Shwmae from the banks of the River Lleidi!
The last week has been about dealing with the
tax fraud shenanigans. Bloody hell, every time I’ve thought that it’s now being
dealt with and that I can get on, I find myself back at square one. As a result
things have been pretty dull and uneventful.
I’ve got into a good routine going to the gym
three times a week, finding the energy to go that fourth time has so far eluded
me. At the minute I’ve just been sticking to cardio while I get into the
routine also I really wanted to be sure my dodgy tendon in my arm is undodgy.
So the plan is this week to start doing 30 minutes of mixed weights and 30
minutes of cardio. And then after a few weeks start breaking the days into
specifics: Cardio day, arm day, leg day, etc. If I still can’t muster that
fourth day I’m just going to try and add 20 minutes to each session.
Thanks to the pestilence and its impact on my
sleep pattern I haven’t done any circuit training this year. Usually I’d get up
early and do 30 minutes before starting the day. This week will be about
getting back into that routine.
Have also been blitzing my way through the
Google Digital Marketing course that I mentioned last week. Currently at 56%
complete. Aiming to finish that this week then gotta find some fancy paper to
print my certificate on to… Unless they send out the certificate I’m not sure.
I’ve got back into the swing of Duolingo,
currently in the promotion zone of the Sapphire league getting ready to move up
to the Ruby league!
I like Duolingo but it really needs to let courses like
Welsh include speaking exercises. My ability to read welsh is better than it
ever was in school but without speaking exercises that verbal language part of
my brain is useless. Friends will say something to me in welsh and I have to repeat
what they’ve said, using my fingers the same way I did in school to work out
sums except each finger is a word! Then by the time I’ve worked it out they’ve
walked away chuckling. Despite this the learning continues. Araf, araf, dal i mwnci.
So in lieu
of anything major happening I thought I’d unleash the first of the two politics
related posts I mentioned last week. I originally wrote a modified version of
this way back in 2016 and it is astounding how things have developed. So I decided to do an updated version for where we are
now.
I wrote it
because so many people, myself included, felt powerless and unsure how to
engage with politics. And those who did seem more engaged just seemed to be
spinning their wheels and not getting anything achieved.
The last
three and a bit years have been a Pandora’s Box of awfulness, hate crimes and the
general vitriol that have slithered into every corner of rational discourse. So
I’ve tried to be more informed about Welsh/UK politics. And obviously whatever
anxieties I’ve felt pale in comparison to how marginalised groups feel all the
time, let alone right now. But despite all the bad I was inspired by posts
appearing in my social media feeds from people in the US reacting after Trump
got elected. They were posting daily or weekly ‘Resistance Reports’, the
reports detail how they’ve been engaging with local and national politics and
even providing quick and easy actions that others can do to help (I’m sure the
first one I saw was from Calvin Starnes). I really liked this idea
and wondered if anyone had been doing something similar in the UK
post-referendum that could provide some actions I could follow and post about
in my own reports. I didn’t find anything so then I looked for any guides on
the best ways to engage with my local and national politicians with the plan to
set my own actions and go from there. Again I didn’t find the bounty of
information I was hoping for, a lot of US specific guides but barely any for
the UK. So then I just went looking for relevant information that I could use
to create a rough guide for myself before setting my actions.
I ended up
falling down a rabbit hole of helpful and infuriatingly unhelpful information
for anyone wanting to engage with UK politics without joining a political
party. So I’ve made this post a resource dump for useful links along with
thoughts and suggestions that I’ve gathered from social media and other sites
on how best to use them and set your own actions. I’ll try and keep this as
concise as possible but I apologise if this sprawls or rambles all over the
place.
Now, living
in Wales means there are devolved issues that don’t apply elsewhere, same with
Scotland and Northern Ireland. So I’ve tried to keep as much of this applicable
to the whole UK as I could but I am planning on doing a Welsh politics post
soon.
Getting started:
Getting
more involved with politics doesn’t mean you have to take to the streets with
placards, although this is really helpful when the situation calls for it. It
does mean finding your voice and dialling it up to eleven. It means shaking off
your apathy, stepping out of your comfort zone and putting in some hard work.
It is no longer possible to sit back and continue on under the assumption that
it’s all going to work out for the best.
Possibly
the most important step is that you have to speak up. Hate crimes
soared in the wake of the referendum so it’s really important that we speak up
for others when we witness attacks, verbal or physical. This is extra important
for white guys. Don’t scream or engage, just calmly show that hate will not be
tolerated. The Hollaback group have some great resources about standing up to hate.
The same
goes if someone makes discriminatory comments in front of you, call it out as
unacceptable. I know it can be intimidating; particularly with family but there
are ways to criticise
with kindness. Don’t let this kind of behaviour become normal.
If you live
in a city or large town then there’s likely to be a cultural centres and
organisations for migrants or other minority groups. They often have open days
or other events. Go to them and take friends and family with you. It’s a small
thing but it can help get rid of the us and them bullshit that the daily mail
loves to stir up. If those groups do any community work then respectfully find
out if you can help. This may mean learning how to be
a good ally.
As an
addendum to this: it’s vital that we find ways to build links between echo
chambers. Particularly with those that we support but may not think to get
involved with, such as groups campaigning for racial equality. Understanding
that their fights are symptoms of the same disease that helped bring about
brexit and Trump are really important for being a better ally and building a
stronger resistance.
That being
said some of those echo chambers may not contain people who identify as liberal
so some thought has to be given to find ways to embrace imperfect allies,
they’re imperfections may be rooted in their privilege but if we can’t reach
out to them then it’s all too easy for them to see only the fear-mongering and
to adopt the
mindset behind nationalism. I don’t have
any firm suggestions for this, I’m the first to say I find it easier to
completely ignore the people that voted for brexit or look at what’s happening
in America as a good thing and not debate with them, but I also realise that’s
not very constructive in the post-truth world we find ourselves in. If you have
any thoughts or suggestions then I am all ears. (It’s been 3 and a bit years and I still
don’t have any good responses to this)
Finding out who represents you:
It’s easy
to find your
MP. Their profile page will contain all their contact information as well
as committees they serve on, questions they’ve asked in the Commons and the
results of the election that made them an MP.
You can
also find out how they’ve voted in Parliament at They Work For You. There’s
also links for the voting records of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the
Scottish Parliament. Sadly there is (still!) nothing for the Welsh Assembly due
to lack of resources. (If you’re willing and able, getting this much needed
section up and running could be an action!)
When
contacting your MP, phone their office. Letters and emails are all well and
good but they can be put to one side and ignored. Answering a phone and dealing
with (polite) questions and concerns takes time. Get enough people to call on
the same day or over a set period of time then that’s harder to ignore. But if
like me you don’t particularly enjoy making phone calls at all, then here’s a
great guide to
phoning your reps when you have social anxiety. I
Know that there’s an ingrained British phobia against “being a bother” but if
there is a running theme to this post, it is that you need to be a bother.
Protest and
petitions are fine but how effective have they been over the last three years?
A tiny bit of direct action could actually make the difference. A good list of
ideas is by the Albert Einstein Foundation, they compiled 198 methods of non-violent
action.
MPs will
often hold regular surgeries to update their constituents on various issues and
listen to concerns. Go to these whenever you can, if only to stay informed.
Organise a group of people to go. If you’re attending a surgery with the aim of
raising a concern don’t feel you have to go armed with reams of research on
your particular issue.
Politicians
respond to people engaging, silence and apathy are not protests, they’re giving
up.
UK Issue Links:
It was
tough to decide what to focus on and direct you towards. I didn’t want to
prioritise any issue that was too regional or devolved. So the links below are
broad but great starting points to get informed on specific issues, get
involved and find other relevant links.
Liberty (also
known as the National Council for Civil Liberties) are a cross party, non-party
membership organisation that campaigns on human rights issues in the UK.
They’re against the snooper charter and the use of facial recognition,
providing this helpful guide to
protect yourself online. Become a member, volunteer or make a
donation.
Keep Our NHS Public is
exactly what it sounds like. In Wales the NHS is a devolved issue but across
England it is taking a beating. KONP has a ton of useful information, their
social media has links to NHS campaign groups up and down the country making it
really easy to get involved.
Stop Funding The Hate are a
great campaign to convince companies to stop advertising with the Sun, Daily
Mail and Daily Express. They’re a really effective example of online activism
using social media, so getting involved is easy and can take up very little of
your time. You can also sign up for their newsletter.
Social Links:
These links
are for those of you that may want to get more hands on with a group or issue
and may even want to organise your own groups.
Arts Emergency are responding to increasing
higher education costs by offering a network of mentors to help 16–19 year olds
pursue and develop opportunities in the arts, media, academia and professions
such as Law and Architecture. If you have a background in the arts and
humanities then maybe consider becoming a mentor.
Do-It are a database of
volunteering opportunities so if you looking to get proactive this is a good
place to start.
Seeds For Change Is a
great resource offering training and information if you’re looking to organise
your own campaign group.
The Trussell Trust are
the UK’s food bank network. Hundreds of thousands of people in the UK now
depend on food banks. If you can please donate some time, money or the priority
items your local bank is in need of. It really will make a big difference to
someone.
News:
The New European is a
pop up newspaper that appeared during the referendum. It covers ongoing
developments with brexit. It also covers a broad variety of news from around
Europe which I think is important because Britain and America aren’t the only
places far-right rhetoric are frothing up right now so staying informed outside
our traditional news bubble is important.
Open Democracy Are an
independent media platform that cover topics relating to democracy in the UK.
Another great starting point for getting informed about a variety of important
issues.
I know this
is far from complete or perfect but if you’ve felt overwhelmed and powerless to
make an impact on UK politics this should give you some options to get
involved. There’s no excuses. I know it’s not going to be easy, doing good in
the face of adversity seldom is. But you are needed. If you believe
in democracy, diversity, compassion and equality then it’s never been more
important for you to speak up in defence of them. To resist anyone who tells
you that they are unnecessary or incompatible with a civilised society.
Brave Heart, Dear friends and don’t let the
bastards grind you down.
