This weekend marked International Women’s Day, and with it Women’s Marches occurred across the world, including here in Los Angeles. Patrick and I attended with some friends and we marched from Pershing Square to LA City Hall.

While labeled as “Women’s March” with a large focus on feminine issues, the protest also highlighted the struggles facing the LGBTQIA+ community, the cuts to our National Parks System, immigration issues, the potential loss of government funded aid such as food assistance, veteran care, and Social Security, allyship with other countries, including Ukraine, and the general fascist nature of the current administration.

If you’re new to the blog, I’ll give you a rundown of some things I’ve said before…

I believe in equality.

I believe in LGBTQIA+ rights.

I believe in the strict separation of church and state, including that “under God”  should be removed from the Pledge of Allegiance (which was added in 1954) and that “In God we Trust” should be removed from future currency.

I believe in science, including vaccines, global warming is real, and that wearing a mask reduces risk of illness.

I believe in reforming our immigration system, tax system, gun laws, police, and military.

I believe in better funding for education, including tax-funded (aka free) college education.

I believe in universal healthcare, including safe, easy, and free access to various forms of birth control and abortion.

And honestly, this is a non-exhaustive list, but it pretty much covers the bases.

In addition to protesting, Patrick and I have also donated to the following institutions over the years…

Planned Parenthood

Southern Poverty Law Center

NAACP

Navajo Relief Fund

National Network of Abortion Funds

Trevor Project

ACLU

Women’s March

Greenpeace

Postcards to Voters

Right to Be

Swing Left

I do not say this to “toot my own horn” but instead to show that you too can make a difference. Often it can be difficult to find a starting point to help fight for justice. I provide the list above to give you a starting point. I encourage you to do your own research, find what is important to you, and then support in ways that are feasible for you.

I also encourage you to work on building community. Find local chapters of organizations and become involved. Great places to find community can be as easy as your PTA if you’re a parent with a child in school, your local library, attending or starting a neighborhood clean-up, just to name a few. I also encourage you to have discussions with your loved ones. Make sure people know how you feel, what your fears are, and methods to help one another out. I encourage you to shop local, shop small, and shop used. Remember none of us are perfect. We all rely on and use big businesses that are not perfect. If you do shop big box, look for environmentally friendly, BIPOC, women, and queer owned brands within the store. Shopping small is another great way to become a part of your community. Many small local business have events. And small local businesses doesn’t just mean shopping. It also means museums, theaters (both live entertainment and movies!) and more! Visiting museums is a great way to learn, and both live entertainment and movies, especially went seen at a local cinema or drive-in, can do wonders for the spirit! Most museums also offer memberships, which are a great way to continue support and often provide exclusive or discounted opportunities, and another way to help build a community.

Over the years Patrick and I have been or are currently members of the following museums and institutions…

The Autry Museum of the American West

Hollywood Heritage Museum

The International Printing Museum

Los Angeles Conservancy

The Museum of Neon Art

The WASP Museum

I really could go on and on, but I’ll end with a few more words. At the bare minimum, if you’re 18 or older, make sure you’re registered to vote. You can check your status here. Unregistered? Learn how to register to vote here. Then show up for each and every election. Please. For those with mail-in voting, I recommend signing up for a ballot tracking service. Please visit this site to learn more.

And of course, take time to find joy. Take care of yourself. Be kind to yourself. I hope that my blog continues to be a source of joy and learning for you.

If you want to chime in and say “Oh, I don’t want to see this on your blog!” or “I come here for fun content not a lecture!” or “You’re going to lose readers because of this!” Newsflash, this is my blog, my corner of the internet. I’m not going to sit idly by and just let rights be taken away. This blog is a place of education. And that includes current events. You can always unfollow me!

To those who have stuck around, thank you so much!