From Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip with David Foster Wallace by David Lipsky.
important stats from that article about why calling local leaders matters:
One phone call = 100-1,000 angry voters.
One personal email = 10-50 voters.
One form letter = maybe 1 voter, if they even count it.
This is the economy of political pressure. Individualized contact influences 94% of congressional offices on undecided issues. Mass email campaigns? 18%. Petitions? Worthless.
But here's the secret that changes everything: State officials are sitting ducks.
State Comptrollers generally receive 5-10 constituent calls per month. State Treasurers? Many have never experienced a coordinated campaign. District Attorneys? Only hear from victims and lawyers, not voters. State Legislators? They average 20-30 contacts per week.
The magic happens at these thresholds:
10 calls in an hour = staff notices.
50 calls in a day = emergency meeting.
100 calls in a day = office shuts down to handle it.
500 calls in a week = policy change consideration.
1,000 calls = historical precedent shows this forces action.
Constituent contact increases legislator support probability by 12-20%. The Net Neutrality campaign's 1.3 million calls changed federal policy. The ACA defense campaign's 6,000 calls prevented repeal. At the state level, you need 100x fewer calls for the same impact.
this fantastic article has sample scripts for what to say about ICE in your state and city, as well as what to ask for to help your city and state fight federal over-reach where you live
we can win this fight, but we need to fight. I know on a personal level how hard it can be to make calls, especially to politicians, but we've reached a point that if we don't, the slippery slope into the chasm of tyranny becomes a cliff
Happy to see this in places where I usually find white nationalist stickers.
no no that’s a bop, i love it
“Woman!” cried I, somewhat tearsome,
“Who are you to stand so fearsome
With your wavy locks of auburn hair and eyes of emerald green?”
Quoth the woman, “I’m Jolene”
Look, it’s a weird hill to die on, especially when I don’t really explain, but children deserve to experience fear, disgust, and discomfort in safe scenarios where they can process those sensations.
Media for children used to be scary and that’s important.
“Since it is so likely that (children) will meet cruel enemies, let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage. Otherwise you are making their destiny not brighter but darker.”
― C.S. Lewis
"Fairy tales do not tell children the dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."
-- G. K. Chesterton
