hot mess

People, who don’t identify as activists, are often intimidated by the idea of activism. Flashes of Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, and Che Guevara make radical streaks and imprints on past, present, future. Our lives are better because of people we have never met.

The idea of activism used to terrify me. I used to grapple with this understanding of mediocrity, that I wasn’t meant to shape or change the world, but simply exist in it. Sure, I was nice to people, I was always friendly at work, and I tried to be a really good friend. I didn’t know enough about policy or procedure to really change things and I didn’t think I was smart enough to redesign systems or change the way the world works. Could I?

I couldn’t ever imagine myself on a stage in front of thousands, giving a big speech that made onlookers feel empowered. I walk too slow to lead a march on Washington. I don’t know enough about history (and, not surprisingly, managed to take world history a total of three times in high school). And even though I’m a leo, I wasn’t particularly opinionated on politics or policy.

Activism, it seemed, just wasn’t for me. 

Over the past few years, I’ve learned that activism isn’t just about marching on Washington or powerful speeches to thousands. While that’s a part of it, there’s a lot of other parts, too. I am capable of changing the world in very real, postive ways without having my name as the headline of a newspaper.  I don’t need to be on CNN or in the White House to make change. I can, in fact, create change in my regular every day life and for the people in it.

I started my personal journey as an activist in August 2006. A friend of mine from high school was coordinating a campaign against Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Honestly, I wasn’t even that aware of DADT and was apphauled to discover that LGBTQ people were unable to serve openly in the military. As a native and resident of Philadelphia who passed as a heterosexual, I was oblivious to the oppression that queer folks face. I had heard a few heart-wrenching stories of friends and foes, but I thought they were obscure, isolated incidences.

In August 2006, I participated in my very first campaign, my very first concrete and visible form of activism. From there, I’d go on to a number of really big, visible campaigns. But something else even more important happened in August 2006: I started learning. It wasn’t just textbooks or internet articles, but really learning. I started to see the ways in which things connect and interconnect, the webs we weave and in which we live.

Through this, I learned some valuable lessons, mostly that anyone can (and everyone should) be an activist. We should all work towards creating a better world for ourselves. We should recognize the ways in which we are all connected and strive for creating better connections. Connections with consent, intention, love, joy, positivity, and happiness.

How can we do this, then, without marching on Washington? Without a really well-prepared speech, a published article on a major news site, without writing a book or even riding a bus for two months? Here are some things I’ve learned (and am still learning) along the way.

• Look around. We should understand the interconnectivity of all forms of oppression, but we should also find areas on which to focus. I understand how race and class affect sexuality and gender, but my main focus is sexuality and gender. Look around and see where you’d like to devote the most time and energy.
• Learn! Why is it like that? We must figure out the source of oppression before we can start dismantling it. For instance, misinterpretations of  the Bible are generally the source for oppression for LGBTQ folks but why? What texts are used? What impact does this have?
• Learn more! Education is the key to activism. The more you know, the stronger you are likely to be. Ask around. Have conversations with others and gain as much knowledge as you can.
• Share! I view activism as a form of sharing. I have this knowledge, these smarts, that I want other people to have, too. Loving queer and trans people for their entire selves has made my life better. I want to share this enlightenment with others! Understanding trans/queer topics and trans/queer people has helped me understand my own gender and sexuality and has empowered me to live a more authentic and intentional life.
• Create and complete projects and tasks, even on the fly. I have a coworker who once initiated conversation with me about LGBTQ folks and how he thought our “lifestyles” were wrong. Immediately, my task was to have an educational conversation with this individual and share my enlightenment. I stayed calm and completed this task; he eventually walked away with a lot to think about. Additionally, my job has no policy or procedure in place for hiring and accommodating trans and gender variant people. How can I help them? This is my next task.

Anyone can do these things. Anyone can find an area that needs improvement and find create ways to improve them. We shouldn’t be overwhelmed with images of activism that we feel we can’t meet. We shouldn’t even feel burdened or weighed with this idealogy that the system is simply too structured and solidifed for change. If each of us recognizes the activist within ourselves and did what we could do to make the world even just a little bit better, imagine the impact it would have on all of our lives.