Child's Play

Taking a break from my normal social-political ranting to get a jump on the good will of the Holiday Season.

Evey year the hubbster and I donate to a cause that really hits home for us. We grew up with a generation of people who love video games, and funny enough when we started dating the fact that we were both nerds helped bring us together. In that vein, we love Child's Play, a charity for gamers to donate to children's hospitals:

Since 2003, over 100,000 gamers worldwide have banded together through Child’s Play, a community based charity grown and nurtured from the game culture and industry. Over 3.5 million dollars in donations of toys, games, books and cash for sick kids in children’s hospitals across North America and the world have been collected since our inception.

This year, we have continued expanding across the country and the globe. With around 60 partner hospitals and more arriving every month, you can be sure to find one from the map above that needs your help! You can choose to purchase requested items from their online retailer wish lists, or make a cash donation that helps out Child’s Play hospitals everywhere. Any items purchased through Amazon will be shipped directly to your hospital of choice, so please be sure to select their shipping address rather than your own.

When gamers give back, it makes a difference!

Of course, I support any kind of charitable giving...but if you're looking for something a little different this year, I strongly encourage this one.

Protesting Is For Lovers

For those who know me or have read my blog before, it's probably obvious how I feel about the passing of Prop 8 in California - disgusted, saddened, slight fear...I could continue... so what to do? Join the tens of thousands of people nation wide protesting the passing of Prop 8 today.



It's been awhile since I've protested anything. I guess in the later Bush years it got to feel like no one was listening when I would start yelling. I protested on the anniversary of the war a few years in a row and was yelled at; after a few really low turn our rallies I got frustrated. The turn out for this was amazing! As we marched around the green in the center of New Haven people honked their horns and joined in - by the time we finished the round (about the equivalent of 2 blocks) we'd nearly doubled in size. It was so gratifying, especially given the recent ruling to make gay marriage legal in CT.

As we marched a number of people thanked me for being there as a "straight" woman (I put that word in quotes because I don't like assumption). It felt odd for a few reasons. First, how could I look my closest friends in the eye if I wasn't (they happen to be gay...so what?).

Second, and more important, I'm not anything - straight, gay...I hate labels in general. This is about equal rights for everyone. If they can deny a person the right for legal recognition of their chosen partner, what else can they deny us? What if I have a minority religion? Or a non-traditional family structure? Abortion seems the obvious one here, but what about family planning in general? There are so many things you may take for granted that if someone decided that you were different and made a compelling enough argument to your difference they could take it away. It's not about being gay, it's about protecting rights for us all.

We haven't done it yet...

Went to sleep last night with a smile on my face after crying through Obama's speech. I can barely catch my breath because I can barely believe it's actually happened. Since I was granted the right to vote on my 18th birthday I have yet to vote in a major election where the person I was voting for actually won!

But still...

I've been hearing a lot of "Yes, we did" this morning - and something about that bothers me. While last night was historic and euphoric and cathartic we still have a looooong way to go; and there's a large part of me that feels like we're missing something here.

Every liberal over the age of 22 knows what it feels like to wake up on Nov 4th and feel like someone punched you in the stomach. 4 years ago we felt like someone was holding a gun to our head and we couldn't seem to dodge the bullet.

Do you remember? Because that's how McCain supporters feel this morning. For any real change to happen we need to embrace the fact that we're all in this together - and right now anyone who was on the other side of that very high fence feels like it's not their country anymore and this is not their President. Our task now is to welcome them - it doesn't match which lever you pulled yesterday...Divided We Fail.

Obama's website this morning has a quote from his speech last night: "I'm asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington... I'm asking you to believe in yours". Part of believing that we can bring about real change is asking those around us to believe it with us.

What's it really about?

Jack had a great post the other day on Rational Resistance about a non-profit refusing the donations from a gaming conference because it was held by a group that has ties with the (I can tell you from experience) fun and harmless game Dungeons & Dragons.

It feels recently like I've been stumbling on instances of this kind of close-minded misunderstanding more and more; and it's flavored with the hits that those involved don't WANT to understand. One specific, recent example comes to mind.

For the 2 people that may not have known, Friday was Halloween. I have the fortune of working for a company with a fairly diverse work force, and have never shied away from speaking with people who are different than me - that's how we learn and continue to grow as people. One of my acquaintances is devoutly and conservatively Jewish. She was raised in a tight community in NYC and moved to a similar community with her husband in her 20's. She and I were chatting about a client whose company I didn't know had a religious taboo about Halloween and I'd (unfortunately) asked if anyone in their office had dressed up. In response to my comments the woman I was speaking with starts talking about the pre-Halloween shenanigans in her less-than-safe neighborhood and how scary it was for her poor friend who had the unfortunate lack of foresight to park her car on the street in front of her house. Her windshield was smashed and the cops have no clue (of course).

So yes, that totally sucks - but what she said next almost brought me out of my chair. It was something to the affect of "You know, I just don't get this whole pagan thing. I can understand why some Christians wouldn't celebrate Halloween if it's tied to that kind of pagan violence."

Now - for the purposes of this blog, the jury is out on my religious affiliations. What I will share is that I have gone out of my way to explore a number of faiths, one of them being Wicca an Neo-Paganism. Though I managed not to raise my voice, I was really glad some of my practicing Wiccan/Pagan friends were not there to be offended, because they would've been really hurt. When I tried to explain the social blunder to this woman said countered something to the affect that she wouldn't have ever known the Pagan tradition of Samhain because she's not allowed to learn about it per her religious teachings.

If they teach you its a sin to be a free thinker it's one way to keep you coming back...

In reaction to Jack's blog I say: In addition to all the other baggage do recessions also equal an increase in close-minded judgment?

I realize that in tough times people look to religion for comfort and guidance - why not also look to one another for connection and compassion? A little more understanding and a little less blame certainly wouldn't hurt either.