What do you celebrate on June 21st? Because apparently it's 'international (insert your thing here) day'.
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For myself, as a Pagan, I have celebrated the Solstice on June 21st for as long as I can remember, because I think it's important to honor the earth for everything she gives us. Secondly, I use June 21st to celebrate Indigenous culture, and as a day to reflect on what kind of ally I am, and to think about how I need to improve in that area. Truthfully, that's something I reflect on pretty regularly, but if you are a white person and you haven't thought about what being an ally means to you, maybe today is a good day to do that.
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For me, part of being an ally is NEVER being a bystander, and also finding ways to give back to all the communities I do or have lived in.
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I think anyone who lives in Prince George who doesn't see all the problems in that city regarding homelessness and addiction is willfully blind. When I lived there it was always heartbreaking to see how many people were struggling, and I was never able to just watch. I kept mittens, touques, scarves, and non-perishanble food in my truck at all times, and I worked with various social justice groups in that community on a number of local and international issues.
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I believe colonialism (and capitalism) is the root cause of problems like homelessness and addiction, and that standing against racism and working to change racist institutional policies is part of attacking that root and helping to create the positive change we all truly want.
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I recently wrote this poem in hopes of encouraging positive change. It's about the crisis with addiction and homelessness in Prince George, a crisis that disproportionately effects POC. When I heard the longstanding mayor of that community, Lyn Hall, state in an interview that it is 'a complicated situation' rather than offer the constructive solutions a number of PG citizens have been requesting for years I was angry, and inspired. That's how this poem was born.
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Enjoy this poem, and please think about how you can take action to create real social justice and equal access in your community.
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