Search Results for: Amplify erie

ActivismBlogiversary

Top Things I Wish Pittsburgh’s Best Local Blogger Got To Do

December 4, 2016 by
Best Local Blogger Pittsburgh

I’ve been savoring my surprise nab of the Best Local Blogger category in the Pittsburgh City Paper’s 2016 ‘Best of Pittsburgh’ awards. By savoring, I mean that I agonized over how much I hated the accompanying photo, missed the award party because of anxiety and have awkwardly inserted the factoid into as many conversations as possible simply because Ledcat dared me to do so. I said it at least 10 times when I was in a blogging panel. Yes, I did use the phrase, “I traffic in the currency of exposure.”

ActivismNaBloPoMo

I’m Cranky, Sad and Defiant. December, Here I Come.

December 3, 2016 by

There is no opening sentence that will accurately describe my emotional mindset right now. How about “my month has been a delightful Panoply of precursors to the next four years as well as most of what’s been happening forever that I never thought about?” I started out after the election feeling numb and cutting myself […]

Activism

Microaggressions on the Rise in Pittsburgh?

November 27, 2016 by

So I’m going to document the microagressions on this blog. I’m going to make sure you, dear readers, have a glimpse into how the world has shifted for a white, middle aged, middle class, gis gender lesbian on a day to day level. Because it is everywhere, it always has been and I’ve usually been able to acknowledge, but move on most of the time.

But there are too many Confederate flags waving over the trucks and homes of friends of my friends. There are too many Catholic-lite folks who deny the racial divides in Pittsburgh while swigging a craft brew at their favorite food truck. There are too few women in elected office and too many kids not part of the ‘412’ culture. Too many good intentions making things worse while demanding validation for trying. It is the participation trophy demands in social justice work that are draining our resources and preventing us from lifting up the actual contributions from people of color, queer and trans folks, bisexual folks, disabled people, etc. We have too many sacred cows and not enough kleenex for the white tears of indignation and outrage.

Activism

Butler City Council to Vote on NonDiscrimination on Thursday

October 23, 2016 by

This week, City Council in Butler, Pennsylvania will vote on an ordinance to create municipal level protections for residents based on protected classes (gender, race, religion, etc) including sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. For months, members of PFLAG Butler have been working tirelessly to educate members of council and the larger community about […]

Other

WashPo Piece Focuses on Brownsville Woman Manipulated By Right Wing Media

October 3, 2016 by
WashPo Piece Focuses on Brownsville Woman Manipulated By Right Wing Media

The Washington Post ran a powerful piece that has gone viral these past 24 hours, a profile of a Brownsville woman who supports Donald Trump. Melanie’s story is painful and resonates very deeply – she’s struggled with anxiety, sexual harassment in the workplace, poverty, and the pain of her courtroom victory around the harassment being […]

Activism

Listening to My Black Friends as a White Woman

September 22, 2016 by

I’m in a strange place in my head for reasons both personal and political so I’ve been struggling to blog coherently about recent events. Let me clarify – to blog about the experiences of actual black neighbors who have been killed by police officers and the experiences of people who have to witness and process […]

Activism

City of Butler Considers Expanding Non-Discrimination Protections to LGBTQ Community

August 18, 2016 by
Butler County Queer

This is a very important blog post about a very important decision taking place just a wee bit north of Downtown Pgh. Butler City Council is considering creating a Human Relations Authority that would be responsible for ensuring resident of the City are protected in areas of employment, housing and public accommodation from discrimination based […]

ActivismCulture

Went to Podcamp Pittsburgh 11 and Made History

August 15, 2016 by
Podcamp Pittsburgh

Ah, Podcamp. Each year, I try to put together a panel on different topics based on my current interest. 2010 – I was on a panel about political blogging organized by Bram Reichbaum of The Pittsburgh Comet 2011 – I was on a panel about using social media to good deeds organized by Chris Whitlatch […]

In MemoriamTrans

Dee Whigham 16th Trans Person Murdered in 2016 #HerNameWasDee

July 28, 2016 by

Dee Whigham was 25 years old. A registered nurse, she worked at Forrest General Hospital in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This past weekend, Dee traveled with some friends to the Biloxi region to attend the Gulf Coast Black Rodeo. Tragically, Dee was murdered Saturday in the hotel room she shared with a friend, stabbed to death. Police […]

Activism

The Anxious Life Part Six: I’m Not Talking About Orlando

June 23, 2016 by
The Anxious Life Part Six: I’m Not Talking About Orlando

I don’t want to talk about it. I put the rage and fear and hopelessness into a little box and tucked that into my heart in a little space that keeps it secure. I was very sad for very many days. I spent those hours asleep or numb which is what you feel when you […]