#like zines can be very good educational resources

[obstinatecondolement]

I was watching a YouTube video about making zines and the person ended it with a call to action to be informed about Palestine and was like "And what better way than by reading zines???" There are. Um. Better ways...

[manikadenglishblog]

BLOG #3: Taking A Stand Through The Arts

Film Viewing

Before we had this activity of watching the movie Slingshot Hip-hop, my only exposure to the Palestinian struggle was through the news and social media after October. I had seen the suffering and plight of their people and thought, “Why?�� Why was this happening to them? What is the reason? I then sought out educational resources that explained the history of the current Palestinian occupation, and I was even more horrified by the current events. I immediately knew what stance I was going to take, and that was with the Palestinian people. 

After we had watched Slingshot Hip-hop, a few weeks ago, I was now exposed to the everyday life of Palestinians. I saw how they live everyday under occupation, I saw how they are oppressed, with gigantic walls, shootings, arrests, and discrimination. I think to show the everyday human life of the Palestinians is very important in order to get people to care. Usually, oppressed people are only presented as a statistic, the media never shows how they live their lives. Humanizing them by showing their culture, life, and history is a vital step to get people to stand in solidarity with them. 

Zine Making

Now, my teacher taught us how to make a zine, and its history of being used when the truth was being censored. My concept for my zine was to highlight the experiences of the Palestinians under occupation, how they were being oppressed inside their own land, and how they fought back against it. I expressed my feelings and opinions through both art and words. I may not be the most skilled at drawing, but I felt that I had truly projected my own feelings into my zine. A page is dedicated to a drawing, and the next is where I write my thoughts and opinions. I wrote about why this occupation creates an unjust and inhumane system within the Palestinians’ own land, and how this must end for them to finally reclaim their own land and be free from this colonialist occupation.

I gave this zine to one of my friends, they do not attend Manila Science High School, but they immediately understood what I was writing about, since they are also educated on this topic. From what I gather from their response, we share the same opinions towards the occupation and we both had an insightful conversation about it. I was quite glad that we both heavily agreed upon this.

Rap Song Writing

Another activity that was assigned to us was to create a rap song, and just like the movie we watched, Slingshot Hip-hop, we used this opportunity to speak up about a prevalent issue in our society, which is LGBTQ+ rights and discrimination. The song has an aggressive and provoking tone, which is very fitting as it seems the song’s perspective is from an individual who has been discriminated against for their whole life. Writing these experiences, especially through rap, helps a person to express themselves in a creative and “safe” way, and what I mean by that is it is better to channel your anger through creative mediums like this, instead of violence. Because with these songs, you are creating art that can be shared with other people and can possibly inspire them to make art like this too. I find this experience to be really inspiring and empowering, because I find it very beautiful that we humans can turn our life experiences into a piece of art.

Creativity and Criticality

What I find very interesting is how we are able to use our ability to create art and to be able to use it critically. So many art forms emerged from critics of societal issues and rebellion, so creativity and criticality might even be intrinsically linked in the first place. A great example of this are visual art forms. In my observation through social media, many digital artists create art to show their support for many good causes, particularly Palestine in recent times. Creating art is a way to revolt, in a way, because it gives a person freedom to say their thoughts or protest. Another reason why is because art builds solidarity with other people that support the same cause, because through this medium, we find a way to make statements with one piece of art, and through our mind we are able to know what this art piece is saying.

[remoteresource]

How to outsource blog writing in 5 easy steps

So, you want to make a name for yourself as a blogger but don’t have the time for writing? Don’t worry, you aren’t the first person to pull their hair on this puzzle. Many people aspire to promote their brand via blogs but are too swamped with work to tap away at their computers. Entrepreneur’s life! However, there’s an easy way out. You can always outsource blog writing tasks to a competent writer and get your job done.  

Here’s a bunch of content writing stats to grab your eyeballs:  

The content marketing industry’s revenue is slated to touch $135 billion by 2026.  

A major part of content marketing (70%) is based on written content alone – both long and short forms. 

‘How to’ articles are the biggest sellers on the internet with an 80% reader share.  

They also attract 1.5x more organic traffic. That’s your game if you want quick success in the blog writing world. 

Publishing 2 to 6 times a week can increase your readership by 50%. So, you have to publish a lot – a lot!  

You can double the appeal of your blog post by adding snappy imagery.  

Phew! That’s a lot of work to be done to become a successful blogger. So, I’ll keep parroting, “Outsource blog posts!”  

If you are still here, it means you are pretty darn serious about becoming a blogger. So, let me tell you the secret of how to outsource blog writing in 5 easy steps.  

Come on! Put your reading glasses on and start reading! 

1. What’s on Your Mind? 

You can’t start your blog writing journey without deciding what you want to write on. Is there a particular subject or set of subjects that excites you? A good starting point is to leverage your knowledge of different subjects to home in on the topics you want to write on. Start by creating a list of 5 topics you want to begin your writing journey with.  

2. Choose a Platform 

First-time bloggers and writers often get confused about which platforms to write and promote their writeups on. You can choose free platforms like Medium and LinkedIn or ask to write Guest Posts for established online journals. The latter can seem futile at first because of the rejections coming from the editors of established e-zines. However, outsourcing blog posts can be helpful in this case.  

When you hire content writers from remote staffing companies like Remote Resource TM or contract a freelance writer to do your bidding, they take care of guest posting woes. These are professional writers I am talking about, and they have enough contacts to get writeups published in your name in all the major journals. With some luck, you can have a ghostwriter promote your blogs on one of the major news outlets.  

3. Decide on Your Hiring Budget  

Compensation for content writing experts tends to vary depending on the region. An average American freelance writer will charge you $15 to $45 an hour or maybe even higher depending on their experience and vintage. But typically, Indian content writers charge much less than their Western counterparts. I know what you’re thinking! “Is an Indian content writer good enough for my rodeo blogs?” Well, throw them into any topic and they’ll come out sailing.  

What people in the West tend to miss is that India was a British colony for a very long time and the most popular medium of education in the country still happens to be English. So, Indians know English. Period. If you are worried about their knowledge of American culture, you have grossly misjudged them. India has Netflix!  

The best Indian content writers can be found working for remote staffing companies. When you hire SEO content experts from one of these companies, you get good blog writers as part of the deal. Besides, A1 companies like Remote Resource TM love to sweeten the deal with too-good-to-be-true hourly rates and no-strings-attached hiring contracts. 

4. Build a Healthy Working Relationship 

Unless you build a nice working relationship with your content writer or ghostwriter, you won’t be able to build your niche as a blogger. Talk to them a lot. Try to understand what they are thinking. Be a patient listener and help them out with writing challenges. If you are separated by geographical distance, use communication tools to stay in touch with your writer. But more than anything else, give them the space to use their imagination. It’s true that writers like to procrastinate. But which artist doesn’t?  

5. To AI or Not To AI 

Well well…time to address the elephant in the room! With AI companies flooding the market with writing tools and boastful claims, it’s easy to lose track of the original plan – to establish yourself as an entertaining and trustworthy blog writer. So far, no AI tool maker has been able to build an app that can think and write like a human.  

“Thinking is a human feature. Will AI someday really think? That’s like asking if submarines swim. If you call it swimming then robots will think, yes.” That’s Noam Chomsky for you. There’s a growing consensus that AI-written content doesn’t rank as well as human-written stuff. And it takes an avid reader a split second to discover if a writeup is AI-written or human-written. Old-fashioned readers will hate you if they discover you are feeding them machine-written stuff. Gen Z is more forgiving. So, ‘to AI or not’ is for you to decide.  

Summing it up 

Writing is a beautiful art form. And it can bring you a pretty penny if you can establish yourself as a blogger. Doesn’t matter if you don’t have the time to grab a pencil and scribble on sheets of paper. Leave it to professional writers. Hire writers and content marketers from India!  

[hellomynameisbisexual]

I’d go so far as to say that the nomination probably saved the site, in fact. For those who need a little background: despite being a small voluntary project the site was nominated for the 2014 Publication of the Year award by Stonewall, the UK’s largest LGBT charity, just nine months after its inception. This was a landmark step in Stonewall’s positive new direction on bi issues. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first time Stonewall had specifically nominated a specifically bi publication or organisation for an award. At this point my co-founder, who was taking care of the business side of things, had recently jumped ship and I was seriously considering packing the whole thing in. I won’t lie, I was astonished to read the email.

I’d worked on a publication which won the award under my editorship a few years previously. Unlike Biscuit, however, g3 magazine – at the time one of the two leading print mags for lesbian and bi women in the UK – had an estimated readership of 140,000, had been going for eight years and boasted full-time paid office staff and regular paid freelancers. Biscuit, by contrast, was being dragged along by one weary unpaid editor and a bunch of unpaid writers who understandably, for the most part, couldn’t commit to regularly submitting work.

Little Biscuit’s enormous competition for the award consisted of Buzzfeed, Attitude.co.uk, iNewspaper and Property Week. We didn’t win – that accolade went to iNewspaper – but the nomination was nevertheless, as I say, a huge catalyst to continue with the site. I launched a crowdfunder, which finished way off target. I sold one ad space, for two months. Then nothing. I attempted in vain to recruit a sales manager but nobody wanted to work on commission. Some wonderful writers came and went. There were periods of tumbleweed when I frantically had to fill the site with my own writing, thereby completely defeating the object of providing a platform for a wide range of bi voices.

The Stonewall Award nomination persuaded me to keep going with the site

The departure of the webmaster was another blow. Thankfully by this point I had a co-editor on board – the amazing Libby – so I was persuaded to stick with it. And here we are now. I don’t actually know where the next article is coming from. That’s not a good feeling. But, apart from for Biscuit, I try not to write for free anymore myself, so I understand exactly why that is. As a freelance journo trying to make a living I’ve had to be strict with myself about that. I regularly post on the “Stop Working For Free” Facebook group and often feel a pang of misplaced guilt because I ask my writers to write for free, even though I’m working on the site for free myself, and losing valuable time I could be spending on looking for paid work.

Biscuit hasn’t exactly been a stranger to controversy, in addition to its financial and staffing issues. Its original tagline – “for girls who like girls and boys” – was considered cis-centric by some, leading to accusations that the site had some kind of trans/genderqueer*-phobic agenda. Which was amusing, as at the height of this a) we’d just had two articles about non-binary issues published and b) I was actually engaged to a genderqueer partner, a fact they were clearly unaware of. Now the site is under fire from various pansexual activists who object to the term “bisexual”. To clarify – “girl and boys” was supposed to imply a spectrum and, no, we don’t think “bi” applies only to an attraction to binary folk. The site aims the main part of its content at female-spectrum readers attracted to more than one gender because this group does have specific needs. But there is something here for EVERYONE bisexual. Anyway, it’s a shame all of this gossip was relayed secondhand, and the people in question didn’t think to confront me about it (which at least the pan activists have bothered to do). We damage our community immeasurably with these kinds of Chinese whispers.

Biscuit ed Libby, being amazing

Whilst trying to keep the site afloat, I’ve also been building on the work I started right back when I edited g3, and trying to improve bi visibility in other media outlets. I’ve recently had articles published by Cosmopolitan, SheWired, The F-Word, GayStar News and Women Make Waves and I’m constantly emailing other sites which I’ve not yet written for with bi pitches. Unfortunately, although I am over the moon to be writing for mainstream outlets such as Cosmo about bi issues, it’s been an uphill struggle trying to persuade some editors out there that they have more readers to whom bi-interest stories apply than they might think. It’s an incredibly exhausting and frustrating process.

Libby and I are doing our best with Biscuit. I can’t guarantee that I would be doing anything at all with it if Libby hadn’t arrived on the scene, so once again I would like to mention how fabulous she is. But we desperately need more writers. We need some help with site design and tech issues. We need a hand with the business and sales side of things. We can’t do it without you. And if you know any rich bisexual heiresses who read Biscuit, please do send them our way. 😉

Grant Denkinson’s story

denkinsonpanel

Grant speaks on a panel chaired by Biscuit’s Lottie at a Bi Visibility Day event

So first of all, explain a little about the activism you’re involved/have been involved in. 


“I’ve been involved with bisexual community organising for a bit over 20 years. Some has been within community: writing for and editing our national newsletter, organising events for bisexuals and helping others with their events by running workshop sessions or offering services such as 1st aid. I’ve spoken to the media about bisexuality and organised bi contingents at LGBT Pride events (sometimes just me in a bi T-shirt!). I’ve helped organise and participated in bi activist weekends and trainings. I’ve help train professionals about bisexuality. I’ve also piped up about bisexuality a lot when organising within wider LGBT and gender and sexuality and relationship diversity umbrellas. I’ve been a supportive bi person on-line and in person for other bi folks. I’ve been out and visibly bi for some time. I’ve helped fund bi activists to meet, publish and travel. I’ve funded advertising for bi events. I’ve set up companies and charities for or including bi people. I’ve personally supported other bi activists.”


What made you get involved?

“
In some ways I was looking for a way to be outside the norm and to make a difference and coming out as bi gave me something to push against. I’ve been less down on myself when feeling attacked. I’ve also found the bi community very welcoming and where I can be myself and so wanted to organise with friends and to give others a similar experience. There weren’t too many others already doing everything better than I could.”

How do you feel about the state of bi activism worldwide (esp UK and USA) at the moment?

“There have been great changes for same-sex attracted people legally and socially and these have happened quickly. Bi people have been involved with making that happen and benefit from it. We can also be hidden by gay advances or actively erased. We still have bi people not knowing many or any other local bi people, not seeing other bisexuals in the mainstream or LGT worlds and not knowing or being able to access community things with other bis. We are little represented in books or the media and people don’t know about the books and zines and magazines already available. The internet has made it easy to find like-minded people but also limited privacy and I think is really fragmented and siloed. It is hard to find bisexuals who aren’t women actors, harmful or fucked up men or women in pornography designed for straight men. We have persistent and high quality bi events but they are sparse and small.”

What’s causing you to feel disillusioned?

“I’m fed up of bi things just not happening if I don’t do them. Not everything should be in my style and voice and I shouldn’t be doing it all. I and other activists campaign for bi people to be more OK and don’t take care of ourselves enough while doing so. People are so convinced we don’t exist they don’t bother with a simple search that would find us. We have little resources while having some of the worst outcomes of any group. I don’t want to spend my entire life being the one person who reminds people about bisexuals, including our so-called allies. I’m not impressed with the problem resolution skills in our communities and while we talk about being welcoming I’m not sure we’re very effective at it. I’m fed up with mouthing the very basics and never getting into depth about bi lives and being one who supports but who is not supported. I’m all for lowering barriers but at a certain point if people don’t actively want to do bi community volunteering it won’t happen. Some people are great critics but build little.”

What do you want to say to other activists about this?

“Why are we doing this personally? I’m not sure we know. How long will we hope rather than do? Honestly, are there so few who care? Alternatively should we stop the trying to do bi stuff and either do some self-analysis, be happy to accept being what we are now as a community, chill out and just let stuff happen or give up and go and do something else instead.”

Patrick Richards-Fink’s story

085d4de So first of all, explain a little about the activism you’re involved/have been involved in.

“Mostly internet – I am a Label Warrior, a theorist and educator. Here’s how I described it on my blog: “One of the reasons that I am a bisexual activist rather than a more general queer activist is because I see every day people just like me being told they don’t belong. It doesn’t mean I don’t work on the basic issues that we all struggle against — homophobia, heterosexism, classism, out-of-control oligarchy, racism, misogyny, this list in in no particular order and is by no means comprehensive. But I have found that I can be most effective if I focus, work towards understanding the deep issues that drive the problems that affect people who identify the same way that I have ever since I started to understand who I am. I find that I’m not a community organizer type of activist or a storm the capitol with a petition in one hand and a bullhorn in the other activist — I’m much better at poring over studies and writing long wall-o’-text articles and occasionally presenting what I’ve gleaned to groups of students until my voice is so hoarse that I can barely do more than croak.” So internet, and when I was still in school, a lot of on-campus stuff. Now I’m moving into a new phase where my activism is more subtle – I’m working as a therapist, and so my social justice lens informs my treatment, especially of bi and trans people.”

What made you get involved?

“I can’t not be.”

How do you feel about the state of bi activism worldwide (esp UK and USA) at the moment?

“I feel like we made a couple strides, and every time that happens the attacks renewed. I hionestly think the constant attempts to divide the bisexual community into ‘good pansexuals’ and ‘bad bisexuals’ and ‘holy no-labels’ is the thing that’s most likely to screw us.”

What’s causing you to feel disillusioned?



“It is literally everywhere I turn – colleges redefining bisexuality on their LGBT Center pages, news articles quoting how ‘Bi=2 and pan=all therefore pan=better’, everybloodywhere I turn I see it every day. The word bi is being taken out of the names of organisations now, by the next group of up-and-comers who haven’t bothered to learn their history and understand that if you erase our past, you take away our present. Celebrities come out as No Label, wtf is that. Don’t they make kids read 1984 anymore? It’s gotten to the point now that even seeing the word pansexual in print triggers me. I’m reaching the point now that if someone really wants to be offended when all I am trying to do is welcome them on board, then I don’t have time for it.”

What do you want to say to other activists about this?

“Stay strong, and don’t give them a goddamned inch. I honestly think that the bi organizations – even, truth be told, the one I am with – are enabling this level of bullshit by attempting to be conciliatory, saying things that end up reinforcing the idea that bi and pan are separate communities. We try to be too careful not to offend anyone. Like the thing about Freddie Mercury. Gay people say ‘He was gay.’ Bi people say ‘Um, begging your pardon, good sirs and madams and gentlefolk of other genders, but Freddie was bi.’ And they respond ‘DON’T GIVE HIM A LABEL HE DIDN’T CLAIM WAAHHH WAAHHH!’ And yet… Freddie Mercury never used the label ‘gay’, but it’s OK when they do it. And he WAS bisexual by any measure you want to use. But we back down. And 2.5% of the bisexual population decides pansexual is a better word, and instead of educating them, we add ‘pan’ to our organisation names and descriptions. Now, this is clearly a dissenting view – I will always be part of a united front where my organization is concerned. But everyone knows how I feel, and I think it’s totally valid to be loyal and in dissent at the same time. Not exactly a typically American viewpoint, but everyone says I’d be a lot more at home in Britain than I am here anyway.”

[gulgbtqplus]

EGM candidates

Our EGM is on October 9th, 2020. If you would like to run for any position, please fill out this form https://forms.gle/EMdnNa7Nr7ybah7E6! We will be updating this list as responses come in.

VP Secretary

1) Robyn (they/them)

GULGBTQ+ has been a real lifeline for me (like many others) since I started university and especially now in my 3rd year in the middle of a pandemic. And so I would love to be VP Sec to give back, support and uplift the community that’s had my back and been my safe space for the last few years.

I previously spent some time as Non-Binary officer last year so I already have an insight into the on-goings of the society. And I also attended Trans and Non-Binary coffees nearly every week. As VP Sec I would want to give more attention and accessibility to POC, disabled, and trans students in particular, especially right now.  I would love to continue to work with the SRC and GUSocNet in particular, and reach out to others also. As a home student, I know the importance of having a network and so I would love to keep strengthening the network we have built as a community and expanding it. But of course most importantly working alongside our already amazing exec and committee to put ideas into motion. (And maybe make a zine or two ya know).

I realise the massive responsibility that is being part of the exec but I’m more than willing to rise to that challenge this year. Overall I want everyone to feel like they have a safe space within the society and that this is their community too. It would be a joy to be your VP Sec this year and continue to help carry on the community we have here! :) (And stay safe!)

2) Liam (he/him)

I’d be the right candidate as since I’ve joined I’ve been active in the society whether it be events or discussions going on in the server. This is important as there always has to be an open channel for discussion and chat no matter the topic. Being the VP Secretary is a big undertaking and in that i'd love to be able to chat to you all whether it be in coffees, direct messages, or an anonymous poll every now and again to find out what direction you want the society to move in. The priorities of a society are fluid in a changing world and I believe i'd be the one to step up and give people the voice to help us steer in the right direction

Events Officer

1) Robyn (they/them)

As Events Officer, I would love to continue the work previous folk have done over the last few years in running more accessible and ever creative events. Moreover this would be incredibly important with the on-going Covid situation and I would love to have the challenge of creating new events with the committee and in the society to adapt to the new online environment. To find new ways of fundraising for the society and also making online events just as exciting as in-person events were. I’m a very creative, inventive and adaptable person thanks to my degree, the projects I do outside of university and work I did with charity events back at school. Last year, I spent some time as Non-Binary officer, attending trans & non-binary coffees throughout the year and so I have a decent idea of running events already in the society. I would strive to continue to make events more accessible and welcoming to POC, international and disabled students etc., and also manage the issues that previous years may have had by taking on constructive feedback consistently. In all, I want to create a space and event for everyone by solidifying communication inside the society and outside the society.

Communications and Technology Officer

1) Evelyn (they/them)

I’m a social and economic history student. I have found it really valuable to meet people through GULGBTQ especially the craft group. I really don't know what I'd have been able to do otherwise as I found it quite difficult making friends etc when I first came to Glasgow last year. On that note I would like to contribute to the society... Mostly I'd really like to improve the website e.g. the calendar is in need of a bit of TLC!

2) Liam (he/him)

As a technologically oriented person, I believe I would be able to do the Communications and Technology role justice by setting up regular channels for communication. The website as cute as it may be is dated and could do with a freshen up. This is however easier said than done, after evaluating with everyone what priorities for it we should have the slow process of neatening it can begin. To bring people to any events, the weekly announcements message could be posted on the page along with a link to the Discord server. The page is a representation of what we do as a society yet it lays bare with nought but who is on the committee and manifestos of who would like to be. Be gay do crime, thanks for listening.

Men’s Officer

1) Ethan (he/him)

Hi, I’m Ethan - a graduate and now first year medical student, who has been involved in student representation as some kind of liberation officer for the past 4 or 5 years. I came out as transgender in 2016, and since then have openly shared my transition and experiences on a small YouTube channel. I’m tired of the narrative that as a trans man I am not a “real” man, and the barriers faced by transmasculine individuals in accessing things that are typically put down as 'feminine' needs (sanitary bins - I’m looking at you!). I am incredibly keen to push for change in the teaching of healthcare subjects, so that it is less awkward accessing things such as cervical smears and menstrual care, and that healthcare teaching in general stops being focused from a cis-het viewpoint. Whilst that may be one of my personal main focuses, wider campaigns and work around challenging stigmas particularly associated with men’s mental health and sexual health is really important. So I’d want to make sure there is involvement in these too.

2) Liam (he/him)

GULGBT+ has so far done a great job of having everyone feel accepted and have a space to chat but at the moment there isn't a Mens Officer and from anecdotal experience there is a significant lean in the societies demographic to female students at least in terms of activity in the society. My aim as this years Mens Officer would be to make the society a welcoming place for all, whether this is through running events directed towards those who aren't aware of the society or aren't aware of its purpose.

International Officer

1) Alexandra (she/her)

After moving to the UK last year, there were so many new things that I had to learn and there was plenty of confusion and mistakes along the way. Now that I've settled in and I feel comfortable as a resident of Scotland, I would love to have the opportunity to give advice and guidance to those who are still figuring things out, or are just looking for solidarity during a difficult adjustment period. It can be so disorienting and isolating to leave behind your family and friends to move to a new country, and I hope to let some folks know that they're not alone and they can talk to me and all the other wonderful people in GULGBT. This club made a huge difference for me in this regard, and I want to make sure others get that opportunity as well!

2) Pat (they/them)

I've been an international student in different countries over the years and it's had a profound impact on how I can conceptualize and relate my own queer identity. Listening to and supporting each other as international students who are far from home and potentially in a very different situation culturally and linguistically is so important, when it comes to LGBTQIA+ issues as well as the bureaucratic and everyday. I want to make sure that the society is providing a space for international students and potentially make connections with other societies for international students to reach new members and share resources.

First Year Ordinary Member

1) Ethan (he/him)

Hi, I’m Ethan - a graduate and now first year medical student, who has been involved in student representation as some kind of liberation officer for the past 4-5years. Having already spent a fair bit of time getting to know many of the LGBT+ freshers’ community at UofG this year, I’d love to be able to act as a linked voice for them to help make sure they still manage to have a great first year’s experience. This certainly wasn’t the year anyone expected, and I’m really keen to try and help make the best of what we can so everyone has a positive start to their course.

Postgraduate and Mature Students’ Officer

1) Ethan (he/him)

Hi, I’m Ethan - a graduate and now first year medical student, who has been involved in student representation as some kind of liberation officer for the past 4-5years. From completely relaunching my previous university’s LGBT+ society, to starting its first separate dedicated group for trans students, and being elected as the first trans rep for students across Scotland… my undergrad was busy! I’m really keen to bring the experiences I’ve had, and lessons I’ve learned, with me to GULGBT+ and get involved through my next 5years studying at UofG. Being a postgrad and/or mature student comes with its own unique challenges and I want to work with the committee, SRC, and wider university to make sure you are well supported in achieving all the things you want to whilst still being able to balance everything you have going on outside of university. Aside from that, something I am keen to work on during my time studying medicine, is making the curricula of healthcare subjects more inclusive of LGBT+ patient scenarios and education.

2) Pat (they/them)

Community is really important to me and has become even more so since the suspension of in-person meetings. When I came to Glasgow last year, I found that the vast majority of people I met through freshers events and societies were a good few years younger than me and it seemed like I was the only postgraduate/mature student around. I would like to continue facilitating a space for postmat students in the society and ensure that people older than the average student will feel welcome and at home in the society.

---

Preferences of those running for multiple positions:

Robyn

1. VP Secretary

2. Events Officer

Ethan

1. Men’s Officer

2. Postgraduate and Mature Students’ Officer

3. First Year Ordinary Member

Pat

1. Postgraduate and Mature Students’ Officer

2. International Officer

Liam

1. VP Secretary

2. Men’s Officer

3. Communications and Technology Officer

[theslightestwords]

mdp150.com created a short zine on the basics of abolition.

Here’s the full transcription:

“Building a Police-Free Future: Frequently Asked Questions

We believe in the power, possibility, and necessity of a police-free future. We also understand, however, that this is a new idea for many people. What follows are some frequently-asked questions, and our responses to them.

Won’t abolishing the police create chaos and crime? How will we stay safe?

Police abolition work is not about snapping our fingers and instantly defunding every department in the world. Rather, we’re talking about a gradual process of strategically reallocating resources, funding, and responsibility away from police and toward community-based models of safety, support, and prevention.

The people who respond to crises in our community should be the people who are best equipped to deal with those crises. Rather than strangers armed with guns, who very likely do not live in the neighborhoods they’re patrolling, we want to create space for more mental health service providers, social workers, victim/survivor advocates, religious leaders, neighbors and friends– all of the people who really make up the fabric of a community– to look out for one another.

But what about armed bank robbers, murderers, and supervillains?

Crime isn’t random. Most of the time, it happens when someone has been unable to meet their basic needs through other means. So to really “fight crime,” we don’t need more cops; we need more jobs, more educational opportunities, more arts programs, more community centers, more mental health resources, and more of a say in how our own communities function.

Sure, in this long transition process, we may need a small, specialized class of public servants whose job it is to respond to violent crimes. But part of what we’re talking about here is what role police play in our society. Right now, cops don’t just respond to violent crimes; they make needless traffic stops, arrest petty drug users, harass Black and Brown people, and engage in a wide range of “broken windows policing” behaviors that only serve to keep more people under the thumb of the criminal justice system.

But why not fund the police and fund all these alternatives too? Why is it an either/or?

It’s not just that police are ineffective: in many communities, they’re actively harmful. The history of policing is a history of violence against the marginalized– American police departments were originally created to dominate and criminalize communities of color and poor white workers, a job they continue doing to this day. The list has grown even longer: LGBTQ folks, people with disabilities, activists– so many of us are attacked by cops on a daily basis.

And it’s bigger than just police brutality; it’s about how the prison industrial complex, the drug war, immigration law, and the web of policy, law, and culture that forms our criminal justice system has destroyed millions of lives, and torn apart families. Cops don’t prevent crime; they cause it, through the ongoing, violent disruption of our communities.

It’s also worth noting that most social service agencies and organizations that could serve as alternatives to the police are underfunded, scrambling for grant money to stay alive while being forced to interact with officers who often make their jobs even harder. In 2016, the Minneapolis Police Department received $165 million in city funding alone. Imagine what that kind of money could do to keep our communities safe if it was reinvested.

Even people who support the police agree: we ask cops to solve too many of our problems. As former Dallas Police Chief David Brown said: “We’re asking cops to do too much in this country… Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough mental health funding, let the cops handle it… Here in Dallas we got a loose dog problem; let’s have the cops chase loose dogs. Schools fail, let’s give it to the cops… That’s too much to ask. Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.”

What about body cameras? What about civilian review boards, implicit bias training, and community policing initiatives?

Video footage (whether from body cameras or other sources) wasn’t enough to get justice for Philando Castile, Samuel DuBose, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, and far too many other victims of police violence. A single implicit bias training session can’t overcome decades of conditioning and department culture. Other reforms, while often noble in intention, simply do not do enough to get to the root of the issue.

History is a useful guide here: community groups in the 1960s also demanded civilian review boards, better training, and community policing initiatives. Some of these demands were even met. But universally, they were either ineffective, or dismantled by the police department over time. Recent reforms are already being co-opted and destroyed: just look at how many officers are wearing body cameras that are never turned on, or how quickly Jeff Sessions’ Justice Department has moved to end consent decrees. We have half a century’s worth of evidence that reforms can’t work. It’s time for something new.

This all sounds good in theory, but wouldn’t it be impossible to do?

Throughout US history, everyday people have regularly accomplished “impossible” things, from the abolition of slavery, to voting rights, to the 40-hour workweek, and more. What’s really impossible is the idea that the police departments can be reformed against their will to protect and serve communities whom they have always attacked. The police, as an institution around the world, have existed for less than 200 years– less time than chattel slavery existed in the Americas. Abolishing the police doesn’t need to be difficult– we can do it in our own cities, one dollar at a time, through redirecting budgets to common-sense alternative programs. Let’s get to work!

A few resources for further learning and action

Find the full MPD150 report, as well as extended interview excerpts, ways to get involved, and more at www.MPD150.com.

A Reading List:

The End of Policing (Alex Vitale)

The New Jim Crow (Michelle Alexander)

Are Prisons Obsolete (Angela Y. Davis)

Abolition Now!: Ten Years of Strategy and Struggle Against the Prison Industrial Complex (Anthology)

13th (documentary - Ava DuVernay)

The study guide at aworldwithoutpolice.org

A big list of accessible, online articles and essays in the "resources" tab at www.MPD150.com”

[huckleberrycomics]

It IS that big a deal in Canada!! Please educate yourself! Black people ARE targeted and murdered by police here!! Educate yourself, dont fall for the "Canada doesnt have racism" propaganda! Theres protests and marches happening right now! It's good to keep up with USA politics but you CANNOT be complicit of the police brutality that happens here. Please read Canadian news, listen to Canadian poc and indigenous people, you are NOT far from the problem, it's happening right here too!

Sorry, I really should have been more clear: it is absolutely a BIG PROBLEM. I grew up in an indigenous town and my experience is like 99% knowing the struggles of indigenous folks and all the issues around that. My older sister is adopted indigenous.

I’m still educating myself on the issues of non-indigenous POC in Canada. I’m hoping to do research for a zine about it soon (I did one last fall for indigenous issues).

I’m sorry, I really am still working on it. I’m keeping an eye out for when protests are gonna be happening in my city, but the news bombarding me is very USA-centered so you can see how I got that impression a bit. However if you have any good links please feel free to slide into my DMs!

Edit: I reblog all of my resources and stuff to my sideblog @dragons-and-gays . I try to keep this blog very cantered on my own art. I totally agree with you anon and if you wanna chat please feel free to message me!

[imogegdfgray-blog]

Direct Response Copywriting

If you are dreaming of becoming a copywriter and don't know where to start, the Internet is a very reliable source when it comes to providing free copywriting tutorials. While following these tutorials will not give you a hundred percent guarantee of making you an expert copywriter, they can certainly lay the foundation on which you can slowly and steadily build up your arsenal of copywriting knowledge. Here is a quick look at what such websites have to offer you on your way to your new copywriting career or on your way to bettering your existing copywriting profession.

o Quick start repositories for newbies on copywriting- a different albeit quirkier take on copywriting for professionals. All copywriting basics are laid out in such effective repositories both clearly and effectively due to the target audience niche which is beginners only. o Resources for advanced copy professionals. If you want to expand your skills further, this option would help you do so. It expands all the ideas that you were introduced to in the previous option. o Most comprehensive web resources provide free copywriting tutorials. Some are maintained by professional copywriters and marketing professionals who take you through the learning process in a step by step manner. These types also offer tutorials on various other topics related to copywriting such as kick-starting your sales, finding your product's USP, how to write sales generating body copy and so forth. o E-zine on e-business tutorials. This tutorial option deals not only with copywriting but also with other areas of e-business such as starting a small business, copywriting for it, Internet marketing strategy and the like. This strategy might be the right choice for getting the picture at large about copyrighting as it is related to marketing and web marketing niches.

However, copywriting cannot be mastered only by visiting tutorial websites and reading pointers on how to write a good copy. Most of it is learned through experience, reading good stuff and taking a sneak-peek on what your competitors are doing. It is a field that is mastered through constant practice and education. You may be a very good writer but all good writers are not necessarily great copywriters. The famous writer Stephen King likened copywriting or writing in general to lifting weights for ten years. If you keep at it, after ten years you are bound to develop good muscles.... Similarly if you write everyday for a certain period of time- just pen down random thoughts, try and make associations between them, you can become a great copywriter someday.

In addition to web tutorials, you can read up books written by prominent copywriters. There are some well know figures, world's foremost experts on copywriting, for instance on direct Direct Response Copywriting  response writing. You can go through their websites where there are various interesting articles to read and where they express their opinions and showcase their copywriting methods.

There are plentiful great web resources talking about how you can become an expert copywriter. But the real answer lies in how persistent you are and to what extent you can go in extracting the best lessons from online resources and copywriting courses.

For an excellent practical click this Copywriting Tutorial link and follow your dream. Remember, with the right patience and will you can master the copyrighting skills and this site will show you how step by step.

[incorrectgundamwingquotes]

Child Soldiers in Gundam Wing

((I was just trying to edit this post and somehow deleted everything (insert internal screaming here) ANYWAY. Same thing, some minor changes, should look familiar if you got the zine... ;) ))

Child Soldiers and the AC Era

The young age of anime protagonists is something so common that fans no longer even pay it much notice, but in the context of Gundam Wing, the age of both the main and side characters can say a lot about the world itself.

It seems the age of some of the highest ranks (Treize, Une, Zechs, Noin) were incredibly young; Treize was only 24 and the others just 19. The young age of the soldiers seems to be consistent, because both Zechs and Noin were involved in combat operations from even before the start of the official series when they were only 13/14 years old. The Gundam Pilots were not considered traditional soldiers, so it is possible 15-year-olds were still considered too young for actual warfare - but then you have volunteer soldiers like Hilde, and she was only 15 too.  

I believe the prevalent use of child soldiers in the AC era shows just how awful things were in the series proper.

Definition of Child Soldier

I think it’s safe to assume that the AC timeline follows some of the norms set by real life, so I’m going to use the UN’s definition of ‘child soldier’: they are children (defined by the “Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)”) as persons under the age of 18 who are associated with military organizations, such as state armed forces and non-state armed groups. These children “may be trained and used for combat, assigned to support roles such as porters or messengers, or used for tactical advantage as human shields or for political advantage in propaganda.” This can vary from nation to nation dependent on national laws regarding the age of majority, but those under 18 years of age is a safe default to assume regarding who is and is not considered a child soldier.

Why do people use child soldiers?

Child soldiers are used because they can be easily manipulated and will follow orders without question, either because they don’t know any better or because they’re being threatened/coerced into compliance. However, child soldiers are not the go-to resource for military power; they are a last resort used by desperate nations and/or factions. People aren’t using children in battle unless they’re out of other options, because not only is it morally bankrupt, it’s also bad for public image. Nationalism taken to its extreme proves to be a driving force for factions seeking political/militaristic power, but when all you have are mountains of dead children wearing your uniforms, you lose public support very quickly. It is also non-sustainable; leaders aren’t going to sacrifice their future workers by sending children out to die unless they absolutely must.

Now this isn’t necessarily true for recruitment; taking the United States as an example, the military recruits and recruits hard in high schools across the country, eager to pull in fresh graduates. However, the focus of this kind of recruitment is on graduates, who are typically 18 years old or will be 18 years old soon, and thus excluded from the protection of UNCRC.

There is also the possibility of military schools/academies, which is what Noin, Zechs, and Treize were enrolled in as children. However, graduation from such schools is not a direct route into military duty, it is a step: students still attend normal lessons (in addition to military lessons, such as history and fitness courses), but they certainly aren’t considered soldiers-in-training or the like. Just like their public school-counterparts, they’re expected to graduate from schooling at the age of 18 and then decide if they want to attend college/enter the armed forces/etc. But again, by graduation, they are 18 and considered legal adults. No military leader is going to traipse into a military academy and drag the top students of that school into an actual combat situation because they are actual children. This is true even for child prodigies; someone is still going to raise hell about a 13-year-old in a combat operation, even if that 13-year-old can pilot a mobile suit like a badass.

Alliance’s War Machine and the Use of Child Soldiers

The AC timeline is one that has seen decades of violent unrest and conflicts. Since the construction and mass emigration of people to the space colonies and the creation of the Alliance, conflicts have risen and been violently put down in a vicious cycle that eventually lead to the rise and fall of the politician Heero Yuy and the Sanc Kingdom, creation of mobile suits and OZ, and then Operation Meteor.

I’m going to focus on the Alliance, as they were an organized military force with a traditional set-up. I think through decades of on-and-off again warfare, population numbers may have seen a decline, leaving a growing vacuum of military manpower that the Alliance started getting desperate to fill. This would explain the simply absurd ages of their recruitment, exemplified by both Noin and Zechs as seen or otherwise referenced repeatedly in both Frozen Teardrop and Episode Zero.

Both Noin and Zechs are said to have graduated from the Lake Victoria Academy with the highest scores.  

At ten, they were handpicked by Treize to take part in a Specials military assignment to suppress a revolt in Mogadishu in AC 186.

At 13, Noin takes part in an operation to quell rebel forces, also led by Treize.

At 15, Zechs is running around with the Specials—already dubbed the so-called “LIGHTNING COUNT”—to repress a terrorist attack on the Alliance in AC 191.

Even as teenage prodigies in their field, that doesn’t excuse the fact that they are still children, and they—as children—are still being used in active combat. And no one even seems to bat an eye.

Then we have Treize, who is introduced in the series proper at age 24.  Wading through his history (again, through sources from both FT and EZ), we see he started as a piloting instructor for MS pilots in AC 188. Presumably he was 17 years old given that he was born in AC 171, but it could be close enough to 18 that it wouldn’t be an issue except he’s the INSTRUCTOR, which meant not only did he go through enough training and education to earn the credentials to be an instructor, but should have also gotten the field experience needed as well. Before the age of 17/18.

In AC 193, General Catalonia passes and Treize becomes the head of OZ and the Specials. 22-year-old Treize. He may be a charismatic genius, but were there really no alternatives that held more political power and military experience? Taking WW2 as an example, the leadership for both the Axis and Allied powers were between the ages of 50-70 years. The closest in age to Treize would be the leaders of the Hitler Youth, who were only pulled into active duty during the end of the war when Nazi Germany was running out of manpower. It was a move of desperation.

Through these three—and possibly Une but her history is not really explicated—we can see that the Alliance (and by extension, OZ) has a history of not just indoctrinating and training at disturbingly early ages, but also has no qualms about using child soldiers. Generally, people of high military ranks will have years upon years of service; recent graduates don’t just get to be base commanders or colonels. The fact that all of them rise in power at very young ages and seize high ranks shows a military that is either lacking in even the most basic of moral integrity (again, using child soldiers as active combatants is morally bankrupt) or revealing their desperation to fill the ranks.

This is not to say that they didn’t rightfully deserve their titles; these three are the elite of OZ, and they most certainly earned that recognition. But how would anyone know that they were such highly-skilled soldiers, unless they were actually put through combat? It’s not that their titles were earned at such an early age that’s baffling. The fact that they had the opportunity to earn them so young is the issue. Imagine learning that your neighbor’s 10-year-old is so good at piloting a fighter aircraft that they receive military honors; one of the first things I’d want to know was how did they learn to pilot an aircraft, swiftly followed by why were they even piloting an aircraft to begin with?  

Treize is even more egregious in this context. He is the best of the best, but the military hierarchy isn’t based solely on skill – it also includes experience. Experience only comes with time, and no matter how many battles Treize may have won, it doesn’t mean he would rank higher in the hierarchy than those with 20+ years of military experience.

The only logical reason I can think of that would allot Treize the power to become head of OZ and the Specials is that there wasn’t much in the way of competition: everyone else was dead. As noted with the Hitler Youth of Nazi Germany, leaders and soldiers as young as Treize, Zechs, and Noin could be explained by a lack of manpower. After years of mass emigrations to space and violent disputes, it’s reasonable to conclude that the Alliance was running out of soldiers and it’s likely entire generations were lost in conflicts prior to the start of the main series.

Gundam Pilots and OZ’s Reaction

The trend of young soldiers is continued into the main series, as shown with then 19-year-old Noin as base commander and instructor of the Lake Victoria Academy. She was responsible for training the Specials recruits, who were ready to graduate into active combat; all were considered young, though not as young as a Gundam Pilot – as shown when Noin is shocked and horrified to realize Wufei is just a “boy.”

While Noin is taken aback by Wufei’s age, she later joins Zechs in tracking down the Gundams and their pilots, and it certainly wasn’t to help them or free them from the influence/command of the resistance. Perhaps she is justified because she lost men to Wufei’s “underhanded” tactics, but she has no qualms helping Zechs find Heero later in order to engage in a duel. She aided a fellow adult (both she and Zechs are 19 at this time in the show) set up and carry out a duel to the death with a 15-year-old. The Gundam Pilots are considered enemy combatants, yes, but now there’s no hesitation when facing them on a battlefield, no second thoughts or remorse that they will have to kill literal children.

Because they aren’t children to Noin or Zechs, and are definitely not to OZ, at least not anymore. They’re enemy combatants. As seen with Soviet soldiers in WW2, anyone in a Nazi uniform is an enemy combatant afforded no mercy – even if the person in question is a 12-year-old with little to no training, pushed to the front lines by a desperate and dying command.

A good comparison for OZ would be to Imperial Japan in 1944: men under 20 were enlisted and at this time, kamikaze bombers were around 17 years old. In 1945, they used “volunteer soldiers” known as the Tekketsu Kinnotai in the Battle of Okinawa who were between 14-17 years of age; this parallels OZ’s reach into the space colonies exemplified with Hilde Schbeiker, a volunteer soldier who was only 15 years old. This would fit with the picture of OZ that the main series paints: extremely young leadership as exemplified by the main antagonists of the series, the young age of the Specials who are essentially the elite of OZ’s military power, and then the young age of the volunteer space army.

Then there is the extreme desensitization to the age of the Gundam Pilots. It’s initially met with surprise (ref: Noin vs. Wufei) or doubt (Duo’s publicized capture that is later handwaved as OZ propaganda by the general populace), and yet when met by soldiers face-to-face, there’s no pause to consider the moral consequences of imprisoning, fighting, or killing a teenager. Yes, the Gundam Pilots were trying to kill their enemies, but the age difference should give the OZ soldiers some pause to consider the implications…unless there was less of an age difference and/or a consistent desensitization and normalization of child soldiers.

This isn’t limited to just Alliance/OZ as well. Later in the series, we see members of White Fang trying to convince/coerce Duo into joining them. They know he’s young given that they know his identity and yet they still want him to join and become a figurehead for their organization, and to be active in their battle operations. When a group is using children to fight their battles and lead their forces, they’re not doing so because they’re well-supplied and powerful; they’re doing so because they need to and have no other options.

While it’s doubtful all factions were manned exclusively by child soldiers—we see quite a few military personnel who look older (but given that Treize looks like he’s in his 30s…)—there’s probably a fair amount of actual adult soldiers around. But not enough to keep a standing military force running, hence the use of the young.

Other Thoughts

Normalization of child soldiers would explain the makeup of Alliance/OZ, and it helps explain the extremely young ages of the highest-ranking members of OZ. It can also be naturally assumed that the colonial resistance was equal if not more desperate than the Earth factions (thus the whole ‘Gundams piloted by highly-trained and rather unstable teens’ thing). This desperation and unsustainable drive for soldiers helps to explain the whole OZ split with mobile dolls and then the ending with White Fang and Libra. OZ wanted to use mobile dolls to fight their battles because they were running out of kids to send into war. White Fang in contrast orchestrates and nearly succeeds in kick-starting Armageddon, barely stopped by the Gundam Pilots

But after everything is said and done, everyone across both the Earth Sphere and space colonies are just totally cool with peace now? After decades of violent hostilities, they’re going to listen to Relena’s pleas for peace? I would argue that of course they were: as a community, they had war fatigue and scores of dead.

Frozen Teardrop and the [Improbable Age] Retcon

Frozen Teardrop tries to explain the young age of the characters, which essentially boils down to this: world leaders live longer lives and so were reluctant to give any authority to their children so that they could keep their power. By the time they were ready to retire, the 1st generation believed the 2nd generation were “unused to having power” and so decided to pass on the torch to the “bright young minds of the 3rd generation.”

That is absolutely insane.

This would translate as: Baby Boomers are finally retiring, and decide to pass on the reign of power to Gen Z. While there’s nothing unusual about an older generation wanting to keep their power as long as possible, there is no way they’re going to hand that power over to “the bright young minds of the 3rd generation” because the 2nd generation was “unused to having power.” Because you know who else is unused to wielding power because of the 1st generation? The 3rd generation. The only time where ‘power’ (assumed to be political influence and/or military might) skipped a generation was when the middle generation was wiped out due to war (e.g. Russia post-WW2, who lost an entire generation to the devastation). Fascist Grandpa is not going to hand over power to the grandkids after years of hoarding it for himself. Instead, the younger generation either waits it out and lets the passage of time kill off the competition or takes the power forcibly (e.g. voting or violence).

In Conclusion

The general military workforce in the AC era is probably young as a whole, especially in comparison to real life standards. The fact that the Eve Wars were fought by a bunch of indoctrinated, hormonal youths would explain why character motivations are completely wild. These kids suddenly have a lot of power and a lot of sway, and they’re trying to figure out the meaning of the battles they’re fighting while they’re fighting them because the lies they’ve been fed since childhood aren’t holding up.

In short: the kids aren’t alright, and no one is helping them.

[supportyourmother-blog]

Vol 1.

I. 

In dedication to Marie Harrison, Hunters Point environmental activist, and all indigenous peoples lost, stolen, detained, migrating, creating, thriving, resisting, loving, and protecting Earth.

 II.

Our intention is to share the wisdom we have gained in this lifetime through popular education, decolonization, direct action, and our inherent willpower to heal ourselves, loved ones, relatives, and pachamama (Mother Earth) from all that we have been through and all that is to come.

 III.

We are living in the Anthropocene, a geological time period marked by the altering of Earth by human activity. In recent years we have seen record-setting storms, droughts, and fires around the world. The destruction of the environment and the exploitation of resources is directly linked to the rise of global fascism. It is reaching its peak and manifesting in exploitation, oppression, and the poisoning of people and the earth. Communities of color are most affected by climate change and environmental destruction from industry. Both biodiversity and cultural diversity are rapidly being homogenized. Climate change and resource wars are displacing people around the world and fueling massive waves of immigration. Our Black and Indigenous relatives are already living in this post-apocalyptic world after having been dispossessed by colonialism in the past and at this very moment. Our ancestors knew then and we know now that the end of one world means the beginning of a new one. How can we create a world worth living in? How can we ensure that it is one that the next seven generations can survive and thrive in?

This guide was made to help navigate the modern ecological crisis. When we speak of ecology, we include people, communities, and cultures along with plants, animals and the land. Human beings are animals that are part of nature; therefore, a part of ecosystems. This zine was created on stolen Ohlone land that has been colonized three times. We recognize colonialism as an on-going act of destruction of communities and the land. It is important that we let Black, Indigenous, and Queer, Trans and Two-Spirit people (BI-QTPOC) lead us in our work towards liberation. Indigenous people around the world have been at the frontlines of the war against colonialism and continue to be as we see with our relatives in the Amazonia, Africa, West Papua, Turtle Island, and First Nations tierras. Although science and technology offer some solutions to climate change, we must take the initiative to make changes in our own lives so that our children and grandchildren will inherit a livable planet. Technological fixes only perpetuate the capitalist system that has wreaked havoc on our planet. The only true solution to climate change is revolution. 

“It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.” - Assata Shakur

 IV.

Indigenous Existence as Anti-Colonial, Anti-Fascist Resistance:

We’d like to acknowledge that global Indigenous communities have and continue to be the agents of cultivating and preserving “theory” and “analysis” when it comes to protecting the earth and do not see their existence as mutually exclusive from it.

 “We are not defending nature. We are nature defending itself!”

Image from solidarity action for Amazonia, via @mundano_sp on Instagram

  V.

Theories to help us understand our current situation and how to strategize:

Ecology is the study of the relationship between different organisms in an ecosystem. A fundamental aspect of ecology is the interconnectedness of all life. 

Ecofeminism recognizes the connection between the domination of nature and the domination of humans. 

Ecowomanism builds upon black feminism, ecofeminism, and environmentalism. Ecowomanism is based upon the intersectionality of oppression, including social injustices and ecological injustices. It challenges the whitewashing of environmentalism and acknowledges the contributions of women of African descent and women of color to the environmental movement. 

“Ecowomanism is discourse, dialogue, a conversation that centers the voices, experiences, and sociological perspectives of women of African descent and women of color on the environment.” – Rev. Dr. Melanie L. Harris

Indigenous Anarchism is malleable, embraces change, and explores what survivance looks like as remnants of genocide. Because it identifies colonialism as the root cause of the daunting state of things it does not seek to include coerced and collaborative worldviews. How do we manifest our ungovernable force of nature? This definition was crowdsourced at the Indigenous Anarchist Convergence in August 2019 occupied Dine territory.

Ecosocialism blends ecological and marxist theory. Ecosocialists believe that capitalism is the root of war, poverty and environmental destruction and that dismantling capitalism will help solve these issues. 

Geocommunism is a theory that has been developed by political geographer Arun Saldanha that argues that capitalism is the root of climate change and societal inequality. Geocommunism proposes a communist revolution rooted in intersectionality and ecological consciousness.

Excerpt from the geocommunist manifesto:

The Anthropocene has to be posited as the material and theoretical ground of any concept of social justice. The combat for justice starts with four facts: 1)resources are per definition finite, 2) the earth system has been irrevocably altered by human production, 3) positive feedback loops under capital are accelerating severe perturbations to ecosystems, 4) humans are in the last instance evolutionary entities at risk of starvation, disease and brutality. Scientists predicting half of humanity will perish by 2100 are already proposing fascist responses to these four facts.

https://sites.google.com/umn.edu/arunsaldanha/geocommunism

Social Ecology is the exploration of connections between people and the environment. Anarchist theorist Murray Bookchin analyzes the interdependence of social formations, institutions, and has radically inspired the emergence and sustenance of the Kurdish liberation movement.

  VI.

Solidarity looks like Anti-Colonial Direct Action:

Image description: Tuira Kayapó, has been fighting to protect the amazon in Brazil for decades from western multinational companies. She ran the blade of her machete three times over the President of Light holding Company Petrobras cheeks and in her native tongue warned, “You are a liar. We do not need electricity. Electricity is not going to give us our food. We need our rivers to flow freely: our future depends on it. We need our jungles for hunting and gathering. We do not need your dam.”

  VII.

Disaster Preparedness:

As climate change worsens, natural disasters will increase in severity and frequency. The Bay Area is long over do for a big Earthquake. The East Bay is particularly vulnerable to quakes because of Hayward fault. Although we cannot prevent natural disasters, we can prepare for them. Consider organizing with your neighborhood to create a disaster plan.

Basic Emergency Supply Kit

Water (1 gallon a day per person for at least 3 days)

Food (at least 3 day supply of non-perishable goods) *if you have pets keep an extra supply of pet food and if you have a baby keep extra supply of infant formula*

Flashlight and extra batteries

First aid kit

N95 Masks

Trash bags, plastic ties, and baby wipes for sanitation

Battery-powered radio / NOAA Weather Radio 

Medicines

Cash or traveler’s checks

Sleeping bag or warm blanket

Change of clothing and sturdy shoes

Matches (in waterproof container)

Personal hygiene products

Pens and paper

Important documents

Other Resources to help you prepare for disasters: 

https://www.earthquakecountry.org/sevensteps

https://www.ready.gov/wildfires

NASA map of active fires

  IIX.

Environmental Trauma and Grief:

There is so much pain on Earth. Emotional responses like grief, sadness, anger, depression, anxiety, and dissociation are all normal responses to all the trauma on Earth. Give yourself space to mourn the state of Earth. Honor these feelings, but also try to transmute pain into action. These feelings may very well fuel our revolution. 

 We must fight and care for the living.

  IX.

Herb & Fungi Support:

tulsi / holy basil / albahaca / Ocimum tenuiflorum

Tulsi is a sacred plant in traditional Indian and African medicine. The plant is an adaptogen which means that it can help they body respond to stress. The plant can help you restore balance in your body. It can also aid digestion. It can be made into a tea or taken as a tincture. 

ashwagandha / Withania sonifera 

Ashwagandha is a plant from India and North Africa. It is a calming adaptogen that can help with insomnia and anxiety. ¼ to a ½ teaspoon can be warmed up with milk and some honey. 

reishi / lingzhi / Ganoderma lucidum

Reishi is a mushroom traditionally used in China and Japan. It can help with anxiety, support the immune system, and has anti-inflammatory properties. You can add reishi powder to smoothies or take pills or a tincture.

lemon balm / melissa / Melissa officinalis 

Lemon balm is a plant in the mint family that is native to North Africa, West Asia and Southern Europe. The plant can be used to uplift the spirits, reduce stress and anxiety. It can also help with insomnia, nausea, menstrual cramps and headaches. It can be made into a tea, tincture, or put into a salad.

mullein / jupiter’s staff /  Verbascum

Mullein is a plant in the snapdragon family that is native to Europe and Asia. It is a powerful herb for respiratory support. It has anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. It can be made into a tea or taken as a tincture.

elderberry / tapiro / Sambucus nigra / Sambucus mexicana

Elderberry trees grow from what is now called Oregon to Baja. It can be found in many parks and gardens in the east bay. It usually grows by rivers. The berries can be made into a syrup or tincture that is good for immunity and can replace cold or flu medicine. The flowers can also be made into a calming tea. 

 Elderberry syrup recipe:

3 cups water

1/2 cup black elderberries (dried, or 1 1/3 cups fresh)

2 TBSP ginger (grated)

1 tsp cinnamon

orange peel

1 cup honey

Heat water, elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, and orange peel. Simmer for 45-60 minutes. Mix in honey and then place into jars.  

  X.

Top 10 Polluting Corporations:

Coca-Cola (Dasani, Topo Chico, PowerAde)

PepsiCo (Mountain Dew, Lays, Gatorade, 7Up, Doritos, Cheetos, AquaFina, Quaker)

Nestlé (Gerber, Perrier, S. Pelligrino, Coffee Mate,  Häagen-Dazs, Fancy Feast, Purina)

Danone (Oikos, Activa, Silk, Horizon Organics, So Delicious Dairy Free)

Mondelez International (Oreo, Trident, Sour Patch Kids, Ritz, Toblerone, Chips Ahoy)

Procter & Gamble 

Unilever (Breyers, Dove, Lipton, Pure Leaf, Ben & Jerry’s, Jif, Vaseline)

Perfetti van Melle

Mars Incorporated

Colgate-Palmolive

https://www.breakfreefromplastic.org/globalbrandauditreport2018

 The biggest Polluter on the planet is the United States Military.

The United States Military has caused many environmental and health catastrophes. All the nuclear testing and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the use of chemical weapons in Vietnam and Cuba, have poisoned the people and land all over the world. This state sponsored violence begins here at home from native reservations to sacrifice zones in low income, black and brown neighborhoods. Our indigenous relatives here on Turtle Island throw down against pipelines, tar sands, uranium and coal mining on their land for water, the right to exist, survival. Here in the bay area there are several neighborhoods that are contaminated from naval bases like Treasure Island and Hunters Point that are still toxic. It is people of color and poor people that are most likely to live in these areas, be exposed to the toxins, and develop deadly diseases as a result of this ongoing violation and genocide.  

XI.

Common Toxins

Many products contain toxic substances that can cause you harm. These toxins eventually leak into the environment which then causes ecological damage. Unfortunately, many chemicals are already in our waterways and soil. You can test your water and soil to see what toxins are in there. Look out for these common toxins and try to switch to alternatives.

Search Engine for Body Safety Database: https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

 DIY cleaning products 

All-purpose cleaner:

Put a mixture of one part water with one part vinegar into a spray bottle. You can also add a few drops of essential oils like lemon, rosemary, lavender, or place a sprig of lavender or rosemary in the bottle. 

 Kitchen cleaner and deodorizer:

Add 4 tablespoons of baking soda to 1 quart of water then pour mixture onto sponge or rag. 

 Glass Cleaner:

Add 2 cups of water, ½ cup of white or apple cider vinegar, ¼ cup of rubbing alcohol, and 1 or 2 drops of an essential oil for scent. Pour into a spray bottle and wet a paper towel or cloth before wiping mirror or window. 

 Houseplants that purify the air:

Snake Plant / Lengua de Suegra

Bamboo Palm

Aloe Vera 

Boston Fern

Peace Lily (toxic to cats)

Ficus / Weeping Fig

Dracaena

Spider Plant 

 Plants that purify soil (phytoremediation)

Mustard greens 

Sunflowers

Willow trees

Pumpkins

https://www.resilience.org/stories/2014-08-11/using-plants-to-clean-contaminated-soil/

XII.

Things you can do (Sustainability Guide):

Reparations.

Support indigenous resistance movements and projects

Support environmental organizations led by BI-QTPOC 

Study and undermine colonialism, capitalism, and white supremacy. Without an understanding of these systems of domination as the root causes to climate Armageddon and the oppression of black, indigenous, and brown people- none of the suggestions after this will aid the wound that is generations old.

Educate yourself on local and international environmental issues

Limit driving and flying 

Eat less animal products and other high impact foods like almonds, cashews, quinoa, palm oil

Eat seasonal and local vegetables and fruits

Limit use of toxic products 

Limit use of single-use plastic products(carry reusable containers and utensils)

Buy second hand

Pick up trash and recycle 

 Suggested Reading: 

Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler

Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown

Anarchist ecology zine

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer 

Soil Not Oil by Vandana Shiva

Radical Ecology by Carolyn Merchant

Suggested films:

Secret life of plants 

The eyes of the rainbow 

 Bay area resources and organizations:

Sogorea Te’ Land Trust

Planting Justice

Movement Generation 

Idle No More

Communities For a Better Environment

Mask Oakland

 Bay area Farms:

Gill Tract (Sogorea Te’ Land Trust)

Spiral Gardens (Berkeley)

Planting Justice (East Oakland)

Soul Flower Farm (El Sobrante)

XIII.

From our radical, dreamy, anti-colonial imaginaire of a mother, Octavia Butler we leave you with an Earthseed verse from the Book of the Living…

“Kindness eases change, love quiets fear

And a sweet and powerful obsession blunts pain

Diverts rage and engages us in the greatest

The most intense of our chosen struggles”

We have a duty to ourselves, our relatives, and the earth. To abandon any of this is to abandon all those and that which makes us possible here now. Heal up, rise up, find your crew and act up..the time is up.

Contributors:

Fiona

Ji

Sarita

*If you would like to contribute to this guide, please email us at symearth@gmail.com 

[allanamayer]

Libraries and room rentals.

I was at a bit of a loss to contribute to the fiasco that is public libraries letting hate groups book their rooms. Mainly because the most important things have already been said:

But, since that blog post went up, something new happened! All credit goes to the law librarian @Jenifesto on Twitter - I saw the case via Sam Popowich:

h/t to law librarian extraordinaire @Jenifesto who actually found the case. https://t.co/DAukfygjUu

— das Gespenst des Kommunismus (@redlibrarian)

October 19, 2019

If you don’t feel like reading CanLii (and really, who does) there’s also an Ottawa Citizen article from September, when the decision came down:

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/court-upholds-librarys-decision-to-cancel-screening-of-controversial-film

The main points here are: community room rentals are not part of a “library’s core service” and therefore not subject to the same kind of scrutiny that a public institution fulfilling its mandate might normally be. What that apparently means is that a library can book or cancel room rentals at its complete and total discretion, beholden to none.

That means public libraries can write their own room rental policies, adhere to or change said policies at will, and basically ignore anyone who asks them to do otherwise.

In this particular case, OPL cancelled a booking (a film screening) based on a clause in their own room rental policy, which says they have discretion to cancel based on whether an event will or likely will promote hatred. Of course, libraries can reserve the right to cancel any booking at their own discretion, not subject to appeal, etc., if they want to - they can write that into their policies at any time. It will certainly save you the legal fees & committee time on writing the rest of it.

It’s important to note that by OPL's own standard the “will or likely will” was fairly cut and dried given that it was a film screening. You know the full content in advance, you can judge pretty quickly (as the article says, a 30-second googling) how it’s gonna play out. So, this case neatly sidesteps the “What if a convicted Nazi is making the booking? He might not say anything hateful while he’s there! He might not even be a Nazi anymore!” question of the TPL memorial service last year. If your library has a very specific policy written to delicately handle nuance and appear equitable and legally-adherent, rather than a solid “We unilaterally determine your eligibility, period” statement, you may run aground of some of these things.

Were room booking policies before last month written as though room booking is a core library service and therefore subject to the public policy of being open and equitable to all? Yes, they certainly were. Is TPL’s definitely boneheaded and possibly bigoted refusal to hurdle themselves over on to the right side of history a bit silly given this new ruling? Yes, it certainly is.

It’s commendable that a library considers itself to be working to support freedom of expression even in areas where the law does not dictate it do so, but it’s also 2019 and Nazis are everywhere - a very clear and detailed understanding of freedom of expression and its specifics exemptions & Charter overrides is required if you’re going to Do That Work. Some libraries are making it abundantly clear that they’re either ignoring that requirement, or they’re using a semblance of ignorance to pursue a hateful agenda. There really are no excuses at this point: they all have lawyers, and those lawyers all know how to research. The decision to err on the side of “Don’t get sued by fascists” seems particularly chickenshit given TPL is the largest library system in North America and can marshall the resources and support required to fight that fight on behalf of every smaller library, setting a useful and meaningful precedent that will go a lot further than the minor decisions of the many boards and committees their executives sit on. But no matter: Ottawa Public Library did it, and wouldn’t you have it, that handy little decision is going to become inordinately useful to crafting policies from here on out.

TPL's extremely conservative stand has actively damaged its relationship with its patrons, which is extremely irresponsible for whoever is doing the decision-making. Of course, they’ve fully Barbara-Streisand-ed themselves now and are doubling-down on their bad decisions, so there’s nothing to be done about this particular event. But the media shitstorm that’s raining down on them right now is also a precedent of its own, and hopefully smaller libraries can learn from this mistake.

----

Now that the major point is out of the way, let's discuss some interesting tidbits.

What might your library do if you wanted to support and uphold freedom of expression in ways that don't benefit Nazis? Well, there's always teaching yourselves (staff) and then others (the public) about Charter rights! Programming around what does and does not constitute hate speech might be a bit touchy, especially for sharing explicit examples with a variety of audiences, but it's well worth an attempt.

If you can't bring yourself to that level of ambition you can always program and educate more generally. You can teach people how to express themselves and where to do so - online, in petitions, with letters to their elected representatives, by organizing into groups, with press releases, with posters, with self-publishing, with zines!

The other big exception to freedom of expression is defamation. There is LOTS to be learned by everyone here, from the basic definitions and existing court cases to the ongoing issues with SLAPP lawsuits and jurisdictional leniencies. What are some cases where potentially defamatory messages were protected because they were a matter of public importance? How can people protect themselves from SLAPP lawsuits while still speaking on issues of public good? Can the library hook people up with legal help?

These are things that Nazis may benefit from too, but it can't hurt to educate the populace at the same time.

You can also avail yourselves of your Section 15-2 rights to provide affirmative action - to not just provide spaces and services free of discrimination but to offer special amelioration of the conditions of disadvantaged individuals. That means safe spaces! Women-only groups! Cultural meetups! Trans meetups! Support for youth experiencing discrimination! An accessibility advisory group!

Another thing I just want to duly note is that room rentals and their subsequent cancellation are not censorship. Libraries are not the only places that allow public events, and refusing library space to a group doesn't mean they can't find it elsewhere. There is no denial of freedom of expression if a library says "Nah, no thanks," although if you hold out until the last possible moment and make it impossible for them to rebook elsewhere on the same date, they might have a contractual issue to take up with you. So, please don't dither about and then end up in that situation.

If you find yourselves in the position of only finding out quite late the kind of things that have been booked, you can head this off at the pass by making your room booking more stringent and requiring more information from applicants. They may of course mislead you but then you can probably sue THEM so it's fun all round.

Okay okay in all seriousness, only a few rather large and privileged libraries have space for rent anyways, but it can be challenging to find staffing and resources to really vet your bookings. It will be impossible to weed out violent and hateful applicants 100% of the time. There is never a solution that doesn't negatively impact other groups in your community, from not offering rentals at all to requiring stringent application information. Even OPL wasn't able to screen applicants adequately until there was a public outcry.

Given that this is going to keep Being A Thing now that fascists nationwide have cottoned on to the concept, you had better prepare for swift response to the organizers' own public announcements. You will find out from a Facebook event or from a Twitter DM from a concerned citizen. You will need to act quickly and decisively and thank those who inform you, and apologize for the limited resources that did not allow you to know sooner. You will need to hold a public messaging line and not budge. You will need to reaffirm your library's number one priority is the safety and security of your most marginalized and vulnerable community members. And you'll need to walk the talk, too, by having other examples and evidence of that support. You will need to trust your public and work with their eyes and ears as your guides, listen to and learn from their concerns and perspectives - not scowl and turn aside when they try to make your work better.

Oh yeah, and under no circumstances should you try to pay people off. Don't do this.

I got a msg from TPL space rentals telling me the City Librarian wanted to reimburse the booking fee for the launch of #IPromise as a "gesture of goodwill." You can't pay me to accept your empty gestures and superficial goodwill. #TransRightsAreHumanRights pic.twitter.com/ZVN6Neyoci

— Catherine Hernandez (@theloudlady) October 25, 2019

[fryemassey50-blog]

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[anarchoherbalism]

I’m alive! Practice updates, announcements, and all that jazz

Hi everybody. It’s been a minute!

Over the summer I became homeless again, had to part with most of my belongings, and landed in a part of the world I’ve never been to and never particularly had any intention to live: small town Oregon. I’m no stranger to being uprooted though, and pretty fast at putting roots down, so it could be a lot worse.

Not being able to practice much herbalism over the past few months has been rough on me to a degree that’s hard to communicate. This is my passion, it’s what I’m good at, it’s how I can impact the world around me in line with my values… Having begun to establish a public facing practice that allowed me to really dig my hands into everything I love about it, allowed me to really help others, and then immediately having to let it fall by the wayside because I was no longer stable enough to afford the time or resources really hurt.

I am ashamed of flaking on people and projects. I am embarrassed that I went too big too fast and was not honest to myself or others about what would be sustainable for me. I don’t want that to happen again, so, I’m focusing more on educational and informal offerings that have historically been a lot easier for me to be consistent with, as well as moving more slowly and deliberately with projects.

Consultation offerings on hiatus

I’m not at a point in my life where I feel able to support people on a one-on-one basis, so I’m putting all individual consultations and services on hiatus. I still welcome people reaching out with questions and I’ll do my best to find answers or point you in the right direction, I just might take a while to reply and I can’t do full workthroughs with people or offer sustained support.

Open study night!

Starting next month, I will be hosting Open Study Night, a public digital meeting (with an accompanying email newsletter!) for herbalists of all stripes to connect, share announcements, and collaborate! Learn more here.

New & more frequent online workshops

In addition to the Herbal Emotional Support workshop, which I plan on announcing a new session of in the near future, I’ve been working on a few other courses that I’m very excited about. Most are much shorter–single sessions over the span of one to three hours–and should be a lot easier for me to put on as I have time and the ability to plan a few weeks ahead. I’m hoping that as I put on these newer, more experimental workshops, I can get feedback, continually improve them, and add them to a more regular rotation.

The first of these will be announced shortly 😉

And no, I haven’t gotten any better at naming workshops lmao.

Sliding scale updates

This is a hard one for me. Previously, I have run my practice on a “pay me or don’t, whatever” kind of model, with more intense fundraising as the need arises, and hiatuses when I need to spend my time making money to survive. This is my ideal.

However, as I’ve mentioned…my life is tenuous. Some of that is by choice, but most of it is unavoidable as a multiply disabled person with no familial support network. I can’t just get a shitty part time job and supplement with gig work because it’s physically impossible. The ways I make money are paid below minimum wage, occasionally dangerous, usually unpleasant, and INCREDIBLY unreliable. I can’t always promise that hiatuses will be short. This one definitely wasn’t.

So here’s the deal: I will not hound or shame people I work with about their ability to pay. I will not means test or ask you to prove yourself. I will not turn people away for not being able to pay. But I am going to start being more transparent about my needs, because even the limited income I get from donations makes a huge difference in how I can afford to spend my time, my ability to do this work, and my physical and emotional wellbeing.

Writing projects

Finally, I do wanna mention that the herbal harm reduction zine I announced on instagram right before my hiatus is still being worked on. It’s going a lot slower than I would like it to, but it’s a project I’m extremely passionate about and do intend to release in whatever form ends up being manageable.

Thanks for sticking with me!

I’m really excited to be back. Here’s to the future!

[linkedinleads-blog]

LinkedinLeads Customer Acquisition Strategies

By bridging the gaps in your knowledge we can show you how to get the most out of any of these approaches, no matter how large or small your business is.

1. Direct Mail

An extremely flexible medium that gives you access to any number of otherwise inaccessible prospects for many different purposes; to sell your products; generate sales leads; follow up enquiries; get more business from current customers; keep in touch with former customers; close the sale in advance … and so much more. It allows you to present every benefit of your product or service over those of your competition in a manner that’s 100% consistent. This is not just in their offices and during the business day, but in their homes, in the evenings and at weekends. Reaching the right audience with the right offer and the right message is the key to success, because the only thing that counts is how many sales or inquiries your mailing generates.

2. Advertising                                          

Advertising should be nothing less than”salesmanship in print,” i.e. it should do the same job that a top sales person would do face to face. If you approach advertising in a scientific manner, following proven principles and facts, it no longer has to be a gamble. There are many extremely effective ways of using advertising in a highly targeted manner, that can’t help but grow your business.

3. Referral Systems

One third-party endorsement is more powerful than a hundred presentations. Getting your customers to recommend and encourage other people they associate with to seek out your products or services is the most coveted prize in selling, besides a sale. There are hundreds of referral systems you can use; to create an unlimited supply of hot prospects; to get prospects returning your calls; to contact hard-to-reach buyers; to create a reputation that opens closed doors; to enhance customer loyalty; and to increase sales and multiply profits. Referral systems make your life easier and more professional, and bring higher profits with increased customer loyalty.

4. Host Beneficiary Relationships

There are bound to be other non-competing businesses who have already spent years attracting and establishing relationships with the very people who are prime prospects for your own products or services. By establishing the right relationships with those”hosts”, those customers can be yours for the asking, with the full co-operation and permission of the businesses that acquired them in the first place. And it will bring you more customers and more cash right away.

5. Word-of-Mouth Marketing

This is the most powerful, persuasive marketing weapon available to any business. It drives customers to try products or services more than any other marketing technique … more than advertising, salespeople, direct response, and public relations combined! And contrary to what you might expect word-of-mouth is not out of your control. There are dozens of techniques for launching your own highly successful word of mouth campaigns, based on an all-important Decision Matrix and a proven seven-step process.

6. Qualified Lists

The quality of your prospect list is the single most important influencing factor in your marketing success because it can eliminate virtually all marketing waste. A list of well qualified prospects can be a priceless gem because if you exploit it properly it will produce tremendous amount of revenue for you from people who have a proven interest in your product or service. Thousands of properly qualified lists are readily available for virtually any marketing purpose and can give you many times more sales. These lists identify the specific businesses, key decision makers and demographic characteristics you desire, within the geographic areas you specify. You can focus only on prospects who are more likely than not your primary target audience for your product or service.

7. Networking

Most people you meet have hundreds of contacts, which mean that virtually anyone you might want to contact or meet is only four to five people away from you. Effective networking is therefore vital to your success. Most people are poor networkers, but you can quickly learn how to get out; meet people; make new contacts; develop quality business relationships based on trust; polish your communication skills; educate the people you meet about what you do and the benefits offered by your product or service; create a lasting impression; quickly build your network, use your contacts database effectively, enjoy your new contacts …and maximize your chances of success.

8. Internet/E-Commerce

The Internet is now an essential element in business communication. When people want information, they surf the web to find what they need. You need a good website that maximizes your exposure … or you’ll look old-fashioned and behind-the-times. Your website needs to be attractive, informative, and easy to navigate so that you obtain a constant stream of new prospects. You also need to establish a system that deftly converts them into customers.

9. Become a Recognised Authority

You can take a number of simple steps to rapidly establish yourself as a recogised authority in your field. These include writing articles and books, creating newsletters and information products, speaking and delivering seminars. These can keep you very busy and in demand virtually all the time, giving you a tremendous edge over your competitors who struggle to get by. Customers will normally flock to you, while your competitors wonder why and have to settle for picking up the leftovers.

10. Public Relations and Publicity

Most of what you read, see, and hear in the media got there with the help of PR. The media are insatiably hungry for factual, interesting, and newsworthy or entertaining information they can share with their customers, members, employees, listeners, viewers or readers. PR, approached correctly, will give you free coverage on radio, television, in magazines, newspapers, trade journals, newsletters, e-zines, and via Web sites who serve the marketplace you’re trying to reach.

11. Special Events and Promotions

One of the best methods of making your business more successful is to make doing business with you a special, memorable experience. The more exciting, enjoyable, fascinating, informative, valuable or educational you can make the experience, the more business you will do, and the stronger and more meaningful the bond you will form with your customers. Events are a very powerful way of offering people who have an excellent probability of turning into customers a chance to be educated about the benefits and results of your product or service. They can also be used to recognize your existing customers as being very special.

12. Brochures and Corporate Literature

No matter what your business, your brochures should help bring in profitable business … yet most brochures fail miserably. You therefore need to know how to create professional brochures and fliers that sell for you by educating your prospects and customers about the benefits you offer and also addresses their questions and their needs for your product or service.

13. Making profits on the”Back End”

If you depend more on repeat business than initial sales, or if most of your sales and profits occur when customers repeat purchase from you again and again, you should be doing everything possible to motivate as many customers as you can to make their initial buying decision as quickly and easily as possible. Making it easy and irresistible for the customer to start doing business with you by adding extra incentives or by making your initial sale at breakeven or a small loss, means that you will benefit sooner rather than later from all the repeat business, the add-ons and the ancillary products and services that represent the bulk of your profits.

14. Newsletters

A powerful technique for building your reputation with a defined audience over a period of time is to regularly send them a newsletter, which can either be free or paid subscription. Newsletters can be used to position you as an authority in your marketplace, to build closer relationships with clients. You can use them to educate your target market so they can make more informed and more frequent buying decisions or educate them to the full extent of your services and how you can add value through those services.

15. Use Your Competitors Resources

Harnessing the relationships that your competitors do not properly or fully develop or appreciate … and making arrangements to obtain details from them of all their unconverted leads, unsold prospects and unconverted enquiries is like them handing you the keys to their own customer list.