ace rants

How to help

I'm sure many of you have heard about the obscene police brutality against people of color and how they are being held virtually unaccountable. 

This isn't a foggy issue. The government and police are being extremely horribly racist. There is no narrative where what they are doing is good or has an acceptable explanation. 

I'm white, so I'm not the best person to be talking on this, but I think that if I just say to do your own research and link some accounts, that's being very detached and lazy, so I will link some accounts, but I'll also write some things about it. If anyone has corrections or additions with either links or more information or anything else, please comment them.

https://blacklivesmatter.com - Here's the link to the black lives matter website

https://mappingpoliceviolence.org - Shows the systemic racism from past years 

During quarantine, there have been many times where the police murdered or used unnecessary force on innocent people and claimed they were suspect of petty crimes to 'justify' their actions. These officers are then not held accountable. 

One night in Minnesota, there was a story about a counterfeit $20 bill floating around, and a store employee thought one of their customers may have bought cigarettes with that $20 bill. The employee called 911.

Officers stopped the customer in his car and one of the officers pulled out a gun despite having no provocation to do so. They then handcuffed him and the customer understandably resisted. Then an officer pushed him to the ground and put a knee on his neck for nearly three minutes even though he kept saying he couldn't breathe. The officer choked him to death. The victim was George Floyd.

Some more things about George Floyd: he had a young daughter. His friends and family described him as being incredibly kind and gentle. He had moved to Minnesota to live a better life.

The punishment the officers received was paid leave. They murdered someone over (false) allegations of a counterfeit $20 bill, and they got paid leave. 

Racism like this is why we need to fight.

Here are some ways you can help:

1. If you don't have much money or time, you can sign petitions. 

here's a link to a petition demanding that the officers that killed George Floyd are charged with murder

https://act.colorofchange.org/sign/justiceforfloyd_george_floyd_minneapolis

If you don't live in the US, you can use 00000 as your zip code. Also, you can get this same petition by texting FLOYD to 55156

https://blacklivesmatter.com/petitions/ 

Here is a link for petitions from Black Lives Matter because the US government is not equally helping all communities, and they are helping poc communities less, so these are petitions for the government to help more.

https://www.change.org/t/black-lives-matter-en-us

Also here's a link to all change.org petitions about black lives matter.

None of these cost money, and they only take a few seconds, so please sign them. Also, if you are going to donate, don't donate through change.org because the money doesn't always find the petition's organizers. 

2. If you do have money that you can donate, here are some charities you can donate to:

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019 - Black Lives Matter

https://www.innocenceproject.org - Fights to prove the wrongly convicted people are innocent

https://bailproject.org - pays bail to get wrongfully convicted people out of prison and fights for a less biased and more just justice system

https://actionnetwork.org/fundraising/louisville-community-bail-fund/ - like the bail project but for Louisville

https://minnesotafreedomfund.org - like the bail project but in Minnesota, and it helps people pay immigration bonds

https://brooklynbailfund.org - like the bail project except in Brooklyn and fights ICE too

https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd - help George Floyd's family fight for justice and while they are grieving

https://www.reclaimtheblock.org - An organization in Minneapolis, Minnesota to move money from their police force into different areas of the city's budget that will actually protect the people

https://www.blackvisionsmn.org - "a Black-led, Queer and Trans centering organization whose mission is to organize powerful, connected Black communities and dismantle systems of violence...through building strategic campaigns, investing in Black leadership, and engaging in cultural and narrative organizing."

https://www.gofundme.com/f/i-run-with-maud - a go fund to help Ahmaud Arbery's family—he was killed by police officers while running 

https://www.aclu.org/issues/racial-justice - gives legal services and support to help fight for civil rights

https://www.cuapb.org/what_we_do - a 24 hour crisis hotline for police brutality where people can report instances of police brutality and they will die legal, medical, and psychological help

https://www.thecut.com/2020/05/george-floyd-protests-how-to-help-where-to-donate.html - here's a list of many many more charities you can donate to

3. Protest

The easiest way to find protests happening near you is to google "[a city near you or your state] protest calendar]" 

PLEASE BE SAFE. There is a still a pandemic going on. Wear a mask. If you are high risk or live with someone who is high risk, don't go. If you aren't feeling well, do. Not. Go.

If you do go, again wear a mask. Try to stand away from people, and bring hand sanitizer and water. If you're at a protest and they use pepper spray or tear gas, get to fresh air, flush the affected area out with milk or water, and do not rub it in. Also if you have contacts, wear glasses instead and don't wear lotion or makeup because all of those can trap tear gas/pepper spray particles.

4. Contact your legislators about passing legislation to support anti-racism.

5. If you're white, recognize your privilege. Make sure you aren't overshadowing poc voices, and don't get pissy if someone says white people are bad. Also, make sure to listen to black voices to see how you can help. I got all the ways you can help from black activists. 

6. Please do more than just posting things on your story. Back your words with actions.

Also, if it thinking about it makes you feel bad, I can guarantee from experience that you will feel better if you help.