Passion for the Possible

Thanks, George! She sure did. She was one cool lad...

2011-09-28T07:30:36.070-04:00

Thanks, George! She sure did. She was one cool lady.

What a great post! I'm sorry for the loss of y...

2011-09-23T07:24:38.155-04:00

What a great post! I'm sorry for the loss of your grandma, but she has left a lot of good values behind that will live forever.

Thanks for your input, Emily. Yes, NGOs sometimes ...

2011-07-29T16:33:44.225-04:00

Thanks for your input, Emily. Yes, NGOs sometimes show up, research, interview people, etc., then disappear back to where they came from. I've heard complaints from people from Africa and from various war-torn countries about "poverty tourism" and "war tourism."

I agree about the kind of partnership that's needed. I've always loved the quote from Australian indigenous activist Lilla Watson: "If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

The focus should NEVER be taken off of empowering ...

2011-07-29T16:21:39.000-04:00

The focus should NEVER be taken off of empowering a community that you are working with. If an American NGO can manage to become part of a community that they are at first new to, then do we still call them foreign? Many organizations will go to Africa, do a project, take pictures, leave and not return. No community is created and the organization that did not return will not learn how the community that they were trying to 'help' fared when they left.

If you want to help someone, you have to let them help you too! Be willing to learn and engage yourself! Of course you are not "the star of the show." That should never be a reason to empower a group of people. We should help because we want someone else to be the star and see that they improved their own quality of life.

This is a main focus for us at Bank-On-Rain and I wrote a bit about it in one of our latest blog posts, God Is Watching. (You have to read it to find out why!)

Emily Berg for Bank-On-Rain
Follow us on twitter @BANKONRAIN @EmilyBerg

Hi! I'm a bit slow on this, but better late th...

2011-07-08T17:23:34.531-04:00

Hi! I'm a bit slow on this, but better late than never, eh?

I just started work at a place that pays college-educated folks $8.35 an hour. There is a very helpful sign in the back, posted prominently next to the "you have a right not to be sexually harassed" posters. It reads, "YOU HAVE A RIGHT NOT TO JOIN A UNION! YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KEEP ALL YOUR WAGES." Jeez.....reminds me of something recently mentioned on Echidne's blog (google Echidne of the Snakes). Basically, some politician mentioned that, since we read Miranda rights to criminals, we should also tell women seeking abortions that they have a right to carry their child. What?

Also, yes, having lived in Europe (including socialist Scandinavia), it's a red-faced embarrassment that we treat real human beings (you may know them as "employees") worse than the corporate citizens that employ them. Insane.

Thanks, Kate! I think you're right that our gr...

2011-07-07T16:30:20.787-04:00

Thanks, Kate! I think you're right that our grandmothers would have gotten along well. I think I heard a little about Dr. Mongentaler a long time ago. I just read a little on him, and his work is truly impressive. People like him or our grandmothers understand what's at stake now.

Here from the PP Carnival Central. Your post remi...

2011-07-07T12:43:58.979-04:00

Here from the PP Carnival Central. Your post reminded me of my dearly-departed grandmother. She was a nurse, then she was a farm wife who raised five boys. We're Canadian, so our issues are different up here, but I can tell you my grandmother was OUTRAGED when Dr. Morgentaler was jailed for performing abortions. (In case you're unfamiliar with him, he's a Canadian doctor who is largely responsible for making abortion freely available and legal in Canada, and he continues good work in reproductive freedom to this day.) Grandma always believed passionately in women's rights to control what happened to and in their own bodies, and believed that a woman's reproductive decisions were between herself and her doctor.

I think our grandmas would have gotten along well. :)

Wasn't planning to respond to Jason Searcy'...

2011-06-15T03:07:53.903-04:00

Wasn't planning to respond to Jason Searcy's post, but in coming across it again, I thought I'd better.

Jason: My grandmother wanted to control the number and timing of her kids, i.e. birth control. It was common to have 6-9 children then, which scared the wits out of her. She wanted some control over the most basic elements of her life, and, to put it bluntly, to be able to have sex without fear that it meant yet another baby.

If she would have had only a few kids, I wouldn't be here, but that's true for all of us. There are a million "what ifs" in life, from what if your parents hadn't met to what if they'd decided to stop having kids before they got to you. As it is, you could have had more brothers and sisters, but your parents called it quits somewhere short of a Duggar clan, right?

And please don't speak disrespectfully of my grandmother by calling her "ol' granny." I can't imagine you'd speak to her that way in person, so why do it here? Though if you did talk to her like that in person, she'd set you straight damn quick.

Hi Stephanie/@wanderingzito - What a wonderful pro...

2011-06-15T02:33:23.521-04:00

Hi Stephanie/@wanderingzito - What a wonderful project you're doing! I'm tweeting a link to your question to my followers tomorrow so we can spark some discussion and get some suggestions coming in (I hope!). I'm curious: how have you run across a $25 minimum? Was it online? I've never seen organizations turn down gifts, though sometimes $10 as a phonebank pledge that requires followup by mail is not enticing from a cost/benefit standpoint. But if the money is being donated through a website or in response to a mailing, that shouldn't be a problem.

Since you're in Cambodia, have you given to any of the landmines relief efforts in Cambodia? http://www.cambodialandminemuseum.org/ - http://www.landmine-relief-fund.com/. I could ask a friend who worked on the landmines campaign in Cambodia for suggestions on other orgs too, especially since she also knew the women's organizations, peace orgs, and help for mine victims orgs.

I also love the work of a Quaker lobby organization I used to work for, the Friends Committee on National Legislation. They bring a rare level of integrity, thoughtfulness and bridge-building to key issues in Washington, DC. www.fcnl.org

A grassroots organization in the Philippines that I love is the Third World Movement against the Exploitation of Women. Founded by Sr. Mary Soledad Perpiñan (or "Sister Sol," whom I met at the UN conference on women in Beijing in 1995), the organization works to get women out of the sex trade by giving them better ways to support themselves. http://www.tw-mae-w.org/twmaew/donate/19/ways-of-sending-donations

I stumbled upon Thai Freedom House, one of the organizations working with the longterm Burmese refugee population in Thailand. I don't know them, but they look very interesting. http://www.thaifreedomhouse.org/

The Lambi Fund of Haiti has been working to strengthen civil society in Haiti for years, focusing on microcredit, sustainable development, leadership training and more. Lambi is Haitian-run, so the organization knows the people and their needs.
http://www.lambifund.org/

Joe Torre's Safe at Home Foundation: Baseball manager Joe Torre grew up with domestic violence, so he has started an organization to help kids dealing with the same problem. http://www.joetorre.org/

Heifer International has shares of gifts for $10, so your money is pooled with that of other donors to provide someone with a pig, trees, rabbits or a sheep to help a family generate income and/or food. Wonderful organization. http://www.heifer.org/

And I keep finding Women for Women International so interesting. http://www.womenforwomen.org/index.php

If you attempt to give to any of the above and run into problems, please let me know!

Hi Tracy- I just stumbled across your blog from Tw...

2011-06-14T22:46:16.452-04:00

Hi Tracy- I just stumbled across your blog from Twitter when I saw a great quote you posted. I loved this post because I'm currently doing my own project to give away 10$ to a different charity every day for a year. It's been very eye opening to see which projects can make a difference with 10$ and to know that some organizations even have a 25$ minimum gift to even donate! I still have 250 days to give, so if you know of any great projects that would joyfully receive and make a difference with 10$ I'd love to hear about them.

It's pretty funny to hear you talk about your ...

2011-04-08T17:04:22.059-04:00

It's pretty funny to hear you talk about your grandmother's support of abortion. If ol' granny had her way maybe you wouldn't be here! Touching.

Fantastic, concise post. I teared up a bit.

2011-04-08T16:35:53.514-04:00

Fantastic, concise post. I teared up a bit.

Thanks for this great story ... your thoughtful co...

2011-02-20T16:47:41.036-05:00

Thanks for this great story ... your thoughtful column is really heart-warming. I think the multi-generational experience is something we're often missing from this conversation, and it makes it easy to forget how difficult life was for women before birth control was readily accessible. We've just taken it for granted.

@Lena: Thanks for the compliment. I think a lot of...

2011-02-19T22:55:31.472-05:00

@Lena: Thanks for the compliment. I think a lot of people share your mix of feelings about abortion. As strongly pro-choice as I am, I myself find the issue emotionally complex. I was raised in a staunchly anti-choice household and Catholic school, so I have seen this issue from quite a few perspectives. We need more conversation that includes people in between the two staunch sides.

I hear your concerns about Planned Parenthood, but I have always understood that it's not Planned Parenthood policy to push for abortions. Actually, many of their locations don't even offer the services. All the people I've known working for them or similar organizations take the concept of "choice" very much to heart, and have no interest in pushing people to have abortions. Quite a few of their staff have families of their own, so they understand what's at stake. But we've all had medical professionals we've liked and not liked, so I can imagine that some people have had negative experiences, just as I've had frustrating ones with medical professionals in other settings. My experiences as a Planned Parenthood patient were really positive, and they caught my high cholesterol when I was 21, when no other doctor had bothered to ask about my family's bad heart disease history.

On another note, my grandmother is indeed awesome! I wish you still had yours to talk to as well.

@celtic-thistle: I'm really disappointed in your response, and I encourage you to consider posting a 2nd one to clear up some problems. Lena raised some important concerns, ones many people have. She gave you an opportunity to address them, which you half did, but then you attacked her. What a shame, especially as you identify yourself as a Planned Parenthood staffperson. You've put a negative post onto the internet that doesn't reflect well on what I know to be a terrific organization. Lena said she is pro-choice, but that she mixed feeling about abortion, as do millions of people. Accepting the complex mix of emotions and ideas among even pro-choice people will get us further than demanding people all think and feel the same way.

When I've talked with women who've had abortions, their experiences run from it having been a clear and straightforward choice to it being necessary but difficult. I've yet to talk to people who regret their decision, though obviously that does happen, as with any major decision in life. I've also known people who never, ever thought they would have an abortion or support someone in making that choice but who found themselves doing just that. So the person with mixed emotions or misinformation may be walking through your clinic door one day.

When it comes to women's health, whether reproductive or otherwise, respect and compassion need to be our bedrock principles.

Lena: I do a lot of work with Planned Parenthood a...

2011-02-19T14:37:52.145-05:00

Lena: I do a lot of work with Planned Parenthood and that's not true at all. This image of PP as some sort of "abortion mill" is ridiculous. Even if you're looking at it from a business standpoint, PP would make more money on a woman who continued her pregnancy. An abortion would make them money once. Multiple pre-natal visits and screenings would make them more money. I really don't see on what level of reality you think there's this sinister movement to "encourage" women to have abortions. I think bringing it up as an option when a woman is pregnant is just fine. Women need to know all our options, and the sooner people like you, who think you're so helpful and open-minded but are really misinformed and deluded, stop treating abortion like some horrid tragedy that must never be thought about or suggested, the better.

Good post. Planned Parenthood is definitely an imp...

2011-02-19T11:56:03.009-05:00

Good post. Planned Parenthood is definitely an important organization that provides much needed services to many women. I both pro-life and pro-choice -- I believe that women should *legally* have the choice, but I would never abort my own pregnancy (and I think that women should be completely education with FACTS, not propaganda from either side). BUT I don't think that PP should be legally allowed to suggest abortion to a woman who didn't bring it up by herself, or isn't in medical danger (to herself of the fetus). I have heard of multiple visits to Planned Parenthood (from friends' experiences, or through hearsay) that ended with a PP employee trying to convince women that pregnancy is unhealthy, dangerous, and should be terminated. Some of these women had been actively trying to conceive and only went to PP for reduced price pregnancy tests.

The propaganda needs to stop. Pro-life, Pro-choice... how about Pro-Facts?

Your grandmother sounds awesome, I'm so jealous that you can still talk to yours.

Great post!

2011-02-12T22:15:23.746-05:00

Great post!

Aren't humans amazing? They kill wildlife - bi...

2011-01-27T09:51:01.577-05:00

Aren't humans amazing? They kill wildlife - birds, deer, all kinds of cats, coyotes, beavers, groundhogs, mice and foxes by the million in order to protect their domestic animals and their feed.

Then they kill domestic animals by the billion and eat them. This in turn kills people by the million, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative - and fatal - health conditions like heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and cancer.

So then humans spend billions of dollars torturing and killing millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases.

Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals.

Meanwhile, few people recognize the absurdity of humans, who kill so easily and violently, and then call for Peace on Earth.

~Revised Preface to Old MacDonald's Factory Farm by C. David Coates~

_____________

Anyone can break this cycle of violence! Everyone has the power to choose compassion! Please visit these websites to align your core values with life affirming choices: http://veganvideo.org & http://tryveg.com

"Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' Vanity asks the question, 'Is it popular?' But, conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right."
~ Martin Luther King Jr.

I once had a $25 donation that turned into a $500 ...

2011-01-26T11:28:53.894-05:00

I once had a $25 donation that turned into a $500 donation the following year. The people that donate at a smaller amount today, if you build relationships with them, could be your major donors in the future. Situations can change for the better, plus every donor is special!

HI TRACY!!!!! Great blog! Congratulations on movin...

2010-09-16T14:23:23.164-04:00

HI TRACY!!!!!
Great blog!
Congratulations on moving home!
Tried e-mailing but your Earthlink bounced and I couldn't get this site's contact-me to work.
Look, I'm blogging too!
Whassup girl! Give me a holler. A-salamu alaykum!
Love, Roger
rogerkimmelsmith@gmail.com

Just remembered one more thing: "feds" o...

2010-03-21T00:52:13.611-04:00

Just remembered one more thing: "feds" often refers to law enforcement in popular culture, but it actually refers to anyone who works for the federal government. And I was used to thinking of "contractor" as being, say, Lockheed Martin until I gained that title at the Department of Transportation. The staff was split about 60-40 into feds and contractors in my department. The difference was rank and authority, but also who got a cubicle (feds) versus a small desk (contractors). And each group would talk about each other a bit as high school students do about rival groups, though without the venom. "The feds always have info that they don't share with us." I found this amusing.

I HEART DC

2010-03-17T21:06:30.992-04:00

I HEART DC

Thanks, folks, for the kind words and the insights...

2010-03-16T20:22:01.331-04:00

Thanks, folks, for the kind words and the insights. I certainly learn the most from people who expose me to knew ideas and perspectives with respect and humor (juggling purchases!). I can specifically pinpoint the moments I learned to stop running water I wasn't using, to try out a local coop, to use union print shops, to join a public protest, and a bunch of other things. I'm grateful to the people who pointed out what I could do differently in a kind way, who invited me to try something new or who just plain did something I'd never seen before, prompting me to ask questions. Even when I've considered a change and not adopted it, I've at least had the information to make a choice.

(By the way, if there's a "life is pain" icon still next to my name, it's not intentional. I have no idea how I ended up with that! Computing in my sleep??)

Dear Anonymous: I suspect you've missed the wh...

2010-03-16T20:03:08.053-04:00

Dear Anonymous: I suspect you've missed the whole point of my blog. I make recommendations on how we build social change. Not sure how encouraging people who come to the blog to shop at local businesses qualifies as "obnoxious." That's quite different from giving a cashier a hard time in the middle of their workday.

I've experienced unionbusting as a Borders employee, and I've seen tons of small businesses go under because of chains directly targeting them. That drains money from local economies. The big chains also have too much cultural power. In the case of Borders, that power becomes even more American cultural influence in other countries, which is especially troubling to me as a lover of arts and literature. So I often encourage friends, colleagues and others to shop at independent bookstores since I find a lot of them are unaware of what's at stake.

You'll have to provide a better argument - or any argument - for me to see what the heck you're talking about.

I enjoyed this article as it points out the irrita...

2010-03-11T11:05:01.267-05:00

I enjoyed this article as it points out the irritating tendencies of many self-described environmentalists. They are quite adept at creating impossible double standards while preaching morality to elevate themselves. Unfortunately, you turned your own article in obnoxious when you stated that you managed independent bookstores and requested readers to "skip Amazon and the big chains".