OurConcerns

These are issues of which I am concerned:

anti-discrimination (race, gender, sexuality, age, ability, etc.)

geez it's the twenty-first century and people are still discriminated against. How barbaric.

*TRUE* and absolute freedom of religion (pro-choice)

I include in this category the deregulation of religion-based laws in the government, such as laws of monogamy and the current version of the Pledge of Allegience ("under God..." which has no place in our public school system.). (ex: ULC, CAW)

abortion rights (pro-choice)

With Bush in office [Editorial: OMG that's how long ago I wrote this page — Cough!] — uh, TRUMP in office, I'm afraid I may be marching again. I am personally pro-life: i.e. I would not willingly have another abortion in my lifetime. However, I strongly believe that is MY Personal Choice and my responsibility to make that choice, and I believe every woman/couple has that choice and responsibility and the government has no right dictating what is correct for the individual: it's their problem and the decision will weigh on them.

whole health care (treating people not diseases/symptoms)

the health care system in the US is a mess. How the hell can a doctor treat you in a 15 minute appointment? That's not long enough for them to get to know me and what I need. Patently absurd. Dehumanizing people and only focusing on symptoms helps them automate the process of healthcare but it does not get people the health care they need. Medicine, pharmaceutical industry, AMA...they're all focused more on one thing: money. They don't give a crap about me; I'm a statistic and a purse.

immunization rights (pro-choice)

Vaccine Information & Awareness - please be aware of risks to your child's health. I'm not saying don't vaccinate your kids, I'm saying don't *blindly* vaccinate your kids just because the medical/school establishment tells you you should, need to, must, or have to. Be aware of your rights as parents to keep your children's immune system whole.

circumcision (pro-choice, anti-assumptions)

as a part of a larger belief I have that includes the immunization refusal issue, where I don't feel I have the right to permanently alter my child's body, whenever avoidable, without their express consent, of the sort they probably can't give until they're older. This goes for me piercing my 1 year old daughter's [ed — now SON's]] ears, also.

polyamory/polyfidelity

and [I wrote] my own essay to potential polyamorists and their lovers [which doesn't appear to be on this site anymore... must have copied this from the older site(s)...]

natural childbirth (as few interventions as possible)

Ok -- our race has been giving birth for a very long time, and being on this planet means an unbroken chain of people who inherited the ability to give birth. I'm not saying that one shouldn't be checked, or shouldn't have an expert on-hand, but that some pregnancies are quite obviously "normal" and you don't have to start poking, prodding, and intervening before there's a sign of trouble. I homebirthed two children with a professional midwife in attendance. It's not the professional, lisenced part that I care about, though, it's that she has a reputation and a lot of clients, a good bedside manner, and that both she and I felt confident that things were going very well, both times. Also, with all the recent interventions, now we're interfering with that perfect unbroken chain of people proven to be able to give birth to live young...I'm not saying it's wrong to take advantage of modern medicine and innovations in childbirthing, but I *do* wonder what will happen to the species if that continues.

homeschooling or unschooling vs. mainstream/alternative educational system

I'm a strong believer in the rights of parents to continue to be parents until their children run off to college or marriage or the military, and that attachment parenting is far better for most children than foisting them off on strangers to be basically raised outside the home. That said, I know there's crazy people out there who aren't homeschooling for the right reasons. That notwithstanding, I support healthy homeschooling, with playgroups, group trips, etc. and think it's better for the children.

equal rights regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, health, age, religion, marital status, ability, etc.

more to come

open source (GPL, for example)

protecting the rights of individuals and groups to share their intellectual property, and to *keep* that property shared and collaborative. i.e. in the computer programming world it means that you can look at the code that runs the program, even create the program from the code directly if you want to, and if some corporate megagiant decides they like the code, they have to share the code they make from it.

added 2018

privacy

work in progress…

security

also a work in progress, and yes they're different.

See Also