7 CSF students went down to Albuquerque, NM to attend a protest against the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which bans gay marriage, something which was legal in CA prior to its passage. The protest was one of many happening in each state of the union on November 15th, 2008. This video documents the speeches at the rally, the march, and includes a brief interview with one of the organizers.
Protest Against Proposition 8 in Albuquerque, NM 11/15/08 from Alysha Shaw on Vimeo.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
OBAMA WINS!!!
ohmygodohmygodohmygod!!!!
happy.
I was planning to get obliterated to a McPalin presidency. But alas. Such was not the case. We actually maybe do live in a decent world, where positive change can happen? I don't know what to do with my jaded jaded worldview right now.
But I'm happy. Yay Obama. And no, he's not perfect. I have no illusions of him as a messiah. But this is amazing and tremendously hope-giving. We're living in history, folks.
happy.
I was planning to get obliterated to a McPalin presidency. But alas. Such was not the case. We actually maybe do live in a decent world, where positive change can happen? I don't know what to do with my jaded jaded worldview right now.
But I'm happy. Yay Obama. And no, he's not perfect. I have no illusions of him as a messiah. But this is amazing and tremendously hope-giving. We're living in history, folks.
Monday, November 3, 2008
my get-out-the-vote rally speech
CSF had a get out the vote rally today. I'll post video of it later. In the meantime here is a speech I gave. I wrote the speech half an hour before I gave it, so it's not an oratorical masterpiece, but it gets a point across...
Good afternoon, everybody! It is so wonderful to see all of your beautiful faces here today. Today, we are gathered here to celebrate our suffrage, and encourage it in others. For many of us, this election is considered to be the most important election of our lives. For some of you, this is the first presidential election you will be able to vote in. These are exciting times, aren't they?
But I've been having nightmares lately. Really terrible nightmares about what tomorrow might bring. And I know others who have had similar dreams too. Because this is supposed to me a non-partisan rally, I will not share with you the nature of my nightmares. I do, however, believe that they are indicative of a larger social reality—irrespective of where we all sit on the political spectrum, most of our nation's motivation in voting lies in fear.
We're afraid of what 4 years of "the other side" will bring, and both major presidential campaigns have deeply exploited these fears in months of brutal campaigning. Regardless of who wins tomorrow, our nation will exist profoundly divided through the divisive processes of this election.
And, as much as we might like to think a McCain presidency and an Obama presidency would be profoundly different, I'm here to tell you, that no matter who wins, very little will change politically and socially, if we don't change the ways in which we engage with each other, our local communities, and our representatives.
Voting is immensely important—we're all here because of that reality, but to simply cast a vote is not enough. We need to actively generate the kind of concern, activism and engagement we have generated for this election, every day out of the year in our communities, in order to manifest real change in this world.
The election of an Obama or a McCain will not miraculously solve all of our massive nation's problems. To imagine so, would be a negation of our own responsibility to our world.
So what I am asking each and every person here to do is to go out and vote tomorrow. Wait in those long lines. Feel good about your efforts. But don't stop there. Don't imagine that your work is done. Take that enthusiasm, and that concern, and that engagement and apply it to your everyday lives. Apply it to the people and situations that surround you. Apply it to your communities. Apply it to the world.
Real change happens from the ground up. Real, true, genuine social change happens with people— happens with movements that are generated by people— by ordinary citizens— by students. It doesn't come from Washington. And as thus, the fears we may have about tomorrow are largely misplaced. Such fears ignore our individual agency, power, and ability to change our world.
And fear is stupid anyway. Do we really want our politics to be motivated by fear? Or would we rather have them be motivated by an active, persistently engaging hope? I'd bet money that a hopeful politics is more productive and less divisive than a fearful politics.
So, I'm asking you to stop fearing. Stop it. Right now. Actively pursue hope. Even if it feels like the world is ending politically for you, after the results of this election, please still actively pursue that hope, because that hope is our key to change and a path out of political disillusionment.
And please, do vote tomorrow. Really do. Volunteer to help get out the vote, if you can. But don't stop there. Bring this election's political engagement into your everyday lives, your everyday communities, and this is what will really bring the change we all want to see. Thank you.
Good afternoon, everybody! It is so wonderful to see all of your beautiful faces here today. Today, we are gathered here to celebrate our suffrage, and encourage it in others. For many of us, this election is considered to be the most important election of our lives. For some of you, this is the first presidential election you will be able to vote in. These are exciting times, aren't they?
But I've been having nightmares lately. Really terrible nightmares about what tomorrow might bring. And I know others who have had similar dreams too. Because this is supposed to me a non-partisan rally, I will not share with you the nature of my nightmares. I do, however, believe that they are indicative of a larger social reality—irrespective of where we all sit on the political spectrum, most of our nation's motivation in voting lies in fear.
We're afraid of what 4 years of "the other side" will bring, and both major presidential campaigns have deeply exploited these fears in months of brutal campaigning. Regardless of who wins tomorrow, our nation will exist profoundly divided through the divisive processes of this election.
And, as much as we might like to think a McCain presidency and an Obama presidency would be profoundly different, I'm here to tell you, that no matter who wins, very little will change politically and socially, if we don't change the ways in which we engage with each other, our local communities, and our representatives.
Voting is immensely important—we're all here because of that reality, but to simply cast a vote is not enough. We need to actively generate the kind of concern, activism and engagement we have generated for this election, every day out of the year in our communities, in order to manifest real change in this world.
The election of an Obama or a McCain will not miraculously solve all of our massive nation's problems. To imagine so, would be a negation of our own responsibility to our world.
So what I am asking each and every person here to do is to go out and vote tomorrow. Wait in those long lines. Feel good about your efforts. But don't stop there. Don't imagine that your work is done. Take that enthusiasm, and that concern, and that engagement and apply it to your everyday lives. Apply it to the people and situations that surround you. Apply it to your communities. Apply it to the world.
Real change happens from the ground up. Real, true, genuine social change happens with people— happens with movements that are generated by people— by ordinary citizens— by students. It doesn't come from Washington. And as thus, the fears we may have about tomorrow are largely misplaced. Such fears ignore our individual agency, power, and ability to change our world.
And fear is stupid anyway. Do we really want our politics to be motivated by fear? Or would we rather have them be motivated by an active, persistently engaging hope? I'd bet money that a hopeful politics is more productive and less divisive than a fearful politics.
So, I'm asking you to stop fearing. Stop it. Right now. Actively pursue hope. Even if it feels like the world is ending politically for you, after the results of this election, please still actively pursue that hope, because that hope is our key to change and a path out of political disillusionment.
And please, do vote tomorrow. Really do. Volunteer to help get out the vote, if you can. But don't stop there. Bring this election's political engagement into your everyday lives, your everyday communities, and this is what will really bring the change we all want to see. Thank you.
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