Easy morning activism from bed

December 20, 2017 10:26 AM

So for over a year now, I have woken up angry. What is a peaceful morning activist activity I can do from bed besides angry commenting on Facebook? Something that makes a difference and doesn’t depress me.

I’m looking for peaceful phone activities that I can do that would actually make a difference somewhere, somehow, without me getting all worked up and yelling at my phone. Something that is rather mindless and without too much emotional attachment.

Way back when, I would click on animal pictures for Snapshot Serengeti, but I’m wondering if there is anything else I can do that actually helps even more, especially in regards to the situation here in the U.S. right now, or any environmental cause anywhere.

This isn’t to take the place of real work, just a little something that can have more value than scrolling fb and the news with little or no drama before I get out of bed.

(And if SS is actually pretty helpful, please let me know.)

posted by Vaike to Grab Bag (11 answers total)

Use ResistBot to reach out to your elected officials
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 10:28 AM on December 20, 2017 [10 favorites]

Does it have to be on the phone? You could keep a stack of postcards and a pen next to your bed, and write a few Postcards to Voters before you get up.
posted by nat at 10:31 AM on December 20, 2017 [9 favorites]

Response by poster: Thank you. Yes, I do want it on the phone, as getting off fb AND the phone probably won’t happen just yet.
posted by Vaike at 10:46 AM on December 20, 2017

Sign up with Rapid Resist to text voters in red states and get them to call their senators and representatives, invite them to rallies, and more. You can easily text 200+ voters in only minutes while comfortably swaddled in your favorite blankets.

It's super convenient and easy and I have had many good text conversations with folks (and a smattering of people who have called me a loser or moron). And I really like this because I live in a blue state and don't have to worry much about my Senators or Representative voting the wrong way.
posted by brookeb at 11:03 AM on December 20, 2017 [2 favorites]

I do the round at Greater Good every morning. It's clicktivism but it works for me. After Greater Good I do Free Kibble which uses clicks to feed dogs and cats in shelters and buy cat litter. This way I feel like I'm doing a bit for animals as well as people.
posted by irisclara at 11:05 AM on December 20, 2017

Is MapSwipe any good? It lets you find settlements in unmapped parts of the world so that aid agencies can keep track of where people are in need.
posted by ambrosen at 12:39 PM on December 20, 2017

I started watching Upworthy videos on Facebook first thing in the morning, then spending a few minutes reading up on the organisations they feature. For example, yesterday I learned about Life After Hate and talked about it with a friend. It’s still on Facebook, and some would call this slacktivism, but to me information is powerful, as is the reminder that there are good things worth fighting for.
posted by third word on a random page at 1:33 PM on December 20, 2017

There is an amazing woman in my life that is incredibly active in her community and in politics. Every morning, she makes a post about the positive things or challenges her day ahead holds...and she always manages to do so from a place of gratitude.

I'm always amazed at how non-preachy it is and how much her outlook on life inspires me to see possibility in everything.
posted by singinginmychains at 1:47 PM on December 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

Have you connected with your local Indivisible chapter? Every morning around 7:00 am, they send out the calls for the day. They provide the script and the phone numbers for your local congressional delegation so you can call and share your opinion on the day's issue.

Depending on what time you get up, you might be able to do that day's call, but I get up so early that I often do the previous day's call. You can leave a message with your name and contact info if the office isn't open.

I hope this helps! Thank you for speaking out.
posted by metarkest at 2:21 PM on December 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

What about calling elected officials who agree with you on whatever issue and tell them to keep on keeping on? I look at a lot of the things saying call person X to tell them how you feel about Y and it usually feels adversarial. It’s nice to be able to say “thanks for speaking out on this issue, I’m grateful that you are out there advocating for people like me who feel strongly about this topic.”
posted by kat518 at 7:47 PM on December 20, 2017

Related to kat518's suggestion, I've been getting on Make 5 Calls in the morning and knocking at least one out for a few days this week. Because it's early, I mostly leave messages and so it is less stressful than talking to a person.
posted by koucha at 1:19 PM on December 21, 2017