Welcome to the latest edition of the Just Posts, the monthly roundtable of posts on topics of social justice and activism hosted here and at Cold Spaghetti.
I have a confession to make. Putting together the Just Posts is hard. I don’t particularly mean hard work, though the act of putting together the list of links and formatting and checking links and so forth is a bit of a chore. Chores I can manage. What I really mean is that putting together the Just Posts is hard on me. Especially my monthly attempt to actually write with seriousness about issues that are important to me. You see, I blog primarily to be creative, to have an outlet to play with words, and to express my silly side. I think about serious issues a lot, mind you, but when it comes down to it, I find writing about serious things to be both mentally taxing and emotionally draining. One problem is that there are a daunting number of issues that I think about, each one of them even more daunting in its complexity. Another problem is that I am a slow writer. The more serious the topic, the more carefully (and slowly) I choose my words.
That being said, I truly appreciate it when others choose to write about topics that make a difference to our world. Reading such posts inspires me. Hearing your voices speaking out edifies me. Knowing that others are also reading motivates me. The individual posts we write may not move mountains, but our efforts combined are part of a powerful force for positive change.¹
I’ll finish up my ramblings here by offering up one of my favorite protest songs from the late, great, legendary Bob Marley: “Get Up, Stand Up.”
Don’t give up the fight.
And now, the all important list: The September Just Posts.
- BipolarLawyerCook with My best friend’s wedding…
- dmariemart of Argot with Minds of Our Own
- Emily of Wheels on the Bus with No More Hall Passes
- Erika at Be gay about it. with and Iowa: a proposal. and Iowa: mawwiage, that dweam within a dweam.
- flying tomato of Flying Tomato Farms with Quit the Bullsh*t–Public Option Now!
- girlgriot of if you want kin… with Street walking and Danger, Will Robinson! Don’t Go “Down There”!
- jen at one plus two with bob marley has definitely left the building
- Jenn at breed ’em and weep with Hi, I’m somebody
- laloca of baggage carousel 4 with the politics of counting and thinking about miscarriage
- Magpie of Magpie Musing with From the Rain Comes Hope
- Neil of Citizen of the Month with Tales of Health Insurance
- Painted of Painted Maypole with Why isn’t this a non-issue?
- Tami of What Tami Said with I’m saving my cheers over new, “authentic” black Barbie line
- wreke of wrekehavoc with guilty pleasure monday: millworker (james taylor)
- Zach Ford at Zach Ford blogs with Coming Out Might Be Easier, But It’s Still Hard
The posts of this month’s roundtable were submitted by:
Thanks so much for reading! We really appreciate your support. And not just appreciate it. We need your support to keep the Just Posts going.
If you have a post in the list above, or would just like to support the Just Posts, we invite you to display a button on your blog with a link back here, or to the Just Posts at Cold Spaghetti. If you would like to have a post included next month, you can find out how to submit posts and all sorts of other stuff about the Just Posts at the information page.
————-
¹ This seems a good time to mention that Blog Action Day is coming up, a day when thousands bloggers around the world speak out on a common topic. This year’s theme is Climate Change. The big day is tomorrow (October 15th), but there is still time to participate. I haven’t yet committed to writing, but I certainly expect to do some reading.
collecting tokens 
comedy is one of the best ways to handle a serious subject. go ahead and get silly about a justice issue. I had planned to do some silly sarcastic toast on Monday to… and that’s the problem. I had a brilliant idea and didn’t right it down. A toast to the people opposing the health care bill? maybe? i dunno.
anywho… approach it with your fabulous humor. Do a Themed Thursday list for global warming. Write the kind of post you enjoy writing.
And thank you for all your hard work.
Painted-
Thanks for your comment. I appreciate it, especially since people don’t comment much on my Just Posts posts. Case in point: you’re it, so far.
As for your suggestion, I do get silly about some issues, but I can’t force humor in for all topics. I’ve been silly with topics like consumerism and environmentalism before. I’ve been silly talking about marriage equality or some gender issues. But I find have no silliness in me when it comes to a topic like domestic violence. Violent oppression in general sucks the humor right out of me. And to completely steer clear of such topics, especially when they have been weighing on my mind, makes me feel like I’m only presenting Social Justice Lite.
That is maybe at the heart of my inner conflict here. My blog is generally a whimsical place. I wax nostalgic. I ramble on nonsensically. Sometimes about pants. Certainly my ideologies and left-leaning tendencies have poked through over the years (almost 3 years!), but as an armchair activist, I feel like I lack the credibility/authority (and some other word I can’t quite place my finger on) to really do the Just Posts justice. (I think of jen and the example she has set with her work and her life vs. me, sitting here on my sofa. I haven’t even managed to do volunteering lite!)
And anyhow, part of me feels like it’s good for me to write on serious topics with seriousness. A handful of such things I have written have really felt worthwhile, though they drained me when I wrote them. There are some posts that have been percolating in me that still want to be written, but they’ll need a chunk of time that I haven’t been able (or maybe willing) to budget for them yet.
Thanks for the thanks, too. It helps.
I love the just posts – you (all) always bring interesting stuff to the table. Thank you.
thanks again — and please, please — YOU WRITE!! (because you do it so beautifully!!!)
You’re so right; writing about meaningful topics is a struggle. I have all kinds of things I’d like to write about, but it is so demanding that I’d rather post a video or watch one. Thanks for pointing to my post this month! It will be awhile before there is another of such “strength.” :-)