Take Action

Racism, sexism, and human rights violations haven't gone anywhere since June. Children are still in cages, Uyghur Muslims are still being murdered in concentration camps, Black people are dying at the hands of police, people are dying of COVID-19, and our human rights are in critical danger (and for some of us, they are already nonexistent). Here's a list of immediate action items that you can take to do your part in fighting for global human rights, broken down by issue. As always, let us know via email if any of this information is incorrect.

US General Election

This election is quite possibly the most important one in our lives thus far. Matters of literal life and death are on the line - from bodily autonomy to LGBTQ+ equality to racial justice to climate change to public health. The election is so important that Scientific American, which has never endorsed a presidential candidate in 175 years, has endorsed Joe Biden because we simply cannot survive four more years of science denial and fascism. Here's what you can do to salvage what's left of our semblance of a democracy:

• If you are a US Citizen who is 18+ years old: vote. Visit this website for specific information on how to vote, and make a plan early - the general election has already started, and you should vote by mail by October 20th at the absolute latest. Make sure to vote all the way down the ballot - this means not only Biden/Harris but also your state's senators, your congressional district's representatives, your state legislators, your county and municipal board members, and anyone else on your ballot.
• If you are voting by mail, check your mail carefully. There have been reports of people in several states receiving paperwork such as absentee ballot request forms cloaked in pro-Tr*mp propaganda (source: Sonya Renee Taylor), so it's especially critical that you check every piece of mail and don't throw it away, as it could be an important document.
• If able, sign up to be a poll worker. There is a critical shortage of poll workers at the moment, and with a combination the fate of the United States Postal Service being uncertain and the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, it's especially critical to make sure we have as many polling locations open as possible so that everyone can vote.
• Save the United States Postal Service. States such as Oregon vote entirely by mail, and the current administration is literally ripping mailboxes off of streets. This will not only hurt the voting process but also delay (or completely stop) deliveries of life-saving medicines and other essentials. Some concrete action steps: sign a petition, contact your legislators, and buy stamps.

Uyghur Muslims in Concentration Camps

Uyghur Muslims are being abused and murdered as we write this. A brief description by the Campaign for Uyghurs: "The Chinese government is committing human rights abuses and specifically targeting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other Turkic Muslims in East Turkistan. These heinous crimes committed by the Chinese government constitute genocide as defined by The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide which was signed by the United National General Assembly in 1948." The Chinese government has also employed "final solution" rhetoric - referencing the ethnic cleansing of Jews that Hitler and the Nazis carried out during the Holocaust in World War II. Here are some things you can do (credit to Campaign for Uyghurs):

• Email the International Olympic Committee urging them to change the location of the 2022 Olympics to a country that is not committing genocide. Their email is studies.centre@olympic.org. Alternatively, you can also fill out a registration form via this link, and set the subject to "Roles and responsibilities of the IOC and its partners." A sample letter can be found here (we recommend switching up the wording a little bit and sprinkling in a few asterisks in place of letters so as to bypass spam filters).
• Tag the IOC on social media for the same purpose - find them on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and another Twitter.
  
• Boycott Mulan, which was filmed by Disney in China. Disney gave film credits to the government in Xinjiang, where a million Muslims are being tortured and killed in concentration camps.
  

US Supreme Court

On September 18, 2020, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away. Though would be lovely if we could collectively take a few days to just mourn her death, President Tr*mp and Senate Republicans are already rushing to confirm her replacement. With this 6-3 majority on the Supreme Court, our lives are on the line - women's rights to bodily autonomy, LGBTQ+ people's rights to exist, the fates of millions of immigrants, and the fate of our environment are all at risk. While RBG fundamentally served a racist, anti-Indigenous, and capitalist ruling class, replacing her with a Tr*mp nominee will only mean more people dying. Hence, we are not going to idolize her, but we will encourage you to take action within the scope of our current system. Some resources:

• Read about the issues that the Supreme Court could decide on.
• Register to vote. We've said this already, but it's so important that it bears repeating.
• Email your senators to demand that they uphold Senator McC*nnell's precedent that a new justice not be confirmed in an election year. See this post.
• Text "SIGN NTFIEZ" to 50409 (credit to Harvard Disorientation on Instagram).
• If you have a uterus, visit your local Planned Parenthood as soon as possible and before November - Plan B is free with an ID, and be sure to also look into long-term birth control options such as IUDs. If you have the means, consider donating to Planned Parenthood as well.
• Text "RBG" to 50409 (credit to Resist Bot).

Environmental Emergencies

Many of you who are based on the west coast of the United States probably woke up to orange skies sometime in the past few weeks. Needless to say, this is not normal. While the air quality may be improving slightly now, people are still struggling to recover from the wildfires, and the policies (or rather, lack of policies) being implemented by our governments are only going to make this situation worse, ultimately leading to the destruction of our environment. California just passed legislation to allow former prisoners who served on firefighting crews to become paid firefighters, but this is barely the bare minimum. What to do:

• If you are a resident of California, email Governor Newsom, saying something to the effect of "I demand that you immediately ban hydraulic fracturing and revoke existing fracking permits you have given to corporations." Just this year, Governor Newsom has quietly issued 360 fracking permits to corporations, which have no doubt destroyed California's land and exacerbated the wildfire situation. Click this link to access Governor Newsom's email form.
• If you are a resident of California, email your state legislator and assembly member about banning fracking as well. Find your reps here.
  
• If you are in an affected region, keep track of your air quality (on iPhones, Siri should be able to tell you the current air quality if you ask it "air quality"). Keep windows closed, and invest in an air purifier if able.
  
• If you are not in an affected region, please don't travel to an affected region - these places are currently trying to mobilize their resources to fight fires, and tourism is unhelpful (and in fact, violent) at this time. TL;DR - if your home is not on fire, please stay inside it.
  
• Check out this post for places to donate to help survivors of the wildfires.

Children in Cages

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) is committing atrocious human rights violations. Not only are children being detained at the border in cages, but ICE is also violently and forcefully removing the uteruses of people who have been detained. This is nothing short of ethnic cleansing and White supremacy. What's more, COVID-19 is still ravaging these detention centers unchecked. What to do:

• Follow @unitedwedream on Instagram to learn about what's happening and what actions to take.
• If there is a chance you or someone close to you may be affected by an ICE raid, know what to do in that case. Among other things, (1) don't open your door, (2) remain silent by pleading the fifth amendment, (3) don't sign anything, (4) report and record the incident if able, and (5) fight your case. Source: Sarah Epperson on Instagram & unitedwedream.org/end.
• If you are not an undocumented immigrant, take some steps to help those in your community. Among other things, interrogate ICE agents if you see them posted outside of homes, ask for warrants, remind people of their rights, ask why someone is being detained, record badge numbers/license plates of ICE agents, and know your rights to be present and bear witness to such incidents. Source: Sarah Epperson on Instagram & unitedwedream.org/end.
  
• Visit this link by Voto Latino to email your legislators, demanding that they close concentration camps. A sample template email (written by Voto Latino and transcribed by us) can be found here.
  
• ​Text "SIGN AHZJLZ" to 50409 (credit to @anguscloud on Instagram).
  

Black Lives Matter

As always, the movement for racial justice is not over. Please continue to check this site for resources. Some concrete things to do:

• Take "BLM" (and any variations of it, especially hashtags) out of your social media biographies. Doing so only centers yourself and your brand, and not the voices of Black people. Instead, link to a resource site such as this one.
• Support BIPOC mental health, especially in honor of this September being Suicide Awareness Month. Donate to organizations such as the Loveland Foundation.
• Don't stop sharing stories on your social media accounts and using your platforms to uplift BIPOC voices.
• If you are a student, demand ethnic studies at your school and take any ethnic studies courses that are already available to you. An example of an ethnic studies campaign at the secondary school level can be found here, and an example of a university-level campaign is here.
• Follow Color of Change (@colorofchange on Twitter and Instagram) for petitions and campaigns to get justice for victims of policing and defund the police.
• Wear a mask. COVID-19 disproportionately affects BIPOC, so you are being violent and racist by going outside with no protective equipment.
  

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This Post Is Not Exhaustive

There are obviously many more injustices occurring in the world than were covered in this post - from human rights abuses in Yemen to disaster recovery in Lebanon to a pandemic still ravaging the United States for completely preventable reasons. We will continue publishing more action items on this blog, and be sure to also check out this site for resources.