These little hashtags pepper our lives. These are mine and how they represent me. At least that is how I wanted this book to be. It was to be a book of short articles using a hashtag as inspiration. However, it has grown and changed as I have.
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"Women's March Chicago" illustrated by Nathan Tolzmann
I am about to get a little preachy. I apologize, but I do feel that before we go any further, it would help for you to understand firmly where I see myself. Where do I stand on our current social issues? This can be summed up by a freeform poem I wrote after the election of Darth Vader. If I missed anything, please let me know. I may have left it out on purpose, but mostly, I just want to see what issues you care about!
I support you. I support freedom of speech. However, I feel our biased media needs to get their shit together. I support love in all its forms because what you choose to do in your bedroom does NOT affect me. I support your pursuit of happiness, whatever that means to you. I support your decision to come out or stay in the closet. I support gender fluidity.
I support all religious freedom including Christians, Muslims, Atheists, and excluding no one. I support women's choice and that includes if you choose to be pro-life. I support whether you decide to love one person or many and that's regardless of their gender. I support equal pay for equal experience and companies should be audited on this. I support giving more land back to the Natives because damn it, they were here first. I support clean water over greed. I support clean energy over fossil fuels because there isn't a good reason not to.
I support education over brute police action. De-escalation training is a must both in police force AND in communities.
I support education over spending money on our prison systems. With our technology available, there is no reason we cannot create personalized education for every person.
I support adoption over breeding and yes that applies to humans too, but I won't impede you if you make a different choice... because I'm pro- choice too. I support a universal health care system as well as placing restrictions on Big Pharma and insurance so they will stop price gouging. It should be illegal to charge $500 for a band-aid or Tylenol you can get at any store.
I support open borders and allowing all immigrants to pay taxes so they can put money back into America. I support a national job search that companies must use prior to reaching out to other countries. I support putting welfare recipients to work in various community service if they aren't actively looking for work or getting an education.
I support removing labels like Republican and Democrat from the ballot with a synopsis of their stances so people who aren't scholars can still make an educated decision. And on that note... I support revamping our voting system to make it easier for people to vote not harder. I support an open commentary with people who disagree with me because only with talking can we understand each other. I support looking at both the individual and the community because both are important.
I support more funding for research and science because that IS the future. I support the officers, firefighters, and military who put their lives in danger every day, but that does not mean they get free passes. It means I hold you to a higher standard! I support if you decide to work in the sex industry as much as I support you if you choose to be a priest or nun. I support you if you were born in the urban sprawl or the rural country. I support you whether you have a job or have millions squirreled away in trust funds.
I support you whether your skin is red, brown, orange, peach, beige, or any other color. I support you even if you aren't American as long as you hold these same ideals. I support you because we live together on this planet. I support peace, love, and compassion in all it forms. I support you.
