Hey, so I don’t talk about politics much on here, tumblr’s my safe zone both for myself and my followers
(Because who doesn’t need the break?) BUT
I did want to mention something that I do that is much less overwhelming than a lot of the MUST CALL THIS ONE NOW
AND THIS ONE
until you have a list of fifty million things that are ALL TERRIBLE and you feel like it’s your fault the world is about to end because you can’t do them all yourself RIGHT NOW
‘cause of course that’s no good for anyone, especially yourself but also the world
so Part The First is: https://5calls.org/
which numerous other people have mentioned, but in case you’ve missed it, is a website which gives you a manageable list of issues, pulls up the appropriate phone numbers for who to call, and gives you a script as well as a place to record your feedback (ie message, talked to someone, etc) so you can chart your progress.
but jilly, my followers say, the telephone is an infernal device that triggers my anxiety and maybe I can make a call or two or maybe I can’t but either way I end up having a panic attack and crying next to my desk all morning HOW IS THIS BETTER?
wow, think the other half of my followers who don’t have weird phone issues, that is a very specific example jilly, are you ok over there? to which I reply I AM NOW BECAUSE I STOPPED TRYING TO MAKE PHONE CALLS
5calls.org is, even if you’re not actually making literal phone calls, an excellent organizational tool to help prevent yourself from getting overwhelmed by ALL THE TERRIBLE EVERYWHERE and gives you a bullet list of Actual Things To Do and tells you just to start with five of them rather than trying to do 100 at once. Yay. <3
which brings us to the how do you use 5calls.org if you’re not calling people, jilly?
Part The Second: https://resistbot.io/
Now, you can uses resistbot either via texting on your phone OR facebook messenger (which may help some of you because Easier to Type At Computer or if you don’t actually have a smartphone, though I know politicians never believe that that is a thing) and it will FAX your comments of whatever sort directly to your Senators’ office(s). (YES THEY STILL HAVE FAXES! It’s amazing.) Avoid the phone! Don’t buy stamps! Just say whatever and it will print it FOR YOU. (It will unlock additional options as you use it, but that’s where it starts, faxes to your Senators. It has a very nicely paced progression.)
AND, if you are also using 5calls.org, you can just … use their list and copy their scripts so if you don’t know what to say while typing any more than you do while having to talk, it’s all right there for you.
So hey, be an adult, participate, but there are tools out there so doing so doesn’t make you even more stressed than the news does to begin with. (There are way more tools than just these two, obviously, but they are very user-friendly and easy to access with a computer even if you’ve never been politically active in your life.)
(via wildehacked)
