Women Against Registry (W.A.R.) Activism 101

ACTIVISM

Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw famously stated, “the reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the unreasonable man.”

ACTIVISM vs. ACTIVISM

A huge amount of activism is carried out by people who would not label themselves as activists.  This is important to recognize, otherwise you fail to realize the scope and amount of activism being carried out and risk minimizing this type of social change as a specific form of activism i.e., as carried out by the activist.

WHAT IS ACTIVISM?

ACTIVISM consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic or environmental change. W.A.R. activism can take a wide range of form from:

• Writing letters to newspapers or politicians
• Political campaigning
• Economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing businesses
• Rallies
• Street marches

Some activists try to persuade people to change their behavior directly, rather than to persuade governments to change laws. Our movement will be involved in both by bringing awareness to the issues brought about by existing and newly proposed laws governing the registrants and their families as well as the fallacies of public protection provided via public registries. We will be involved in activism, lobbying, education and re-entry resource information.

ACTIVISM is the doctrine or practice of vigorous action or involvement as a means of achieving political or other desired goals.

JUDICIAL ACTIVISM

“Judicial activism” is a term coined years ago by critics of judges who make rulings based on their own beliefs and preferences, rather than on the law as written. It is not a very complicated notion, but political rhetoric can confuse and distort anything.

HOW TO BEGIN?

The first step in getting involved is to make sure your talents and interest are known to the people at Women Against Registry who assigns folks to work on initiatives and individual tasks.

We are unique group, dedicated to a particular issue and when an opportunity presents itself you will hopefully become comfortable enough to talk about the need for change. Look around your city and get involved in Town Hall Meetings, Community Education Groups and such. This is an excellent way to get our message out. You might be surprised to learn how many times you will hear about some friend or family member who has experienced something related to the issue.

A fulfilling process

Getting involved in activism is a very personal decision. Unlike school, no one is forcing you to be an activist. Unlike work, no one is paying you to be an activist. Your involvement and commitment are completely based upon your own feelings, your own morals and your own passion.

There are thousands and thousands of issues a person could choose to focus on; poverty, racism, environmental destruction, war, corporate power, police brutality, democracy, free speech, etc.

There are many ways of attacking a problem. Should we have protests and rallies? Write the editors of newspapers? Organize a fundraiser? Lobby elected officials? Write a song? Challenge current thinking and actions….yes if that is what it takes!

With so many important decisions to make it becomes obvious that step one is to educate yourself. Read a lot. Ask questions. Think. Try to see the world as it really is, not as you’ve always been taught to see it.

Then think about the sort of world you’d like to live in. What would be different? What would be the same?

Then work with us to figure out how to make the world we live in more like the one we seek.

Think about the things that matter most. What angers you about this issue? What motivates you? What are you passionate about? You don’t need to ask or answer these questions alone. If you look around, you will find many people wrestling with these same concerns, who care about the world and where it is headed. Activism is usually the work of many people, choosing to act together, out of their own desires and free will. It’s about openness, teamwork, cooperation and courage. You’ll meet a lot of interesting, passionate, creative people who might become your best friends. And even though it might be a lot of hard work, it sure is more satisfying than wringing your hands, feeling like you can’t affect change or even worse, giving up!

We shall prevail and we shall keep moving forward and collaborating with others to reach our desired goals.

Activism101.pdf