Oof, I hate starting a blog post with a disclaimer but I’m going to.
Okay, this bit is for people who aren’t regular readers and don’t know me and my duck yet.
Hi! We’re usually really sweet and nice. Ask anyone.
Oh, wait. That’s not the disclaimer. HERE is the disclaimer:
Okay. I hope we all know that poverty is an enormous global tragedy, and that we have big huge responsibilities as compassionate, caring human beings to do stuff and say stuff and heal stuff in our world. That’s why we’re here.
And just in case you need my “I care” street-cred before I make fun of Blog Action Day: I hope you all know that my duck, my gentleman friend and I all lead very conscious, very caring-based lives.
- We imposed a household Box-store Boycott over a year ago (broken only twice!). Take that, wasteful evil box stores!
- We eat only food that’s made (by us) from natural ingredients. We make our own bread, yoghurt, shampoo, conditioner, cleaning supplies etc.
- We make regular contributions to causes close to our heart including Project Open Hand, Global Fund for Women, Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, etc. etc. etc.
I could go on, but you get the point. I care deeply about the world and the state of it.
Now can I make fun of Blog Action Day? Thank you.
On to the actual post. Finally.
If for some reason or at some point (like, I don’t know, maybe on international guilt-mongering day, for example) you find yourself on the Blog Action Day Blog, you’ll find a post on the following:
88 Ways to Take Action Against Poverty Right Now
Please don’t read it. It will just get on your nerves.
More like 88 Ways To Not Have A Point.
Because the vast majority of these 88 ways to “take action against poverty right now” are inane and even ridiculous. To the point that my former opinion on Blog Action Day (indifferent) has shifted to disheartened and frustrated.
Seriously, I’m not sure how it’s possible to even read this list without feeling as though someone is whacking your intelligence with a very large broom.
Sadly, it would be an absurdly long post if I were going to make fun of all the suggestions that I didn’t like … so instead let’s just look at the top ten.
And then a couple that don’t suck. Because you could totally go do one of those if you felt like it. Or not. Whatever. I’ll like you anyway.
Suggestions so ineffectual that they will make you want to cry
And my responses. Sorry for not being able to stop at ten. I tried to keep my irritation reigned in but … hmm, it didn’t really work:
1. “Be homeless for a day/night.”
That will help a lot of poor people have something to eat and a place to sleep. I’m sure they will appreciate it immensely.
Well okay, some of them might wonder why you didn’t at least let them sleep in that empty warm bed of yours so that someone might get some use out of your attempt to feel their pain.
If I were homeless (and I’ve been pretty scary-close to it in my life), I’d think you were the most condescending, pretentious person ever.
2. “Find a gripping picture or video having to do with poverty and publish it on the Web.”
See above. Consciousness raising is no longer a viable act in and of itself. Maybe it was in the sixties. It isn’t now when we’re so inundated with information. Yes, if you are writing about poverty than a picture may help people to grasp the severity of it all.
But if you live in a city, you see poverty and homelessness every day. It’s right there in front of you. What we need is not pictures. It’s the ability to respond to the pain of others and to our own.
3. “Stop being lazy.”
Feeling guilty and having all your internal resistance mechanisms triggered is a great way to get things accomplished! Works like a charm!
4. “Stop putting off adopting a child through an organization like Compassion International (or adopt another one).”
Because guilt is the very best reason to adopt a child. A guilt-ridden child is a happy child.
Actually, given overpopulation, if you’re already the kind of person who doesn’t have a problem doing things out of a feeling of responsibility and not out of a sense of love, you could consider not having kids at all. And then adopting. Because, yay adopting!
And whether you have kids or not, please please please go read World Without Us for some perspective on the impact our wastefulness is having not just on world poverty but on the future of the entire planet.
5. “Make flyers to stick in the local library.”
Or you could donate to a food bank. But whatever, flyers are a very useful way to place paper on library walls.
6. “Stop drinking Coke and bottled water for a day and save on plastic. Will save a lot of plastic if each of us does it for only one day.”
Or alternately: you could stop drinking and consuming everything that has chemicals and non-natural ingredients in it. And everything that’s made by enormous, wasteful bad-for-the-world corporations.
Love your body. Drink things that are meant to be drunk. Like water. Or things come from fruit or cows or I don’t know, maybe grains and hops.
And if you’re feeling the wish to give thanks for being in a place where staying alive is not your biggest struggle, then yeah, do it.
7. “Avoid overconsumption.”
Yes, that is something we should all do.
But given that we’re dealing with people who think not drinking Coke for a day is an enormous sacrifice, would you like to be more specific? Please, give me something concrete to do instead of another reason to feel bad.
8. “Ask your child to share her food with the child of your maid on that day.”
Your maid? What, now I have a MAID? What is this, 1789? Get thee to a guillotine!
I don’t even want to hear about it.
9. “Invite friends to watch documentaries about how poverty destroyed someone’s life, family and their future.”
Oh boy. Your friends will want to come over all the time!
How about having the kind of conversations and interactions with all the people we love that emerge naturally out of the stuff we’re thinking about and dealing with?
Otherwise it comes across as being contrived and manipulative, and — in an after-school-special “hey kids, I think we’ve learned something” kind of way — not very meaningful.
10. “Do not waste water on that day.”
Or any day. If we already know we’re wasting water, why do we need a day to stop it? We can just stop.
11. “Compose a poem on the theme ‘Making Poverty A History’ and get it published in a local magazine or paper. Also, ask your baby to recite the poem in her school.”
I am speechless.
Non-awful non-depressing suggestions.
Here are a couple of the very, very few ideas that did not completely get on my nerves:
Give music and opportunity to those who have none.
“If you have a musical instrument you no longer use, donate to the still-struggling musicians and students in New Orleans, who are still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. A few great organizations that will accepts musical instruments are Tipitina’s Foundation and The New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund.”
Love it.
Let’s learn to love and respect one another, and to give to those who have less.
Yes yes yes! More of that!
Visit The Hunger Site every day and click the link to feed the hungry.
It doesn’t cost you anything. It’s easy to do. And you don’t need to wait for one day of the year when a bunch of bloggers jump on a bandwagon. You can make it a daily ritual.
You want to really and truly make a difference?
Of course you do. I know you do. We all do.
And I firmly believe that it starts with bringing more conscious awareness into all aspects of your life. All the stuff we talk about here every day anyway:
- Consciously, actively making choices that impact your own well-being and that of those around you.
- Practicing clear communication.
- Doing this biggification work … so you can not be poor yourself … so that you can feel safe and supported giving generously of your time, money and energy.
- Nourishing yourself on every level so that you won’t be too depleted to care about the pain of others.
“I think we’ve all learned something, kids.”
Well, the “don’t post when you’re premenstrual” rule, for sure. But aside from that … no, I guess we didn’t.
So if you want to read a more amusing and less cranky post than mine about Blog Action Day, the incomparable Jenny the Bloggess did it much better than I ever could.
See you guys tomorrow.
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You are right. I’m definitely happy I did not read that foolish article… I cannot believe the things that have been said there. I feel like most of the stuff I have read on this “blog action day” – apart from a few I actually liked and commented on (hint. hint) are coming from a very patronizing place with very little compassion in mind.
Luckily, I have never been poor nor have I ever been rich (yet) but I have learned to care and find ways to actually (actively) help people. That education makes me *feel* rich and therefore I believe the answer starts there…
Avitals last blog post..Inspiration Prompt #21 – The Value Of The Everyday
Ok, even the line “Better something than nothing” really doesn’t apply to some of those! But I suppose if thinking about sleeping outdoors for a night makes people realise what it’s like for those who don’t have a choice some good has been done.
Yes we live in an information age, but many are still happily ignorant to the reality of the situation around them.
That said, I would say that doing anything for one day is purely symbolic. Making a committment to change the way you live is the only way to make a real difference.
James | Dancing Geeks last blog post..Adventures of a Shivanaut
and if i were homeless (again) i’d be pretty pissed that someone who didn’t have to be sleeping on the street was taking up my place in the shelter or the door stoop or the abandoned car or just wherever!
and my maid?!
did your evil twin naomi make this stuff up?
oh gee…now i’m going to have to drink a hand made kombucha and turn the compost pile just to get rid of the extra steam that is coming out of my ears! then read one of your sweet and nice posts!
I love Blog Action Day, but I couldn’t agree more about the painfully terrible 88 Ideas post. It reminded me of call-in radio, a format I avoid for this very reason. Ow, the not-smartness, it hurts my mind.
Speaking as a crunchy Berkeley leftist liberal communist hippie chick of long standing, there is hardly anything less useful than “suggestions” along the lines of “quit being such a wasteful evil rich Republican.” That convinces absolutely no one to do anything useful, no matter where they are on any of those spectrums.
I love the non-lame BAD posts all over the Web, though! Lots of “to hell with guilt, here’s some positive stuff you can do.”
Sonia Simones last blog post..How to Get Delightfully Rich (and Still Keep Your Soul)
OK, two things. First, Havi, thanks for calling out the inanity of awareness days. I really started thinking about this last Earth Day. Why do we need a day to do what we believe to be right?
Second, if you’re going to give to charities, PLEASE do your homework. Many charities spend the vast majority of their donations on fundraising and administration. There are several reporting websites that break down how organizations spend their donations. I can’t remember which one is most highly regarded at the moment, but a quick google search found GuideStar.org which looks like a good place to start.
I have taken a slightly different approach. My wife is from the Philippines. Most of her extended family live in deep 3rd world poverty. We focus our charity efforts on helping them with improved housing and education. We know that our donations have a direct positive effect without losing a lot to middlemen and fundraising. I don’t give to United Way or any of that crowd. I know that I lose the tax deductability of my donations, but if that’s the best reason I have for giving then my heart is in the wrong place. I do usually give some to MercyCorps for major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina.
Probably some will disagree, but it’s my money…
For some reason I was sure there would be a bunch of “stop overreacting, you crazy hyper-indignant person!” comments.
Everybody go read @Sonia’s terrific post. Brilliant.
@Mike – love your idea of helping people directly, especially ones you’re connected too. That’s exactly how it should work more often.
@Chas – as always, you crack me up.
@Avital – thank you! Nice to know I’m not alone in this feeling.
I am duly flabberghasted. I may have to launch Stab-Yourself-in-the-Leg-With-a-Spork-for-Poverty Day. It would be less inane.
Brandon Ws last blog post..Just my thoughts today about the future…
@Mike, CharityNavigator is a good one to check on how donations are spent in terms of overhead. “Do your homework” makes it sound kind of hard, but you can get the main stat (what percentage of donations goes to actually doing the work) in about 8 seconds. Very efficient.
Sonia Simones last blog post..How to Get Delightfully Rich (and Still Keep Your Soul)
Wait, I have to say one more thing, “be homeless for a night” really is among the dumbest things I’ve ever heard. Um, it’s not actually being homeless if you get to go back to your nice warm house the next day. That’s called camping.
ok that is all.
Sonia Simones last blog post..How to Get Delightfully Rich (and Still Keep Your Soul)
The list is inane but overall Blog Action Day is a good idea because it does encourage awareness. My blog has readers that do not necessarily consider poverty or what they could do about it on a regular basis. I chose to highlight an organization that is doing good work and that may appeal to the dancers/dance teachers that read my blog. I chose not to include the 88 Ways list :o)
Heh!
Thanks Havi.
The 88 point list was compiled by asking people what they would do to eradicate poverty. The list was compiled from their answers without judgement.
(Wisdom of the crowds doesn’t work yet again.)
However, I think the concept of Blog Action Day is awesome.
The Berlin wall fell down because of an initiative started by 6 folks with a candle. Imagine what a 1000 bloggers can do!
—
The hunger site is pretty cool. Hadn’t heard about them before…
Ankesh Kotharis last blog post..How To Eradicate Poverty (Without Doing Charity)
I was so scared that one of those ridiculous ideas you mentioned would have appeared in my own blog! Fortunately, none of them were, which leads me to believe that I still possess enough brains to comment in such a complex topic like global poverty. Thank you for such a nice entry
Gonzalo
nicedeed.blogspot.com
Gonzalos last blog post..Today is Blog Action Day: 10 Ways To Fight Poverty
#8. Seriously, I cannot stop laughing. It’s so freaking “let them eat cake” I can’t even stand it.
Oh my god. Oh my GOD. I hope you don’t mind me saying: I think you are my people.
Oh holy crap, the things people say. And DO!
Anyway. I kind of think I love you when you’re premenstrual. So. That’s my vote. ^_^
Megan M.s last blog post..Sun Food
Havi,
AMEN, sister.
I wrote a long comment in response but then erased it. I’m premenstrual, too, and I don’t have your grace.
stephs last blog post..The Power of Being Open
Amen AND hallelujah!
Man,when did “awareness” become code for “guilt inflicted by a mass w/o a brain”? 88 ways to take action, my ass. Take it where?!
If everyone donated that portion of their hourly fee that was spent writing or reading that stuff, we’d be a lot closer to the daily practice of moving toward the gentle “I am my brother’s keeper” on an “in my own backyard” basis. Global help starts on our local street corner.
Thanks for the intelligent smack I was longing to deliver to the well-intentioned-gone-awry-support.
lol @SoniaSimone Especially since my husband, upon reading the above list, said, “That’s not homeless–that’s camping!” Great minds, and all…. : )
I am SO glad you saw that list and posted about it here before I found it elsewhere and wasted my time reading the whole thing! (And I would have. Read the whole thing, I mean. I would have been shaking my head in incredulity, but I’d have kept reading and exclaiming, all the way to the bitter end. So, thanks for giving me something much better to read!)
At first I thought the list of ways to fight poverty was a joke. Then I clicked through to the blog action day website to see they were actually being serious. Talk about using guilt to get you to do something. I think they must have spoken to my mother before making that list LOL. My grandmother too…she’s an expert on guilt.
Havi,
Your comments were right on, but said in such a hilarious way I could not stop laughing. Point very well taken though. I am OK with Blog Action Day though if it helps to raise awareness for others and gets the momentum going that will-hopefully- last MORE than a day…
I guess we have to start somewhere…
but not there…
I read a lot of good posts for bloggers who really get it. There was a lot of inspiration and people actually doing stuff. I was glad to see it.
Wendi Kelly-Life’s Little Inspirationss last blog post..Do it Anyway
I think of you as a generous, socially aware person, Havi. I was delighted to find out that I’m not alone in my dislike of this “awareness” day.
Sonia – that was my exact thought about being homeless for a night…that’s camping! heh.
Sandies last blog post..Allergy Kit
Hi
Yes, I read that post. Not all of it because it made me groan. Love your take on it 😉
What I feel about the Blog Action Day is that the focus should have been more about creating what we would like to see in the world rather than looking at what is there and the awefulness of it all. There were so many stats etc. What one focusses on, one attracts…. (that was what my Blog Action Day post was all about).
(There were some uplifting and more positive thoughts and ideas though)
My take on the poverty? First look at the poverty within, care for that, and then the world around you will naturally start to change before you even begin with some sort of action…
Juliet
Yes that list made me cranky as well !
Mike charities need administrators and administration ! – as an administrator who has worked in the not for profit, arts and biz sector in the past it pisses me off that the work we do is expected to be done unpaid in charities. (AND IS UNDERVALUED probably because its mostly done by women) Not all work can be done for free in charities and if we inististed on it then charities in the uk at least would be run by chinless wonders with private incomes exactly the kind of person who needs be made to sleep rough as they don’t think there is any poverty in the UK !
I agree that finding something close to you which you feel connected to is the best way to give. My mom and I sent the marjority of books to two SA school libraries run by a friend. We knew exactly where the books were going who was using them and was told what they needed.
creativevoyages last blog post..self care
Seriously, aren’t we already AWARE that poverty exists? And the two people who aren’t aware that it exists probably aren’t going to be exhorted to donate based upon a blog entry. I think a lot of this effort resulted in people feeling good about themselves, which does happen when you give. But I couldn’t help feeling that this effort was a lot like what you see on Thanksgiving – more volunteers behind the soup line than recipients. For one day. After that, it’s business as usual.
Betsys last blog post..ENERGY
@creativevoyage
From: Juliet in South Africa
I’m presuming “SA” is South Africa?
Any, even if it isn’t, a big thank you!