It's a Job For Citizens- By Amanda Torrey

It’s been a long day.  I reconstructed the Salon’s website which had been lost during an upgrade.  I’m not adept at websites and have no idea what I’m doing most of the time.  I thought a year David and I worked on the podcast had been completely gone, but found it only hidden in a “blog.”

The point?  I want to do a multi-collegiate Health Fair inviting every wellness center in the city to anchor the opening of Chicago SexFest 2013.  I want to take a public stand against sexual marginalization.

Sounds great.  I thought it would be easy.  Diminishing  marginalization of sexual minorities is a popular cause, right?  And academics could dig out their old material and do a symposium at the Leather Archives & Museum.  There has been a lot of work done and it would be thrilling to watch our hometown professors tout their stuff.  I wanted to hear them.  I can’t be the only one that gets off on academics.

I wanted to see researchers show what they’re doing in healthcare at a Health Fair.
I wanted Chicago performers dancing in the streets.
I wanted time for everybody to do what they work hard to do.
What I mean is here in Chicago, the whole party would be about celebrating our quirky human natures.

But ideals are expensive and time consuming.

I found you have to create a “vehicle” to do that.
The IRS has to approve it.  That letter from the IRS is important.
You have to give them reason to grant you 501(c)3 status and get your state’s Articles of Incorporation.  LEGALZOOM is expensive, but the cheapest anywhere.
You have to open up a business account at your bank.
Develop a website.
Get a donation button that accepts credit cards or Pay Pal.

THEN the work of getting people’s attention begins.  If you’re my friend, I’ve called you already.  Sometimes more than once — my apologies.  The 100 people is a big deal.  I mean if a cause can’t bring together at least 100 people who are willing to give $10, then its not worth the time.

But, it’s harder to get people to look at you these days.  We’re pretty numb from too much data input.  I can build my website, I can write my blogs, I can take a lot of time learning how to work my way around the web and FACEBOOK(?!), but that doesn’t mean it’s reaching enough people to make a difference.  You see that in the numbers that Paypal drops into my email.

I know I got $100 over the weekend.  That was because I was calling people personally and going down my Facebook “Likes” page.  I got a number of yeses, a couple of maybes (over $10????).  Those that REALLY can’t do it?

Those that give the REAL money want to see what you do in the private sector.  The point would be seeing whether or not your cause is actually affecting those that need it — Isn’t my maneuvering between the haves and havenots and those that just don’t wannas what Grass Roots Campaigns and community outreach is all about?

The Trick being how to get everybody to do what they can do to make the movement benefit Chicago.  And how do you do that?  Well perhaps its about showing how these causes and making their solutions are real.  It’s about breathing life into a myth and taking the red pill to disspell an illusion.  It’s a hero’s journey and we’re racking up points in a massive video game.  The enemy though, isn’t the Power in mainstream – The Man – The Boss: but the sleep that’s descended on us as citizens that makes us believe nothing can be done and it’s best to just turn over, pull up the blanket and drift back to the dream.