything? Fast forward from the hashtag 4 months, and 4 years from…

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A World Without Planned Parenthood is a World in Pain

Posted on June 1, 2017

The first time I went to Planned Parenthood I was about 17. I didn’t think that I knew everything, but I thought I knew exactly what I was ready to handle. They continued to be my primary resource for healthcare until I was 30. When I look back on that 13-year stretch of my life there are many memories that make me cringe.   How did I survive? What the hell was I thinking? Was I even thinking?   The thing I never considered before this last year of political improbability was what if Planned Parenthood hadn’t been there for me. I certainly think about what will happen if my daughters don’t have it as a resource. The time it took for toddler Amanda…

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