Brainstorming post

[sathari]

In addition to the master post of ideas and suggestions, on the encouragement of one of our wonderful mods tassosss, I'm offering up a brainstorming post for batting ideas back and forth--- things we've done that seem to be effective, ideas we have, especially for making activism easier in general... and, because of the fannish spirit of this comm, any ideas for activism/tools/etc. that you've gotten from fiction and other media? Or for that matter any stories/art/music/other creations that inspire and support your activism that you want to share?

Comments

[teaotter]

It's not fannish, but I recommend setting up a google alert on all your reps, especially if they're Republicans.

I mentioned this elsewhere, but I've come to the conclusion that some reps will toss an opinion to the media -- that they're unhappy about the way a bill is put together, for example -- as a way of floating an idea past their constituents and seeing if those voters care enough to yell about it. So finding out what your reps are talking about can give you an idea of what issues they're already willing to move on.

And heck, even if they're being stubborn -- if every time they speak up for something, they get called, then they know their voters are paying attention.

Right now, pretty much every single member of the House is freaking out over the last election and what it means for them. They were expecting a completely different outcome, and their assumptions about how to get re-elected look shaky. There are a million surveys being done right now, in both red and blue districts, trying to figure out what voters "really" want. So it's a great time to tell them, in no uncertain terms, loudly and often.

[sathari]

Hey, ALL ideas are welcome! Definitely doesn't HAVE to be fannish.

And this one, I love. Keeping an eye on our reps and speaking up, over and over again. Just holding the line. (I remember in the post about "...aren't Trump supporters and Gamergaters an overlapping population and didn't we beat them last time?", someone made a comment to the effect that, "We didn't win, they just got bored." Possibly that is actually exactly what winning this one will look like: a certain amount of complacency among Trump voters who got their guy, and enough vocally dogged determination on the part of the rest of us that we become the ones whom our elected officials hear, because we're speaking up to them. And, hey, based purely on the popular vote, there are more of us, anyway. *chuckle*)

[tassosss]

Maybe one thing we could do is put each state up for claiming (people could take their own, or another if there's multis) and then have that person/group track google alerts, webpages, press releases, etc and once a month put up an update to the comm?

... the more I think about this, the more I feel like we're going to be reproudicing a secondhand news room, which isn't necessarily a bad model. If folks claim a topic like healthcare or immigration they can track the reporters and organizations who are doing the most useful coverage on where to put pressure in congress and we can ask the folks on the comm (or in our own journals) in those states to make the call.

We could even have people sign up for a topic to watch by month like a reccing comm.

[sathari]

I like this idea, though, as I'm new to political strategy/news-tracking or this sort, I'd need some more tips on what to track/look for and how, since we wouldn't want to miss anything important (whereas it sounds--- and more to the point from the state of this comm, LOOKS--- like you know what you're doing)! So maybe a "new to the news" guide along with the state/issue-claiming?

[executrix]

I bought a bunch of pre-stamped postcards at the Post Office, addressed them to my representative (and left some blank for senators and local officials) and stuck on some of the mailing labels I get for being on every sucker list in America. Then, when I want to express an opinion, I just grab one and write "Please vote for Bill because" or "Thank you for voting for Bill because"--waiting for my computer to warm up is a good time for this, or as soon as I see something on the news.

[watersword]

Holy crap this is a GENIUS idea.