Call It Out (part two)

The events of the weekend have really shaken me. I realize that as a white person I can freely move through society without much effort or care. I have the privilege of not being pulled over in my car unless I am actually doing something wrong (and then not always). I have the privilege of walking down a street and… Read more →

Call It Out

When I was a child I let it go when I heard racist or sexist or homophobic slurs from friends and family. When I was a teenager I let it go when I heard racist or sexist or homophobic slurs from teachers and coworkers. When I was in my twenties I let it go when I heard racist or sexist… Read more →

Snowflakes, Learning, and Laziness

When I went back to school in 2010 to pursue a second bachelors degree in Sociology I had no idea that the degree would change my perspectives so drastically. I have always considered myself to be open-minded and eager to learn new things. I have tried to think critically about everything that comes across my social media feed or email… Read more →

March On

Yesterday we marched. In large numbers, we hit the streets of the States and across the globe. We marched to show our determination and our strength. We marched to show our displeasure with the forces that be. We marched to wake up the world to the fact that America is not okay with the latest situation we find ourselves in.… Read more →

Seriously

So, I was thinking that I would go in a different direction with this blog. Something outside of the realm of citizen action. At the time I made this decision, I believed that we were going to elect our first female POTUS and continue with another 8 years of change for the better. At that time, I did not realize… Read more →

Hey, ladies!

To the women that voted for Trump, and specifically the 53% (wtf? source: popsugar.com) of white women that voted for him: I want to say how deeply sorry we are. We, the assembled masses of feminist women. The women who you have been fed preconceived notions about. The women who have been fighting for the rights of ALL women, not… Read more →

Why I Vote

The day has finally arrived! Election day – the day that, as citizens of the United States, we get to vote. Voting is not something that has always been available to all of us. It took 94 years for black men and 144 years for women to win this right. It is a right AND a privilege and it should… Read more →

You Better Vote

“I was just a girl, in a room full of women, licking stamps and laughing. I remember the feeling of community brewing, of democracy happening.” – Ani Difranco – Paradigm The election is in 3 days. As I sit here at the coffeehouse and think about all the years of struggle that women in the United States of America have… Read more →

The System Is Rigged

In the final debate of the campaign season, the Republican nominee for President of the United States did not answer a fundamental question. A question that gets at the very fabric of our democratic republic. When asked if he would accept the outcome of the election, Mr. Trump stated, “I will look at it at the time”. When pressed on an… Read more →

Changing Things Up

As you can see, it has been quite a while since the last official post here at Rise Up Buffalo. We have been busy working on other projects and getting locked out of our accounts, but we are ready to pick up where we left off, with a few tweaks to the original theme. Rise Up Buffalo was originally created… Read more →

Ghosts

Driving home yesterday, from my writing hours, I heard a gentleman on the radio talking about Western New York ghost tours. This peaked my interest less because of a desire to attend a tour (of which I have zero interest) and more about my previous writing on the subject of ghosts. When I was in the Sociology program, one of… Read more →

Sociology, Libraries, and Life

In 2009, I made the decision to return to school and obtain a second Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology. This time I would apply myself. I would study and try my best not to procrastinate. I would work as a volunteer and devote myself to causes within the major. I would work on a research project and continue on… Read more →

Women Really CAN Do Anything

Remember when we were kids, in the 80s, and the teachers would say, “you can be anything you want to be”? They encouraged us to work hard and we would succeed. I get that we were raised in a time when that seemed to be true, but as a girl I never had the feeling that it was. This year,… Read more →

America Is No Longer For Us

“Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt   “They’re not coming to this country if I’m president. And if Obama has brought some to this country they are leaving, they’re going, they’re gone.” – Donald Trump   “In America, anyone can become president. That’s the… Read more →

Priorities

It is a new year and, as so many others do during the month of January, I am assessing my life and habits and looking toward making changes. These changes will not come in the form of resolutions. We all know what happens when we make those. No, instead, I will be making long term changes over the course of… Read more →

Organized Religion and Terror

On Friday, 27 November 2015, a gunmen entered a Planned Parenthood location in Colorado Springs, Colorado and began shooting. After killing 3 people and wounding 11 others, he was finally taken into custody and questioned. Over the weekend, much information has surfaced from his neighbours, former family members, and the general investigation. Of all the information given by these sources,… Read more →

What are you grateful for?

American Thanksgiving. A day to gather together with family and friends and eat massive amounts of carbs. A day to remember the Pilgrims and pretend that the very first Thanksgiving was festive for them AND the Natives. After all, rewriting history is what we are all about as a nation so why should today be any different? But that, actually,… Read more →

Before and After

Many things have changed over the years, but one thing has always remained constant. I love New York City and I have always thought that I would end up there eventually. There has never been a clear path to this goal, but the thought was always there. Waiting. Running in the background of every decision I have made. Each step… Read more →

Trying New Things aka Letting Go of the Past to Create a Better Future

Throughout my life I have been skeptical of pretty much everything.  I have been highly attracted to the mystical and spiritual side of life, but I have never fully bought into any of it. Each time I go to the bookstore, I end up in one of three sections; Sociology, Cultural Studies, or New Age/Spirituality. Self improvement has been something… Read more →

What Is Success?

Throughout my life I have had many different understandings of what success should look like. I have been able to see success through the lens of how other people achieve things, but never really see that in myself. When I was a teenager, I thought success was connected to fame. I wanted to sing and dance on Broadway and I… Read more →

Looking Inward

This is the year of 40. Although it does not happen until nearly the end, it is colouring all my decisions. It sounds like a sad occasion, but it is not. 40 has given me a clarity I did not realize I could have. My experiences leading up to this milestone birthday are helping me make key decisions for life… Read more →

The Future of Feminism

The future is bright for those in the feminist movement but our work is never done.  With that in mind, I feel it is a good time to put down my thoughts on the future of feminism and the next generation (are we going to call them 4th wavers?) of women and men that will keep the movement strong.  One… Read more →

Riot Grrrl: Better Late Than Never

The 90’s were a time of new music with an undercurrent (and sometimes blatant current) of radical feminism. L7, Sleater-Kinney, Bratmobile, and, the leaders of feminist punk, Bikini Kill. Back then, I listened to the music, but I wasn’t fully in the scene. Living in Niagara Falls and attending school in Buffalo removed me from the angst-ridden, raw intensity of… Read more →

Happiness

This week, at the office, we had a gentleman from the Wellness Institute of Greater Buffalo come in to do a seminar on happiness in the workplace and the home. It was slightly dry, at times, but still motivational. The thing that struck me the most was that the answer to almost any question about happiness is positivity. If you… Read more →