In which the hippie gets off her soap-box, talks about the weather, and then hops right back on again after a minute.

December is here!  I passionately adore this month.  Normally for me, it means the first major snowfall, outdoor ice skating, hot apple cider and fireplaces, decorations made from tinsel and pine cones, nonstop family get-togethers, and the most glorious event known as Jennifer Lynn Anderson's Day of Birth.  Plus, a usually wicked New Years party finale.

Decembers in Arizona are strange.  Granted, we're only five days in, but--call me crazy--I keep expecting to wake up and see snow on the ground.  And people are putting Christmas lights on their cacti.

While I definitely think the decorating is weird, I've acclimated enough to shiver in the mornings along with the rest of the Phoenicians... to be fair, it's dipping below 40 at night.  To somebody who's been basking in 90-110 degrees since August and has zero exposure to Minnesota December so far this year, that's cold.  I'm regretting the fact that the bulk of my shoe collection here is made of flip-flops, but I'm digging the fact that I can still wear said flip-flops in the afternoons.  Suckaz. 

It's also the end of the semester, and I'm struggling a bit.  I have two major projects left for my eternally dreaded economics class, both due on Wednesday.  Two projects are all that stands between me and a month of freedom too exquisite to fathom.  

So, naturally, I'm procrastinating.  I call it voluntarily seeking distraction.  

One of the major reasons for the distraction is also the main reason for this blog post.  I'm trying to organize an excursion overseas through a volunteer program, not unlike the Peace Corps but much, much more abbreviated.  I'd go for 4-12 weeks, during the summer.  Through this organization (which I won't name yet because plans are still strictly preliminary) I could choose to volunteer (the 4-week end of the spectrum) or intern for degree credit (the 12-week end, if ASU gets on board with it).  I could also choose where, out of the countries with established programs, I'd want to serve.  Tanzania.  Morocco.  India.  Peru.  South Africa.  All are options, plus about 10 or 12 more.

I was talking with a friend the other night about this, and during our discussion I had sort of a mini-epiphany.  When I applied to the Peace Corps a few years ago (and was officially recommended by the recruiter, offered a program spot, and medically cleared for service), I realized during the process that maybe I wasn't quite ready.  When it happened, it happened relatively fast, and suddenly the girl, right out of college, had to make a pretty important choice.  And I chose to stay. 

I haven't regretted that choice as much as I regret not going.  That is a confusing sentence, I realize, but let me try to explain.  

Not once have I regretted staying, because staying allowed me to grow exponentially as a compassionate person, as a humanitarian, and as an activist for causes in which I strongly believe.  My horizons were profoundly expanded by my experiences in AmeriCorps.  The relationships forged from those experiences will be with me for the rest of my life.  I am a richer human being for all of that.  No doubt, no question.

My first semester of grad school has taught me some things, too (as well it should, for 20 grand).  One, I have a fairly decent chance at surviving it.  Two, I don't just want to survive it.  Three, I don't want to merely survive it, but I don't want to do the "cookie-cutter" public policy degree that the program vibes are projecting at me.  The policy degree at ASU is relatively new, and while I understand the point of all the analysis and statistics and research methodology, I am missing visceral experiences.  I don't want the next two years to fly by, resulting in a fancy new degree and feelings of self-doubt and unfulfilled purpose. 

In some ways, I regret turning Peace Corps down.  At the time, it was the right decision.  But where would I be now, with that experience under my belt?  Who would I be?  What could I have accomplished?  

Part of that line of questioning stems from selfishness.  But at the same time, who would I have been able to help?  That call to service, to get out and actually do something to improve the lives of others, was partially and temporarily satiated by AmeriCorps, but it's not going away.  It's exacerbated by my profound desire to get out of the familiar for once in my life and travel to far reaches of the world, where the need is so great.  I feel like if I don't go soon, I never will.  That thought has kept me awake at night, more than once.

Service comes naturally to me.  It doesn't to everyone.  Service is also defined differently by almost everybody.  It is impossible to quantify the experience of service, to rank it.  People have commended me for my AmeriCorps service, but those same people have questioned my desire to serve overseas.  Why?  What makes one more justifiable than the other, in their eyes?  Are there justifiable differences between them in my own?

It sounds cliche, I know, but I wholeheartedly believe what it comes down to is that we are ultimately defined by the choices we make, or don't make; by what we want or don't want to accomplish.  I want to be able to shape my degree into something that represents who I want to be, and what I want to actually do with it.  More and more, I feel like that involves immigration policy and humanitarian rights issues.  I want to continue the work that AmeriCorps turned me onto.  I want to do what I can to help, for as long as I'm here.

So here are the choices I'm making.  Next week, I'm sending in the paperwork to renew my passport.  I'm talking to the internship director for ASU's School of Public Affairs, about credit.  I'm talking to an enrollment manager with the volunteer organization, about enrollment options.  I'm researching fundraising tools to see if this thing is financially possible.  

This time, I'm ready.  

Why I love Jon Stewart so much.

Only a classy individual such as Mr. Stewart can take on the rampant lies and idiocracy of the FOX network and make them hilarious at the same time. There are no words. Just videos. Glorious, glorious videos. Here's his recent Emmy-clinching impersonation of Glenn Beck. Not to be crass, but be careful... you may wet yourself:

more about "Jon Stewart does Glenn Beck: The 11/3...", posted with vodpod

And here, is Mr. Stewart exposing the blatant attempt of blowhards Sean Hannity and Co. (including Most Hated Woman in Minnesota, Michelle Bachmann) to mislead their viewing public concerning recycled video footage--aired on Hannity's program--of a Glenn Beck rally used to inflate the apparent numbers at Bachmann's health care rally, held on a COMPLETELY different day. Jonny basically served up a major can of whoop-ass to their "credibility" (what credibility?) with a sprinkle of delightful silliness:

more about "Daily Show: Sean Hannity Uses Glenn B...", posted with vodpod

And then, Part II of the Silliness: 

more about "Daily Show: Sean Hannity Apologizes t...", posted with vodpod

Thank you, Mr. Stewart, for keeping it real.  And really, really funny.  And you stay classy, FOX News.

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The neo-nazi Counter-Rally...

Phoenix surprised me today. In a very, very positively affirming way.

The neo-nazis came a-marchin' on the Capitol today. So did a contingency of people who think they're absolute scum... and that their ideology sucks.

Watch for the "Ain't No Enchiladas Here, Boy" marcher. He's my favorite (sarcasm).

It was ugly at times. I must say, most of the ugly came from the opposite side of the street from where I stood. The NSM probably had about 50 guys there, including their fuhrer, Jeff 'Massively Overcompensating for SOMETHING' Schoep, and Phoenix's own resident nazi sympathizer, J.T. Ready. (Oho, sense another blog topic? I do!) They were there on the guise of anti-illegal immigration; however, the rhetoric swiftly devolved into overt racist propaganda, re: the "ain't no enchiladas here, boy" gem, among other, similarly inflammatory globs of verbal diarrhea flung at all manner of different ethnic groups.

Notice I'm not using the term 'ignorant'. Ohhhh no. These guys knew exactly what kind of reaction they wanted, and they knew what to say to get it. I should note that under no circumstances were there ANY coherent arguments made for the case against illegal immigration on the part of the NSM. There WERE non-NSM individuals present who still stated they were strongly against illegal immigration... however, these people were standing on OUR side.

Which brings me to the fun stuff... the NSMers were met by a large, diverse crowd of counter-protesters who came out to voice their extreme disapproval. City residents, students, senior citizens, anarchists, pacifists, hippies, Democrats AND Republicans, concerned citizens of many different racial and ethnic backgrounds. It was a powerful, united, direct challenge to the scheisse being regurgitated from the creepos waving their swastika flags and getting their tighty-whities (no pun intended) in a bunch over their hateful propaganda.

Telling the NSM to kindly leave.

I'm a little torn about the fact that the events were covered and aired by so many of the Phoenix news stations (see the video in Exhibit A). I mean, these societal throwbacks are so delusional they'll take this "free publicity" and exacerbate the holy bejeezus out of it. That was a concern expressed by many of the local civil rights groups. But for the people who showed up today in counter-protest, something more vital was at stake: the chance to look straight into the face of evil and tell it to get out... to take a stand for our community. We were there because we needed to be. It really wasn't a choice.

ACTIVISM VS. AVOIDANCE: Taking a Stand Against Racism in Arizona

I know the promised Sheriff Joe post is loooooonnnng overdue... sorry. Grad school caught up with me. Now the trick is catching up with it. Don't think I've abandoned the anti-bigotry, anti-political corruption and anti-abuse of power stand... I've been researching this guy for the past month and a half and have quite the nice lengthy back story on him. But since people who vocally criticize Crazy Sheriff Joe tend to be targeted after the fact--and for unrelated, unsubstantiated offenses--I want to make sure I have my shit together. Even though maybe five people read this thing, a hippie really can't be too careful.

However, it's impossible NOT to read about the questionable practices of the as-of-now-unnamed Maricopa County law enforcement agency (you know, the ones with the big cowboy-lookin' hats)--especially the questionable, and downright immoral, ideology and opinions expressed by said organization's very own Boss Hogg--and draw connections to recent developments here in Phoenix. Intolerant, racist policies breed intolerant, racist ideology, and always attract racist ideologies from other festering parts of the country like flies. In many cases, the rational, compassionate people in those communities (and there are usually many of them) refuse to accept this.  

Take, for instance, Minneapolis. This past October, the National Socialist Movement, a fascist neo-nazi organization, attempted to demonstrate against an ANTI-racism workshop held at the Midtown YMCA (yeah... try and wrap your brain around THAT logic). Needless to say, members of the community responded. 250 of them.

Helloooo, fascists.  Wanna dance?

Apparently an NSM representative looking for information about the workshop a week prior tipped off workshop organizers and community members, who decided to organize a counter-protest at a community planning meeting held 3 days before the NSM demonstration was going to take place. Word of the NSM protest and the subsequent counter-protest spread fairly quickly, through Facebook and other avenues, but was still short-notice; in many cases, information reached people 24 hours ahead of time, but the people still rallied. In the end, four--count 'em, FOUR--members of the group showed up for a grand total of about 45 minutes, remained under massive police escort and, due to pressure from the crowd, left soon after to chants of "No hate to our state," and "No Nazis, no KKK, no racist U.S.A."

This is one of the many reasons I am proud to hail from the Twin Cities. We have a distinct tendency to band together in the face of adversity and evil. We take ownership of our communities. We refuse, on the whole, to be intimidated into letting events be dictated by people and forces we know to be socially debilitating and morally rotten. There is an amazing culture of diversity and acceptance in my hometown. I miss it.

I miss it because I have yet to find its equivalent here. Tomorrow, there is a protest scheduled to take place on the grounds of the Arizona State Capitol, here in Phoenix. It is billed as an anti-illegal immigration protest... a common-enough subject in this polarized state. The protest organizers? The National Socialist Movement.

This, however, is no Minneapolis. This protest is expected to be bigger... the head fuhrer... er, "commander" (whatever, same delusions of grandeur)... of the NSM has expressed his desire to get 200 to 300 skinheads out on the lawn. Other estimates point more to numbers around 50 to 100. Which, I think we can all agree, is 50 to 100 skinheads too many. The organization claims to be protesting illegal immigration, but exactly what aspects of illegal immigration they're protesting is still unclear. Many people think it is simply a front for the nazi scheisse they spew at all of their events. What IS clear, however, is that the loudest emotional reaction to this development isn't outrage (although there is, thankfully, quite a bit of that). What's being smeared across the comment sections of online Arizona news sites and blogs is fear, sometimes scary indifference, and most frighteningly, agreement.  

Agreement. With nazis. For each rational post railing against neo-nazi fascism and racism, there are at least one or two that ADVOCATE SUPPORT for the position of the NSM, spread more hate speech against ethnic minority and immigrant groups, and vomit up accusations of fascism against our president. I am NOT saying that the majority of Arizonans feel this way. Not at all; in fact, I'm pretty positive the opposite is the case. But these people claim to be tax-paying members of this community, and they are screeching their hateful messages so loud that the rational folks are being drowned out in an assault of verbal garbage. It's a shouting contest and intimidation, pure and simple.

What's particularly difficult to swallow is the fact that local civil rights groups have reportedly declined to organize any official counter-movements in response to tomorrow's event. The Arizona ADL and several local Latino advocacy groups have adopted the position that counter-demonstrations will merely call attention to the NSM, and many have expressed concern for the safety of counter-protesters.  

Their positions are valid. There is no guarantee that protests over highly polarizing issues, which tend to attract highly volatile extremists on both ends of the spectrum, won't become violent. The media flocks to events that yield sensationalized outcomes (I was a journalist at one point; I know my news values. Conflict is one of them). Two groups engaged in a heated exchange is more newsworthy than one group hanging out by itself, watching the grass grow. Thrown punches equal headlines. Riot? National news.

However, with all of that taken into consideration, I still cannot personally justify the call from these groups to just stand aside and do nothing. The NSM is an affront to everything I believe in and hold important in terms of the way I approach life. They have an ugly history of spitting on the civil liberties of others while hiding behind the Constitution, so much of which they flout, it's laughable. Ultimately, it's not about WHAT the NSM is protesting. The danger lies in allowing them to have their protest without a show of counter-protesters, the opposition vocalizing its belief that the fundamental principle of the NSM is horribly, horribly WRONG. I don't believe I am alone in this view; I sincerely hope that tomorrow there are crowds of people at the Capitol who oppose the NSM's presence as much as I do. 

To let the NSM march unchallenged is, in this case, tacit acceptance of their existence and their message. This cannot be tolerated. We cannot be complacent.     

Want these guys in YOUR neighborhood?  I think not.

More on the NSM march and rally, Nov. 7th, 2:00 p.m. at the Arizona State Capitol in Phoenix...

For Stacey

On September 17^th, 2009, the world lost a tremendous presence.  Those of us who knew her lost a vital source of strength and light in our lives.  I lost my mentor and friend.  Stacey Morgan was so much, to so many people.  I’d like to share with you what she became to one idealistic young college graduate who was at a strange place in her life, just over two years ago.

I was out of college and not sure what to do next.  I’d graduated with a degree I wasn’t planning on using.  In a sort of crisis, I’d looked to the Peace Corps, and when I decided that was TOO MUCH of a solution, I found AmeriCorps.  National service would be the buffer between me and the big crazy world, while I took some time to serve other people, learn and figure out what kind of a career I wanted.

So… as luck would have it, the first (and only) program I interviewed with was Multicultural Communities in Action, the AmeriCorps program partnering with CommonBond Communities.  After my initial interview, it was time to find a site where I’d best fit for my term of service.  I went to Cathedral Hill Homes to talk with Stacey Morgan, the Advantage Center program manager.

And it clicked.  Immediately.  I sat down and interviewed with this spunky, hilarious lady who had this incredible curly red hair that I was instantly jealous of.  And I was like, “Yep.  I want to work for her.”  I did not regret that decision.  Not once.

Stacey was unbelievably open and supportive from the very beginning.  She had a complete teamwork mentality, and would never hesitate to drop one of her countless current projects to help out her (rookie) staff.  She would not let us sink.  I remember—and this happened more than once my first year—I would be running Homework Center at Cathedral Hill, and would have 9 or 10 kids, Kindergarten through fifth grade… and I would be literally up to my elbows in children needing help with math and science and telling me so-and-so was hitting so-and-so and needing a snack and the bathroom and “Jen I’m bored,” “Jen, can I use the computer?” “Jen, Jen, Jen!” and I would be ready to pull my HAIR OUT BY THE ROOTS because I’d tried EVERYTHING and the children JUST.  WOULD.  NOT.  FOCUS…

And then, Stacey would get there, coming from a meeting or running an errand… and she would see the look on my face, and without saying a word, would simply take off her coat or put down her bag, and would try… something else.  A little youth work technique or trick that, even though I’d tried everything I could feasibly think of, I just had not known.  And, of course, it was the one thing that worked. 

I was always in awe of that… her unshakeable confidence.  She knew SO MUCH about her job, and the residents, and the kids.  She had an amazing capability to gather a group—even a group of unruly seven-year-olds—and could get them to listen, and work together, without them even fully realizing it.  I wanted to learn how to do that, what she appeared to pull off so effortlessly.  It made me work that much harder to be better at my job. 

Stacey taught me so much.  She was my mentor in all respects.  She helped me figure out where my true strengths were, she listened to me voice my insecurities about my future career choices and life in general, she helped me through the grad school application process… and she entrusted the Cathedral Hill Advantage Center, with all its programs, to me for an entire summer while she embarked on her own much-looked-forward-to adventure of being a mom.  If I ever questioned her confidence in my abilities, she'd laugh and give me a look that clearly said "I'm not stupid.  Neither are you."  And I would work so very hard not to prove her wrong.

The two years I spent under her direction as an AmeriCorps member at Cathedral Hill are indescribable to me in terms of value.  I valued her empathy and her strength, her wisdom and warmth, her leadership and her friendship.

Stacey gave me a thank-you card during our farewell dinner on my last day at Cathedral Hill, not too long ago.  There is a quote on the front of it that impacted me then and has stayed with me, and I’d like to share it with you:

“They came to sit and dangle their feet off the edge of the world, and after awhile they forgot everything but the good and true things they would do someday.”

I like to think that when she picked the card out, she saw me in that quote.  I see her in it, too, except for the very real, obvious truth: Stacey never SAT.  She ran, danced, hopped, skipped, cartwheeled and roller-skated… celebrated… through everything she did.  

And Stacey, I will never forget the good and true things you taught me.  You did those good and true things every day.  Thank you.

So.  Welcome to my little corner of the blogiverse!  It hardly ever rains here.

If my life of late could have taken the form of a want ad, this is how it would have read:

"Self-proclaimed flaming liberal bleeds-blue tried-and-true hippie activist seeks adventure and something... well, something DIFFERENT.  Loves sunshine.  Loves political drama.  Tolerates Republicans if they don't go stomping around on the Bill of Rights."

In retrospect, should have included: "Gun-Totin' Obama-Hatin' Creationists for GW, please take your crazy elsewhere."  Alas, the ad people charge by the word.

Arizona was a toss-up.  And there are plenty of things about this state that I'm coming to like.  A lot.  For example: the sun is nice.  (And, it'll be a whole lot nicer in January.)  The mountains are lovely.  And I've met some great, intelligent, totally sane and reasonable people who genuinely love this state and don't want to see it spiral downwards into a cesspool of hate-mongering and intolerance overseen by the crazies mentioned above.  

What do we do about those nut-jobs?  Well, I can offer up a few suggestions, but they may or may not be constitutional.  Anyway, you'll just have to keep reading and we'll see if anything comes up. 

So, here is the first step... well, MY first step.  My personal vehicle (however small and insignificant it might be) from which to bring irrational and harmful agendas/policies/issues/what-have-you's up front for discussion.  I want this blog to be a platform where free speech and voices of reason are welcome; where all rational-thinking beings can express their frustrations, have epiphanies, rant and rage against the ideological insanity that tends to engulf important issues in this country like the plague, and be comforted... there ARE still optimists in the world (and quite a few hippies, too).  

We'll see what this experiment yields.  I'm going to write about subjects, political and not, that interest me, piss me off a little, and issues that make me absolutely want to cluster bomb parts of the state of Arizona--and all of the worthless, racist, intolerant and ignorance-cancer-infested parts of other states, while we're at it--back into the Mesozoic era (...and that's a little evolutionary shout-out for ya'z). 

Keep fighting the good fight!  I sure as hell will be.

~Jen