Building mental wellness on a foundation of strength
I don't have the economics background to speak to the feasibility of universal basic income, so I'm not going to try, but after a conversation on the topic with Shira of ShiraDest, I thought it would be interesting to explore the potential benefits for people with mental illness. What universal basic income is While various… Continue reading The Benefits of Universal Basic Income for People with Mental Illness
Recently, I read a story in the local news that made me angry (not that that's unusual lately). A mother had gone to court to try to block her 17-year-old from getting a gender-affirming double mastectomy. A BC Supreme Court judge issued an injunction to stop the surgery that was scheduled to happen the next… Continue reading Gender Identity and Parental Obstruction
We all have a mix of many different factors that shape our worldview. I thought I'd tell you some of mine and hopefully you'll tell me some of yours. Growing up Education was highly valued in my family. My parents also believed in being very careful with money and not spending money you didn't have… Continue reading What Influences Your Worldview?
ACLU Washington Good morning, my American friends. It's election day! Your country is depending on you, and in many ways, the world is depending on you. Voting is your power, and if you haven't voted already, today is the time to exercise that power. ACLU NorCal
Part of this graphic is from And Still I Vote The voter registration deadline in some US states is October 4.ABC News state by state deadline list As ordinary citizens, there are a lot of things that we don't have control over. There's a lot of money, power, special interests, and connections that determine who… Continue reading Your Vote Matters
The Hall of Names at Yad Vashem – David Shankbone / CC BY-SA from Wikimedia Commons Yesterday, I saw that the Holocaust was trending on Twitter. It turns out that it was because of new survey results. Claims Conference released the results of its U.S. Millennial Holocaust Knowledge and Awareness Survey, which surveyed 18 to… Continue reading The Holocaust and the Failure of the US Education System
Two men get killed. Some members of the Christian right are calling the man who killed them a hero and a patriot sent by God. Something isn't adding up here. On August 25, 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse grabbed his AR-15 style rifle and left his home in Antioch, IL, to head over to Kenosha, WI. He… Continue reading Kyle Rittenhouse as Christian Right Hero?
I heard recently the Daisy Coleman, who was in the 2016 documentary Audrie & Daisy, had died by suicide. I had watched the film on Netflix a couple of years ago, but I thought I'd watch it again and write a post about it in honour of Daisy. Rape culture was a problem then, and… Continue reading Rape Culture Kills
Lembagai KITA / CC BY-SA Just because slavery is no longer legal doesn't mean it isn't happening. Human trafficking isn't an issue that gets a lot of public attention, but if you look, what you can find is scary. What human trafficking is There are thee fundamentals elements of human trafficking: Actions: This includes recruiting,… Continue reading Slavery Isn’t Over – The Horror of Human Trafficking
Lately white privilege has been a hot topic. The people I've come across who take a stance against the idea of white privilege seem to have in common the line of thinking that they haven't been handed anything, so how can they have social privilege? I thought it might be worth reframing social privilege in… Continue reading Another Way of Looking at Social Privilege