How about a new years resolution to clean up our planet? Will you pick up a helping handful to kick off this new calendar year? Will you commit to picking up a helping handful once a week?
In 2019 I encourage you to value our oceans, parks, rivers and mountains over the convenience of single use plastics and plastic packaging that can’t be recycled and isn’t biodegradable.
Here are a few of my recent helping handfuls during my pollution patrol. I hope this inspires you to pick up trash, consume less, and think twice about how we treat nature. Remember, we are part of nature, not apart from nature.
If you really want to make a difference, commit to reducing your waste footprint. Choose to not buy food and products packaged in plastic or aluminum. You can go all in or start with replacing a few plastic packaged items in your shopping list with glass or paper packaging.
You can support my pollution patrol project on Ko-fi.com/loviedo.Have you picked up pollution in your neighborhood? I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment.
Tired of all the trash? Join me on pollution patrol and pick up a helping handful. I pick up trash daily when I walk to work, to the park, the the grocery store. It’s never ending. I sure could use some help. Will you pick up a helping handful this Thanksgiving?
Here are a few of my recent helping handfuls during my pollution patrol. I hope this inspires you to pick up trash, consume less, and think twice about how we treat nature. Remember, we are part of nature, not apart from nature.
Not being able to walk anywhere without seeing litter causes a great sadness to well up inside of me. It’s a small, but weighted sign of how humanity continues to disrespect our ecosystem; the ecosystem that feeds and waters us; the ecosystem that gives us a home. It’s a sign of the disregard we give to other life, both the “savage” animals we domesticated and hunt, and our own species. It is a metaphor to how we treat women’s bodies as things that we use, step on, and step over on our way to consumer pleasure. I could go on and on about all the litter and consumption metaphors for selfishness and hate that terrorize our world, but do I really need to?
When I pick up trash it feels good, but it’s also a painful reminder of all that is sick in our world. Is there even a reason to hope? Most days I think not…. And you thought this was just another post about environmental pollution.
Who else feels walks through their neighborhood picking up litter?
P.S. Next week I will be starting a 30 day self-care challenge so be sure to subscribe to my blog to join!
I used to enjoy picking up litter because I was doing something so great for our environment; picking up trash so it could go in its place. Then I learned that the litter is the result of a deeper problem. The real problem is how we produce stuff and our addiction to having things. Our consumer mentality is so selfish we don’t seem to notice or care that all the stuff and packaging we buy is the reason why we have trash. All the cheap plastic stuff we buy every week for fun or retail therapy results in trash. Every time we buy a bottled drink, coffee to go, or pre-washed veggies in plastic containers we are choosing pollution. Every time we buy something mass-produced in a factory which inevitably creates waste we are creating trash.
Now I pack snacks in reusable bags or containers and bring a water bottle. When I do get a drink to go I choose a drink that can be in a paper cup because unlike plastic the paper cup will actually degrade. Often I bring the cup home and use it repeatedly until I can recycle it. I bring my own produce bags to the store and choose fruits and vegetables that are package free. More and more of what I buy is in bulk and reusable bags. I also stopped the unhealthy habit of retail therapy which was much harder and rooted more in the decision to get out of debt than environmental reasons. When shopping for goods I first look at thrift stores and my local Buy Nothing Group. My monthly trash bin is a lot lighter these days, but what about non material consumption?
If we want to get rid of the litter we need to start with the root of the problem and stop creating so much trash. It’s a lot like racism. We need to pull out the root of hate, which is fear, to end racism. Lately I have begun to look at my own fears in the forms of stereotypes.
I used to consume a lot of media and noticed the harmful stereotypes back in High School watching “girl power” tv shows where women had to look sexy if they wanted to be the hero, good girls were submissive and bad girls were rebels. If the show was “progressive” enough to have Black, Mexican, Asian or Native American characters they were usually the bad girls or the poor girls that needed to be saved by the white protagonist.
Then I noticed in movies how often thugs, criminals and villains were almost always Black drug dealers, Mexican car thieves, Asian gangsters, abusive Indian husbands, drunk Native Americans or all rolled into one terrible person and not coincidentally the only token non-white. Just recently I realized how “Trans” people were often portrayed as sick twisted individuals who wanted to dress up as their opposite gender to molest children or become serial killers.
Why are humans inclined to be so afraid of what is different? Why do we hold so many prejudices against those who are different? Why does it take so long to realize we are holding onto fear?
I admit to falling for these stereotypes. I used to cross the street if I saw a group of men hanging out because I assumed they were dangerous. Unless they were standing around in suits they must be up to no good. I would avoid eye contact with anyone dressed in drag because for some reason I felt uncomfortable around them. It wasn’t until a few year ago when I started examining my ideas about people was I able to see how these media controlled images were creating a fear of those who are different in my mind.
Growing up in a diverse family of different colors and accepting of different sexual orientations I often felt immune to such fears, but I was wrong. Even I held unrealized prejudices. I have to check myself all the time now to understand the reason someone makes me uncomfortable. Is it because of societal expectations or my intuition? Sometimes it is my intuition telling me to be aware, but more and more I comprehend that they are not making me uncomfortable, but I’m projecting fear onto them.
Throw in some white privilege and more than likely I make them uncomfortable based on their own fears. In the racist, violent environment that is America their fears are much more justified and much more real than mine.
These days I’m less likely to cross the street and more inclined to smile and nod or say a simple “Hello”. I refuse to live in fear based on a stereotype.
So what kind of litter are you producing? What fears of those who are different do you hold? Analyze those fears, think about what you consume, both material and through your thoughts. Check yourself.
Ready to stop the racism that litters our streets? Get involved with groups like the Coalition Against Police Violence, thecapv.org or Af3irm, http://www.af3irm.org/af3irm.
Do you LOVE fashion, but dislike the unsustainable fashion industry? I do. Expressing ourselves with fashion is a fun and healthy way to enjoy life. But the fashion industry is all about appearances, not expression and that’s unhealthy. This is one of many reasons why I didn’t follow through with a career in fashion. Mass produced fashion is an industry that is unhealthy, unsustainable and basically pointless. As someone who used to love shopping for sales so I could have trendy clothes I no longer want any part of it. I hardly shop at all these days. I prefer to buy second-hand or sustainable made clothing when it’s affordable.
These days I spend more money on food than “necessities” and shiny things. Even then I can’t just go into a 99 cent store and buy some food like product full of artificial flavors and sugar. I want real ingredients, not a chemical-based flavor of those ingredients. Food and worker justice is very important to me and it should be important to you!
Nobody deserves to grow up with their only career options WORKING in dangerous conditions for a few dollars a day. Learn more at these links:
Individual empowerment involves taking time to listen to others and realize that yes racism still exists. Prejudice, hate and stereotypes are all still experienced by a large percentage of the population. One major way we can end these rootless fears is forcing others to see that it is wrong and hear so from a diverse representation of voices.
I know for myself growing up in such a mixed family gave me an early lesson that prejudice is not only wrong, but if you’re surrounded by people who are different you can easily learn that equality isn’t just an idea, it’s a fact. As history shows us, the more we talk about issues and speak up to change hate, the less hate there will be. We just have to keep ensuring that all vices are heard and hear loudly!
“If more perspectives were shown from various groups who have struggled and contributed to help shape America, things would be different. Generations to come would be more accepting and compassionate towards the races, religions, gender, and sexual preferences. We wouldn’t delete the word “racism” out of our vocabulary but we would be able to stop using it. Racism will eventually a word in the history textbook of how things used to be and not how things still are. We first have to teach the whole truth and not leave out information that will change the story.”…continue reading at Living274.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/does-racism-still-exist
Peace won’t just happen, we have to commit to change and diligently work for it.
“On May 24, 2015, 30 international women peacemakers from around the world will walk with Korean women, North and South, to call for an end to the Korean War and for a new beginning for a reunified Korea. Along with Gloria Steinem, our delegation includes Nobel peace laureates Mairead Maguire from Ireland and Leymah Gbowee from Liberia, Patricia Guerrero from Colombia, former U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright, Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin, and so many more courageous women peacemakers. We will listen to Korean women about how war and militarism impacts their families, lives, and dreams and hold international peace symposiums in Pyongyang and Seoul where we can share our experiences and ideas of mobilizing women to bring an end to the danger of violent conflict. Our hope, as a symbolic act of peace, is to cross the 2-mile-wide DMZ that separates millions of Korean families and bring an end to the state of war in Korea.” continue reading at Riseuptimes.org/2015/03/18/christine-ahn-korea-women-walk-for-peace-across-the-de-militarized-zone
It was almost 6 months ago that 43 young students went “missing” in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico. Believed to be handed over to the cartels by the police, these students have never been reunited with their families and never been found. Government officials in Mexico say it was a “case of mistaken identity” carried out by the local mayor of Iguala and a local gang. Parents of the students allege the corrupt narcogovernment is truly at fault.
Either way, 43 human beings are gone, presumed dead and their families will forever feel this loss.
Forty Three, Cuarenta-Tres. How do that many youth disappear without more public outrage? How do their families continue on with any sense of peace whether they are confirmed dead or if justice is never found?
What if it was your child, grandchild, niece or nephew?
On February 28th, I marched from the Mexican consulate to NBC San Diego studios in an attempt to draw attention to this mass abduction of 43 young students, and call on NBC to cover this story. I stand up and speak out for others because I know that’s a large part of individual empowerment.
Citizens prepare to march in order to draw media attention to the 43 students missing in Mexico
The following is information posted by event organizers “February 26th marks the 5 month anniversary of the forced disappearance of our 43 students. We are marching not only to honor and stand with the families and mothers of our missing students, but to honor the fallen human rights activist Gustavo Salgado, unjustly killed by the same narcogovernment. They continue to lie to the faces of the families about the identification of remains and have still not provided a single cohesive answer. We are standing with the families in solidarity, that we do not believe the lies either, we know the truth that it was the STATE. We are marching for JUSTICE, for TRUTH, because we want them back alive! IF NBC WON’T PUT AYOTZINAPA IN THE NEWS, WE WILL MAKE THEM PUT AYOTZINAPA IN THE NEWS.”
“My brother is devastated because his son, Jorge, has been gone for five months, but when he sees these shows of affection and solidarity from so many people across the world, he gets new energy and a new hope,” said Raul Alvarez at a recent march from the Mexican Consulate in Little Italy to the NBC news studio in downtown San Diego.The march, which took place on Saturday, Feb. 28th, was organized by Comité Acción Ayotzinapa, a local organization that has been at the forefront of this movement in San Diego in favor of the missing students’ families.” Laprensa-sandiego.org/featured/san-diegans-ask-for-justice-in-ayotzinapa/
In January CNN ran a story about the students. “At a news conference Tuesday, the parents of the students refused to believe authorities, even suggesting the Mexican military might’ve been behind the disappearance of the young men. The students attending a rural teachers college were left-wing, anti-government activists, mostly in their late teens and early twenties.” Cnn.com/2015/01/28/americas/mexico-missing-students/
Last week UT San Diego published an article about the problems with Iguala including the opium trade and corrupt politicians. “Some say the problems started when the mafia entered politics — and politicians joined the mafia. Before, “they let (the drugs) pass and agreed to leave the people in peace,” said one local elected official, who requested anonymity due to safety concerns. “The problem is when the mafia decides to enter politics, because then you can no longer instill any respect or sense of order.”
Sofia Mendoza Martinez, an Iguala councilwoman, said there was no dividing line between government leaders and organized crime under Abarca. Her own husband, an agrarian activist, was killed in 2013 after clashing with the now-detained mayor who faces charges in the death. It’s easy for the government to blame it all on organized crime, but often organized crime is taking orders from politicians, said Mendoza, who arrived to an interview with two state police bodyguards. “The federal police are going to leave and we are going to still be here.” Utsandiego.com/news/2015/mar/09/mexican-town-where-43-students-disappeared-is/
Citizens rally for media coverage of the 43 students missing in Mexico. the NBC logo is behind them.
So how do we fight corruption?
By calling it out and making sure those who use their power to harm others are removed from power.
Find a local organization in your area that is making waves. Join a peaceful rally, march, vigil or other action that draw attention to injustice.
Start a writing letter campaign to apply pressure.
Contact your representatives and speak up.
Be brave.
If you want change you have to get involved. So what are you waiting for?
I LOVE THIS VIDEO! (except for her language) This woman is a hero for saying something and recording what the police do everyday, hassling people who have nothing. Homeless? Mentally ill? How about human beings like you and me that just had shitty lives and got screwed over once too often!
This is your tax dollars at work people! Look at how many police are wasting your tax dollars creating drama!
Why don’t they take him to a home where he can take a shower, eat some food put on some clean clothes and get assistance? These are things we take for granted everyday. Why are they pulling guns on this man laying in the ground?
That man wasn’t doing anything. I walk around homeless and mentally ill people daily and they do NOT bother me. The way San Diego police treat people is awful, but the way we “the people” don’t stop it is even worse!
If you want change you have to get involved. So what are you waiting for?
Alicia Garza is an engaging speaker with a sense of humor and intelligence that draws listeners to her. She is best known as a co-founder of #BlackLivesMatter (BLM) along with Opal Tometi and Patrice Cullors. I recently had the honor to attend her speech about social activism and a renewed civil rights movement. I was not disappointed!
She began her talk about growing up in the San Franciso area and learning about the black liberation movement from those who had been actively involved. Speaking to a crowd of young women and men at University of San Diego she encouraged students to learn from and form relationships with their elders. “We’re living in different times, but facing similar issues.”
Already active in the Domestic Workers Alliance and conscious of being a black queer woman in a racist society, the inspiration that prompted Alicia to start Black Lives Matter was watching the trial of George Zimmerman; a racist vigilante who killed Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old youth in 2012. Alicia said “I hoped for something different to happen, for an apparition in the system…I felt like I got punched in the gut.” As the media criminalized Trayvon she wondered how she would tell her younger brother that his life is not valued and how racist fear could take it away.
So she went to social media searching for support and words, but was not appeased by the cynics stating the “system is broken”. What she saw was lots of blame on black citizens, because in these times having darker skin makes you automatically guilty. So she wrote her own message stating that it doesn’t matter if you vote, are educated or pull up your pants because we do live in a racist society. instead she encouraged people to do more than Tweet about issues. Her friends added the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter, her words spread swiftly and they inadvertently started a movement that has been growing for 3 years.
She asks that we work together because in 2015 we have such advanced technology yet no “full humane dignity of all people.” She continued to speak on how we need to be inclusive and include everyone in the conversation; LGBT, Native Americans, Asians, those living with disability, foreign workers, immigrants and those incarcerated. We must make space for the voices of ALL who have been marginalized because yes all lives matter. “If we wanna live in a society where all lives matter, we have a lot of work to do… we have an incredible opportunity right now to rehumanize a society that’s been poisoned.” says Alicia.
Not one to shy away from the importance of all lives, she spoke of the need to protect the Trans women who are killed and whose murders are so often ignored, of the jail cells overcrowded with black males, of the harmful stereotypes of black women and the list goes on. She also said that “There’s a lot of different ways to solve problems that doesn’t mean putting people in jail.” A statement I agree with whole heartedly. We have a higher number of human beings living in cages than most other countries in the world and that is a shining example of how disgusting and inhumane our ‘Great Nation’ has become.
There have been many adaptions of BLM, such as Native Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, Womens Lives Matter, etcetera. While she played it cool in regards to her work being so popularly repurposed she was quick to state that these other hashtags must not be allowed to erase the underlying issue that it is still a crime to be black in America. In regards to Police Lives Matter she was honest about how the large majority of officers sign up for a job that is NOT what they thought. Yes there are a few cops who sign up to kill, but they’re the minority. Suddenly these officers, as human as you and I, are thrust into an environment of fear, pathology and corruption. This changes people.
She also brought up important points that you might not expect. These are important to not just oppressed, but everyone’s right to freedom, liberty and justice.
-Our taxes are paying for police brutality, harassment and corruption. This means our non-white sisters and brothers are literally paying our government to be harassed and killed.
-We allow local police to militarize forces which are then used against PEACEFUL protesters.
-The internet cannot become a pay-to-play game! Without the freedom and range of the internet BLM would not exist. Luckily the FCC recently struck down an opportunity for those in power to silence us, but we must stay alert..
-Realize that we are living in an ‘anti-terrorism’ time period that criminalizes activism. We cannot let our right to free speech and the right to gather in public be taken away.
So what can you do?
1. Learn how power functions.
2. Talk with other people about how it works.
3. Organize.
“Figure out how to build power together to change what we don’t like.”, Alicia Garza.
4. Have a relationship with your elders.
5. Create ongoing engagement with those who are marginalized.
6. Listen and support people. Don’t tokenize. If you feel you might be tokenizing you probably are. Most of us are all guilty of it.
7. Be open to learning.
8 Give resources to those who can build.
I found myself nodding along and hanging on to her words, ferociously scribbling any quote I could catch in my notebook. Like many strong women before her Alicia Garza is a leader we can all learn from. She is the embodiment of individual empowerment. If you’re carrying the weight of oppression on your shoulders or seeing it on your neighbors, if you’re tired of waiting for something to change and feeling like you can’t breathe than join in, be the change, and we can as Alicia says “breathe together”.
During her talk, Alicia recommended the following books as resources and motivation. “Roads to Dominion” by Sara Diamond and “There’s a River” by Vincent Harding.
Not being able to walk anywhere without seeing litter causes a great sadness to well up inside of me. It’s a small, but weighted sign of how humanity continues to disrespect our ecosystem; the ecosystem that feeds and waters us; the ecosystem that gives us a home. It’s a sign of the disregard we give to other life, both the “savage” animals we domesticated and hunt, and our own species. It is a metaphor to how we treat women’s bodies as things that we use, step on, and step over on our way to consumer pleasure. I could go on and on about all the litter and consumption metaphors for selfishness and hate that terrorize our world, but do I really need to?
Individual Empowerment 